Unleash the Power of Community With #OpenScotland

The

power

of community

#OpenScotland imagines a future where citizens are empowered to effect change.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

Find Changemakers

Connect with citizens who are striving for change in their communities.

Voice Ideas

Have your say in a safe & supportive environment where people are ready to listen.

Share Resources

Join purpose-led communities that give unconditionally & strive for impact.

#OpenScotland campaigns for better collaboration, decentralised governance & community empowerment.

breaking down silos with systems thinking

swapping top-down control for bottom-up empowerment

building tightly-bonded groups around purpose

connecting loosely-bonded groups to create impact

shapE the movement

Real connections, empowered communities.

Join a growing ecosystem of changemaker groups across Scotland. Whether you want to build your own community or contribute to others, there’s a space for everyone.

Explore Groups

Community Support Group

Welcome to Tech Embers

RookieOven

Community Lab Library

Founder.Scot

Silicon Croft

We've been writing...

PathwAIs Scotland

"Broken Response, Broken Results" is an article highlighting the fragmented and siloed nature of Scotland's support landscape, particularly in the charity and social enterprise sectors. Despite numerous efforts by thousands of charities and community groups, the pursuit of ever-changing funding and trends prevents building on past progress and collaborations. Community Lab was established to address these challenges, aiming to unite these groups and foster sustained change.

Andrew Barrie

Dr Anna Gregor: Changing the Face of Cancer Care in Scotland

At the turn of the 21st century, Dr Anna Gregor and a group of pioneering cancer clinicians were exploring how to improve cancer care for patients in Scotland.

Andrew Barrie

Delivering an #OpenScotland, together.

#OpenScotland imagines a future where citizens are empowered to effect change. Together, we can shape that future. Here's how...

Andrew Barrie

#OpenScotland — from Consumers to Citizens

In his excellent book Citizens, Jon Alexander looks at how we have ceded, sold or otherwise lost our agency — the ability to take action or to choose what action to take.

Andrew Barrie

Open Clusters: A New Approach to Hybrid Community Building

Over the past few years, Community Lab has been testing different approaches to hybrid community and movement building — that meld of digital and physical experiences that help create the outcomes its members may want.

Andrew Barrie

Part 2: Scotland’s Christie Commission — A Systems Thinking Approach

At the heart of Christie is a need for systems change — where relationships between different aspects of the system have to change towards new outcomes and goals.

Andrew Barrie

Part 1: Scotland’s Christie Commission — Time for a Reboot?

It is now over a decade since the Christie Commission set an ambitious vision for Government in Scotland...

Andrew Barrie