by Marion Findlay (Director of Services, Volunteer Edinburgh) on the new community commissioning process for the Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund in Edinburgh.
It is exactly four months since our colleague Maria Arnold posted her blog “Put the Money Where Our Mouth Is…” on the EVOC website. On 2nd November she reflected on the flaws and tensions that surround the traditional ways that public money is distributed. She issued a plea to organisations across the city to take a leap of faith in participating in a new process to award funds that would support the mental health of communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, and those experiencing multiple marginalisation.
Many thanks again to all of you (in over 170 organisations) who have taken this leap of faith. Maria’s prediction that it would be a nerve-wracking process with a ridiculously tight timeframe has proven to be correct – one participant reported it being a “bewildering but exciting process carried out at breakneck speed”.
There have been criticisms of the timescale, the online format, and the challenge of identifying how city-wide and locality services best fit together. But praise for the collaborative approach, the opportunity to work together to share ideas, experiences, and be supported to do something new or different – or do more of the things we know work well.
Stepping out of the traditional flat-grant way of awarding funds is a challenge. Decades of writing grant applications in a formal (and competitive) style has instilled a mindset and approach that is not easy to shake off. Decision making by consensus is easy to say but more difficult to do. It feels like we have just dipped our toe in the Community Commissioning process, but the progress and learning so far stands us well for the future.
This process has brought together widely differing groups. Many deliver complex and expert mental health services; others offer lighter touch support, physical activities and informal connections. Whether you are a community garden, a football team, provide counselling or therapy or run dancing or painting groups – this process demonstrates that mental health is truly everyone’s business.
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