Volunteering & Participation

Sleeping Giants supports the principles of high-quality engagement and participation, and strives to include these in our own work, and in our work on behalf of clients, ensuring that those who are seldom heard can have a voice on issues which affect their lives

Involving Stakeholders as Equal Partners

Whenever we begin a new project (whether that be with community members or other organisations), our approach is to consult with people who may have an interest in the focus of the engagement, as well as to (where possible) form a steering group of key stakeholders to help shape and develop the work as equal partners.

This approach ensures that the work is co-produced with people and communities themselves, who are the experts in their own needs and therefore should be the ones making decisions about any work undertaken with them.

Examples of where we have used this approach have included:

Hidden Histories Steering Group (The Small Council)

Glenkens Community & Arts Trust Youth Consultation Steering Group
New Cumnock Development Trust Strategic Planning Steering Group

Empowering Communities & Supporting People to Have a Voice

Sleeping Giants are strong advocates of using best practice approaches to participation and engagement and for us, this means ensuring that our work uses the National Standards for Community Engagement, the Ladder of Participation and Engagement and the Community Empowerment Act as frameworks for best practice.
The importance of high quality community engagement is also something we support others to think about and we have developed several training courses which help communities and community organsiations to ensure they are being heard by the right people about the issues that matter to them.

Volunteering Programmes on Behalf of Other Organisations

Sleeping Giants have been asked to develop and deliver a number of volunteer programmes on behalf of other organisations, where we have been responsible for recruiting, inducting, training, supporting and accrediting volunteers; and where we have also developed a number of best practice volunteer systems.
This has included:

– Doonhame Derby Dolls Volunteer Programme
– Autism Innovation Project Peer Mentoring Programme
– Dumfries and Galloway LGBT Plus Older Adults Volunteer Programme
– Soul Soup Volunteer Programme