Appendix 1 Working Well with Communities

Page 1

Argyll & Bute Community Planning Partnership 
Area Community Planning Group 
Partnership update
Date: August 2025  
Appendix 1
Appendix Author: Sam Campbell, Health Improvement Principal
Email: nhsh.abhealthimprovement@nhs.scot 
Working Well with Communities 
Area Community Planning Chairs and Vice Chairs were given an opportunity to meet
with the seniors in the Public Health Team to discuss the concerns of local areas
about the opportunities for networking and information sharing in communities.  This
meeting took place in June and there it was agreed we all have a shared intention to
work well with communities so it would be valuable to share some examples of work
underway, for information.
The emergence of the value of place based working, collaboration and strengthening
of focus on prevention have been outlined in the newly launched Population Health
Framework and the Public Service Reform Strategy.  Work has begun to explore the
opportunities for the Community Development Team and the Public Health Team to
work more closely.  This collaborative approach will allow us to identify areas of
focus that are important to communities, understanding local context for the
emerging focus upon place based approaches and operationalising the strategic
intent of national strategies.
Working well with communities is an important role for Community Development and
the Public Health Team are extending an offer to the ACPGs of a face to face
workshop in November.  Here we will explore the community wellbeing outcome
giving the opportunity to consider how partners can harness the opportunities of
place based approaches, using the Art of Hosting tools and techniques to harvest
valuable insight and actions.
The Art of Hosting is a toolkit and methodology used to help groups work together
more effectively by using meaningful conversations to solve complex challenges. 
A wide range of partners have been trained to use Art of Hosting in an effort to
collectively address major issues affecting Scotland’s rural and island communities.
Working with communities is important for health and wellbeing because it helps
people have more say in decisions that affect their lives and strengthens democracy.
The methodology builds trust and support, helping communities work together to
build on their strengths and solve health problems. This programme of work has
focused on training people living and working within Argyll and Bute developing a
community of people dedicated to finding out what matters to communities and how
we can work together to improve health. 
Early work to review how we work with communities identified an opportunity to
develop Peoples Panels as a method of gathering comment and feedback from
communities and influence organisational direction.  This development will support
the intention and statutory responsibilities for working with communities. This work
takes time to develop and work is ongoing.