So we launched the monograph Sustainable Paths to Community Development yesterday here in the Michael Young room at SSE. It was a good turnout, considering that it was a rainy Tuesday evening, with a good mix of practitioners (including some SSE students and Fellows), sector chief execs, government departments, housing agencies, philanthropists, and research-y, think tank-y types. I was particularly pleased that Greg Clark MP, the Shadow Minister for the Third Sector, was able to make it and say a few words; he contributed a particularly lucid and thought-through foreword, which is not always the case when it comes to these things, so great that he could attend. CEO Alastair Wilson introduced co-authors Charlotte and Don Young, who then gave a presentation on the report, before Greg and Alastair wrapped up.

Here’s a few photos from the evening for your delectation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All went well and hopefully it will give impetus to the recommendations in the report. Greg Clark said last night that this was a "groundbreaking piece of work" that "should be influential across the political spectrum". I do hope that’s the case, and that other organisations read and use the research to further their arguments, as this has implications above and beyond the work of SSE alone.

To contribute my bit to the cause, there’s an article in today’s Guardian concerning some of the central issues in the report: A real community centre, and coverage in Social Enterprise Magazine. More coverage to follow.