Plans for our new strategy

We’re excited to share that Sleeping Giants has now completed a new draft of our 2026–2029 Strategy.  It is a plan co-produced by our Board and staff team, shaped by evaluation findings, and grounded in what our clients, partners and communities told us they need.
Over January, we’ll be inviting a group of local and national partners to help us refine the strategy, ensuring it reflects the realities, challenges and opportunities across Scotland. The final version will launch in April 2026.

Why we developed a new strategy
The last three years have been a period of significant growth for Sleeping Giants. We have expanded our work across new local authority areas, delivered a national 3-year Scottish Government commission, and deepened our learning around lived experience, participation and power-sharing. As this phase of work comes to an end, we’ve taken time to reflect on what we have learned and what our clients now need most.
Evaluation feedback highlighted consistent themes: pressure on small organisations, isolated leaders, rising demand, and persistent barriers for marginalised communities. We also heard strong calls for more ethical participation, fairer workplace practices, and relational approaches that support real, long-term change. Our new strategy responds directly to these needs.

What our 2026–2029 Strategy focuses on
The strategy sets out a clear vision: powerful, connected and inclusive communities where everyone has what they need to thrive and influence the decisions affecting their lives. To help make this a reality, it includes:

1. Strengthening organisations and leaders
Supporting grassroots, equality-focused and place-based groups; expanding our training, mentoring and capacity building; and helping leaders grow in confidence and capability.

2. Supporting lived experience leadership and ethical participation
Championing approaches that move beyond consultation to co-design, shared power and meaningful involvement, especially for those furthest from decision-making.

3. Promoting fairer, neuroaffirming and trauma-informed workplaces
Delivering the next phase of our neuroaffirming workplaces work and supporting employers to build cultures where everyone can thrive.

4. Strengthening community-public sector collaboration
Helping communities and public bodies work together as equal partners to design places, services and systems that meet local needs.

5. Growing our organisational resilience
Improving financial sustainability, strengthening governance, supporting our team’s wellbeing and learning, and building the internal systems we need to grow well and remain values-led.

What happens next
January will be a key testing phase. We’ll be sharing the draft strategy with a small group of partners from across Scotland — from local grassroots organisations to national bodies — to gather reflections, refine our priorities and ensure the strategy is realistic, ambitious and rooted in the experiences of the people we support.
The final strategy will be published in April 2026, guiding our work over the next three years.