What do I do?!

This is a common question I get - most often from my own family! So, having failed on many occasions to get them to know what I do, at the start of this new year I'm writing it here so they can read it and, if you're vaguely interested, then you can too!

In short, I'm a freelance Community Developer. Many of you will get what that is, but let me explain.

A line I often use is that I support and develop projects that enable people and communities to be supported and developed. Does that help!?

Basically, I will work alongside people and communities across Scotland with their development needs. This could be a large project or some small change. It could be accessing funding, setting up a new organisation, helping a project go to the next stage, accessing training, marketing, assisting building development planning, or anything else along these sort of lines. It's such a fulfilling line of work as I get to work alongside people in communities and help them to grow in themselves as we do whatever necessary to assist the community they live in. This approach gives sustainability to projects as opposed to those where people like me go in with a block of funding, develop stuff, then leave when their funding runs out which usually means anything they started simply stops happening as noone has been upskilled to take the lead.

Now, not everyone gets this approach and it can take a bit of getting used to - especially by people in communities who have been accustomed to people doing things for or to them. My approach comes from the Asset Based Community Development way of thinking - yes, it's as easy as ABCD. This means I work with people with the aim that in the end they can undertake things themselves. Not "for" or "to", but "with" then "by".

My full embracing of freelance work began in late 2022 and has quickly gone from strength to strength. You can see information on my current work settings here. One thing that has emerged very quickly, is the mix between my 19 years of Community Development experience in Scotland, and my lifetime of being involved in Christian ministry. The majority of my current clients are either Churches or faith based organisations. This is not my exclusive area of work but it is a real blessing to work in this way.

Of my current projects, most involve monitoring and/or applying for funding either for building developments or general work, but others involve vision planning, marketing and general support. This is a really exciting mix for me and stops me getting bored as there's always something to be done! However, I also feel it is important to say that this mixture of work also ensures that I can have much needed down time, so that I can relax, have time for myself, but crucially, to be a husband and dad. I broadly control my diary so as I've often said to colleagues in previous roles, family comes first. Of course, there are also other things I do for fun (including radio broadcasting) but only as time really allows me to.

So, hopefully this has given you an insight and understanding into my world of work. And maybe, just maybe, my kids will understand what I do as well (although that might be a wish too far!!)