Step 2: Budgeting & Resourcing

• Do you have realistic expectations with regards to available budget? E.g. is the available budget reasonable for light-touch consultation or full community co-production?
• What resourcing do you need to fulfil the project’s plan, e.g. how many staff do you need, how much time should they commit, what will the cost be?
• What skills are required to deliver this community engagement or participatory process?
• Are all these skills currently covered by the staff team?
• Do these skills exist elsewhere in the community?
• What direct costs might you encounter for delivering the engagement process?

Direct costs may include venue hire, participant travel, catering, BSL, mechanisms to reduce barriers to participation such as printing costs, mental health support, and a gift of thanks for attending sessions. A gift of thanks is typically a monetary voucher or bank transfer to thank participants for giving up their free time. A gift of thanks is typically offered to participants who are attending workshops, participating in an interview or other type of engagement. You may also wish to provide a gift of thanks to any voluntary or community organisation who is providing delivery support.

• Investment Readiness Toolkit, Community Engagement (GFI)· Participation Handbook (Scottish Government)
• Research - paying participant expenses and compensating for time: guidance (Scottish Government)

• Ensure that community engagement costs are realistically budgeted for, e.g., whether you are carrying out a light touch consultation vs. community co-design
• Include all associated costs in initial funding requirements including staffing/direct delivery costs (travel, food, gift of thanks, venues, additional support for participants, resources)
• Budgets should include communications costs relative to realistic plans for promotion including media plans and advertisement of the project.
• Identify partnership opportunities to share expertise and resources across community groups and projects (geographically and topically). This could include sharing contractors or consultants across projects where possible to increase affordability. This could also include sharing resources such as project plans.
• Work closely with local organisations (including voluntary, charity, educational institutes, etc.) and/or individuals to identify suitable roles and appropriate compensation (i.e. some groups may expect consultant pay, some may expect travel and sustenance expenses).
• Create budgets which include a day rate for community volunteers and steering groups who are involved in moving projects forward.
• Identify whether an external agency should be brought in to deliver the community engagement and whether this is covered buy available budget. For example, if the project topic is contentious and requires neutral facilitators or requires more participatory design expertise.
• Utilise existing project plans, frameworks, and evaluation methods where possible to reduce resourcing pressures.
• Consider levels of underemployment in the local community and opportunities for paid roles and training within the project.
• Ensure staff are provided with time and scope to work on project legacy, including growing the project beyond initial scope and developing new directions for the project activities, where appropriate.
• Continue to review budgets and adapt where appropriate (and in line with funding guidance) to meet evolving needs of the project.

• Research on local employment gaps and opportunities, either specially commissioned research, or links to used sources
• Detailed budget breakdown
• Objectives from other community groups with overlapping aims who may share resources
• Staff timesheets and details of work undertaken and associated outputs
• Staff skills map and any gaps which may need to be addressed through external support
• Projected costs for community inclusion, including gift of thanks, removing barriers to participation, compensating local experts