Community Benefits Wishlist Guidance

1. What are Community Benefits?
2. The Wish List Purpose?
3. How does the process work?
4. How long does the process take?
5. Completing the Wish List Form
6. Community Groups Wish List Exemptions/Exclusions

1. What are 'Community Benefits'?

Community Benefits are built into the Council's procurement processes, designed to bring added value to the South Ayrshire community when the Council contracts with a supplier/service provider.  

Social, environmental and employability support can be provided by suppliers/service providers who have goods and/or services contracts with South Ayrshire Council ensuring that the contract gives something back to the people of South Ayrshire directly.

Any wishes granted by suppliers/service providers can be then noted against their contractual Community Benefit pledges and can be used as contribution towards completing all required pledges prior to contract expiry. 

2.  The Wish List Purpose?

As part of South Ayrshire's commitment to Community Wealth Building, we are reviewing how our Community Benefits are delivered, with the aim of improving the process for both communities and suppliers/service providers.  

The Wish List allows us to share the requests for support that the Council has received from local Community Groups across South Ayrshire and acts as a 'one stop shop' for Council suppliers/service providers to see the range of opportunities available for them to give back to local people.

Registering a wish with us helps to get your needs out there and spread the word.

3. How does the process work?

The Wish List form is open to any local community group, organisation, association, or charity within South Ayrshire who would like to request external support.

A simplified version of the process can be seen below:

There are several steps to the process:

Up to 3 active wishes at a time can be requested using the Wish List form which is available online:

Submit a wish here

When submitting wishes via the above portal, please ensure you are following the below:

• Ensure that your wish submission detail is thorough and includes any specific requirements/exact monetary values required.
• DO NOT include any personal information/contact details within the wish description section.
• Make sure the contact details supplied within the relevant section of the online form are as up to date as possible.

Once you have completed the form, we will receive a notification and review what you have submitted. You may have up to 3 active wishes on the Wish List at any one time. Additional requests cannot be added until one of your existing wishes has been completed.

If we have any questions or need any further information from you, we will get in touch using the contact details you've submitted. We will only use this contact information for communication regarding your wish, and you may ask us to remove your wishes at any time by contacting a member of the team at communitybenefits@south-ayrshire.gov.uk .

After receiving your form, we will either:

• Upload your requests to our portal
• Discuss with you whether your requests might be better met by another public sector organisation
• Inform you of any requests we are unable to include on the portal. Examples of what we cannot include are listed at the end of this document
• Be in touch to clarify any questions we have about what has been submitted to ensure your wish is as clear as possible for suppliers/service providers.

Once your wish has been accepted, you will receive an email from a member of the team. At this stage, your requests are visible to the public and suppliers/service providers. Behind the scenes, we'll be looking at upcoming contractual opportunities and encouraging providers to access the Community Group Wish List as part of their contract submission.  At any given point, should you wish to gain an update on the status of your wish list item please review the webpage of contact a member of the team at communitybenefits@south-ayrshire.gov.uk .

If a supplier/service provider feels they could help you with your request, they will be in contact directly. Support is available if you need it during this phase from South Ayrshire Council - your Locality Officer or the Third Sector Interface can signpost you in the right direction.

Once you've agreed the scope and timeframe for the wish to be delivered, the supplier/service provider will fulfil their side of the agreement and undertake the work, support, donation, or other help they've agreed to. Once this has been done, we will carry out a short review with your organisation to establish the outcome. This information will then feed into our reporting to the Scottish Government, as well as ongoing improvements to the support being provided to Community Groups by South Ayrshire Council and its contracted suppliers/service providers.

4. How long does the process take?

We aim to review all new requests within 4 weeks of submission - you should hear back from us within this timeframe to confirm what happens next with your requests. If approved, they will be uploaded to the portal for review by South Ayrshire Council suppliers/service providers and the general public.

There are NO guarantees around how long it might take for your wish to be selected, and we unfortunately can't promise that your request will be fulfilled. However, we will do all we can to signpost suppliers/service providers who work with the Council to the requests on the portal.

Please ensure any request made are reasonable and able to be delivered by the suppliers/service providers within the scope of their contractual obligations. We would also like to highlight that any requests made are reviewed on a case-by-case basis with the total number of overall previously granted wishes for that one organisation being taken into consideration. This ensure that all local Community Groups in need are receiving equal levels of support. 

To ensure that the list remains accurate, wishes that have not been selected after one year will be removed from the list. You may then submit a new wish if you choose to do so.

5. Completing the Wish List Form

You can access the form here or by following this link: Community Groups Wish List Form

If you need assistance completing the form, you can request support by email the team at communitybenefits@south-ayrshire.gov.uk and a member of the team will get back to you.

5.1  Below is an explanation of each question to help you provide the right information and minimise the delay between submitting it and our portal being updated.

5.1.1  Name of Community Group, Organisation, Association or Charitable Organisation.

If you are requesting support for a specific project your organisation is running, you can specify this here.

5.1.2  Please upload a copy of your organisation's logo

We will add it to your request on our online portal, increasing the visibility of your organisation.

5.1.3  Contact name and role in your organisation

Who will be the main person for us to speak to about your wish and what is their role?

5.1.4  Contact email

What's the best email address to get in touch with your organisation? Please specify if this is a shared inbox or an email address for a named contact.

5.1.5  Contact phone number(s)

What is the best contact number for us to reach your organisation on? If you have a main line and a mobile number for your named contact, you can give us them both if you'd like - whatever you think the best way of getting in touch.  

5.1.6   Which locality are you based in?

The Council has broken South Ayrshire down into 6 'localities' therefore please select which locality your organisation falls into from the list displayed within the online form.  

5.1.7   Please provide a short overview of what your group does

This helps to provide some context for suppliers/service providers who may not be familiar with your group. If you have a website or social media pages, please also provide these here, and we can share them with interested businesses. For example:

Children's After School Club supports school age children and young people in Girvan and South Carrick Villages with activities to build their confidence, support their learning and grow their interests in a safe and fun environment. We're open to any pupil in Girvan and South Carrick Villages, Monday to Friday, xx-xx pm. Link to Facebook page: xxxxx"

5.1.8  Type of wish

Please select one of the options listed on the online form which best describes what you're looking for. If none of the options are quite right, please select other. You will have the chance to then populate more detail within the next question.

5.1.9  What do you need?

Use this space to give us some information about the support you're looking for. For example, if you're looking for a donation of materials, how much do you need? What kind of materials? Is it for a specific project? Is there a deadline? What else might a business need to know to be able to give you the help you need? For example: "Our after-schoolers are creative and our activities encourage them to express this through crafts like painting, modelling, sculpting and drawing. We're looking for donations of art and craft supplies, particularly pens, pencils, glue, clay, and paint. Our club reopens again at the start of the new school term, so would ideally like to have new supplies in place for then."

Questions 8 and 9 appear on the form 3 times to provide space for 3 separate wishes to be submitted. There is no requirement to submit 3 wishes at once, and if your group only need support with one request, you can leave the second and third wish sections blank. Any additional wishes you'd like to submit later can be added by completing the form again until you have 3 wishes on the list. If you would like to remove a wish from the list you can do so by emailing communitybenefits@south-ayrshire.gov.uk .

5.2  GDPR

Please note that it is essential that all organisations who wish to submit a wish via the Community Groups Wish List forum must read and agree to the terms as detailed within the 'Privacy Statement' found within the form and can also be accessed

Submit a wish here.

Further information on our Privacy Policy can be found at the footer of all South Ayrshire Council Webpages.

6.  Community Groups Wish List Exemptions/Exclusions

A wide range of support can be provided to Community Groups requesting a wish however there some restrictions on this. These are broadly outlined below for reference and clarity. All requests submitted through the Wish List form will be reviewed before being uploaded to the portal, and you will be notified of any that are out-with the scope of this process in advance.

Requests for financial donations are not limited however if your project requires substantial financial support, you should explore the grant funding options open to you - a member of the team can signpost your organisation to this support if required.

If you are looking for support for a large or complex project, it may be advisable to proactively seek out funding support in addition to requesting help via the Wish List process, particularly if there is an element of time pressure around the work. One common example that falls into this category are requests for portacabins or containers, which often come with hidden costs (transportation, connections to services, installation of doors, windows, insulation etc). It's not to say that it's impossible for a cabin to be donated but it may take some time to happen, or a supplier/service provider may only be able to deliver part of the work needed to get the cabin into a working state; this is where having a funding plan in the background becomes very useful.

If you require support with funding, the Third Sector Interface or your Locality Team will be able to work with you.

Please be aware that if your organisation has a live/active contract with South Ayrshire Council then you may not be eligible to apply for support via the Community Groups Wish List forumhowever each wish will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

This video explains what community benefits are and how to submit a wish to the community benefits wishlist.