RSA Scotland Venture Fund Awards



RSA Scotland Venture Fund Awards: Round One


In early 2009 RSA Scotland announced the launch of our groundbreaking new RSA Scotland Venture Fund which is being seen as a model across the UK for supporting Fellows’ ideas and energy. The Venture Fund initiative has been commended by FRSA and others in Scotland and beyond and has generated enthusiasm at all levels. The Venture Fund supports our move to put Fellowship activity and ideas at the heart of everything we do.  Since the launch of the RSA Scotland Venture Fund, we have been delighted to receive so many enquiries and quality applications from Fellows in Scotland.  The Panel met in April 2009 and was faced with an incredibly tough choice in determining which projects it would support.  All of the proposals that were submitted had great potential, but in the end we are supporting the following projects:

 

Sue Roaf’s Low Carbon Communities project, an initiative that will bring together groups in Scotland who are working to build low carbon communities in order to move the Low Carbon Communities agenda forward using a bottom up approach for Scottish Parliament.  The project will provide opportunity for community groups to discuss the barriers and drivers behind local initiatives and create education resources for the communities themselves and for educational institutions where such developments are being taught.

 

Mark Hope’s Woodend Arts Association: Go Local Campaign, an awareness campaign based in Aberdeenshire which encourages people to use their local arts centres rather than travelling further afield to attend events thus building audiences for the arts and reducing travel costs and CO2 emissions.  The campaign will consist of a local engagement strategy which includes small business and arts institutions which would provide a useful model for supporting local economy and reducing environmental impacts through encouraging people to seek their entertainment locally.

 

We are also working proactively with other applicants to the Fund to determine how we can provide non-financial assistance and support for their projects.

 

We are very excited to see what all of these projects will deliver.  To stay current with the latest developments, keep reading the website and newsletters.  If there is a specific project that you are interested in hearing more about or connecting with, please get in touch.   

 

We are now delighted to be announcing that we are seeking bids for next round of funding.  This is a fantastic opportunity to link to other FRSAs and to sound out your ideas.  The project funding  is open to all FRSAs in Scotland for independent or collaborative project initiatives.   To request a form, contact J Dugdale Bradley at the Venture Fund. The next deadline will be 21 May 2010 so get your ideas in now!