Find a Solution 2013
Find a Solution 2013 and receive a bursary of £1,500
Find a Solution, coordinated and funded by the University of Glasgow Settlement, is an opportunity to enhance your graduate attributes while providing charities with your expertise and energy.
The findings will be presented to an invited audience chaired by the Chancellor, Sir Kenneth Calman on Wednesday 4th September 2013.
For further information students should email University of Glasgow Settlement uogsettlement@gmail.com.
Applications are now invited for the following projects
- The Dumbarton Road Corridor Environment Trust – dumbartonroad.com – Application Form
- Shopmobility Paisley and District – shopmobilitypaisley.org – Application Form
- The Scottish Cot Death Trust – scottishcotdeathtrust.org – Application Form
Details of the projects for 2013 will be provided by the three organisations in the Williams Room on Wednesday 20 February at 12 noon. Summaries of the projects are given below:
The Dumbarton Road Corridor Environment Trust
Apply here for the FAS2013 project with The Dumbarton Road Corridor Environment Trust
The Dumbarton Road Corridor Environment Trust was established in 2004 to deliver community led sustainable regeneration in the West of Glasgow and in particular to work with the local community to help turn the Yoker, Scotstoun and Whiteinch Environmental Vision into reality.
They have delivered a range of projects and services for the benefit of the local communities of Yoker, Scotstoun and Whiteinch and beyond. The biggest project DRCET has delivered to date has been the construction of the Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre – a £1.6 million capital build project funded by Glasgow City Council, the Big Lottery Fund and several other smaller funders.
Their Find a Solution project will assist them in undertaking market research of their stakeholders in order to develop a better understanding of:
- what the key local environmental and social issues are for our stakeholders
- the awareness and perception of DRCET by our stakeholders
- a measure of the impact that our work is having with our stakeholders
- identify ways to reach our existing and new/more stakeholders
- identify new projects and services that we could develop and deliver
Ideally the candidates would have the following:
- Research and analysis skills
- Communication skills
- Ability to work on their own or as part of a small team
- Ability to learn and develop
As well as:
- An interest in environmental and climate change issues
- An interest in social justice issues
- An knowledge of online solutions and social media
- An interest in community development and regeneration
Shopmobility Paisley and District
Apply here for the FAS2013 project with Shopmobility Paisley and District
Shopmobility Paisley and District is the free service helping to provide with limited mobility to visit Paisley town centre independently, with freedom and confidence.
It aims to achieve its mission by:
- promoting increased independence and freedom of choice for people with impaired mobility
- providing a comprehensive and confidential information and advice service for people with impaired mobility
- providing a free equipment loan service to registered users
- promoting social inclusion for people with impaired mobility
- valuing the contribution of service users, carers and volunteers
- raising awareness of the needs of those with disabilities
- providing a range of appropriate equipment
- training volunteer escorts and users to work in a safe, friendly and supportive environment
Their Find a Solution project will assist them in solving the conundrum of rising numbers of registrations versus falling user rates and seeking an explanation behind the lack of conversion from registration to actual use. They anticipate the need for a research exercise to identify Shopmobility service user trends on a national scale progressing to a more in-depth investigation of local issues with service users, developing possible solutions to promoting more active use of the service.
Ideally candidates would have the following:
- Skills and expertise in desk research, development and implementation of service user surveys
- Questionnaire design and data collection and analysis to provide meaningful information
- Data analysis and trend analysis
- Being able to work on own initiative
- Marketing skills
The Scottish Cot Death Trust
Apply here for the FAS2013 project with The Scottish Cot Death Trust
The Scottish Cot Death Trust was founded in 1985, is the only cot death charity in Scotland and has three main aims:
- To improve and extend the support for bereaved families
- To raise funds for research into the cause(s) of cot death
- To educate the public and health care professionals about cot death and ways of reducing the risks
Their successful “Back to Sleep” campaign of the 1990s helped reduce the incidence of cot death in Scotland dramatically. The rate of death each year is now ‘stuck’ and still some of these cases could have been prevented if parents had followed safe sleeping advice more closely. The Trust believe they need to explore new ways of approaching the problem to try to reduce the rate further.
Their Find a Solution project would involve reviewing the research on the background and profile of the families affected by cot death – including opportunity to meet some of them – and then creatively looking at how the Trust could use social media to best advantage in communicating with other parents whose behaviour may mean their infants are at greater risk of cot death. The Trust want to find an appropriate online solution to promote safe sleeping messages in Scotland to the “hard to reach” young parents who are vulnerable and would welcome the help with researching this. The project will therefore review existing routes for education and promotion of safe sleeping messages to young/hard to reach groups in the Glasgow area and go onto develop potential options for the Board of the Trust to consider in autumn 2013. If possible the solution might provide the definition of the recommended option in enough detail for us to be able to externally commission the piece of work at the end of the project.
Ideally candidates would have the following:
- an interest and passion for communication using social media
- the ability to bring ideas but equally can focus on problem solving in a focussed way
- skills in analysis and report writing
- empathy for families living with chaotic lifestyles