Participation and the Independent Human Rights Fund for Scotland
By Corra Foundation
2024 was a big year, in lots of ways. For the team working on the Independent Human Rights Fund for Scotland it saw the preparatory work we had been doing lead to concrete action: the funding of the first three lead-in grants from the Fund and the launch of the first open call for applications, review, decisions and grants funded.
The highlights for me were the time we spent with others, with the two ‘stand out’ moments being our meetings with the advisory group and the decision-making panel. These groups were brought together as part of the Fund’s participatory approach to its first open call.
Advisory group
The advisory group helped us shape the open call and design the application form, translating the aims of the Fund into criteria. Discussions covered where third sector human rights work in Scotland is today and how the funding can make the most impact. I feel very lucky we were able to benefit from the group’s knowledge and insights – and these were also really fun meetings to be a part of. Bruce Adamson, Darryl Gaffney du Plooy, Elaine Webster, Julie Christie, Zaki El-Salahi and Zara Todd: thank you!
Decision-making panel
Our work with the decision-making panel for the open call began in the summer. A review of human rights reporting and consultation over the last three years identified priority themes and groups of people whose rights are most at risk in Scotland. These groups were highlighted in the role description we prepared as the kinds of people we were particularly interested to include. We asked that panel members brought “lived experience of barriers to enjoyment of their human rights and… experience of using human rights-based approaches to tackle barriers to the enjoyment of human rights” and invited anyone interested to get in touch.
After sharing the role description through the three human rights networks in early July, we had nearly 30 people write in by early August. Replying to all, we spoke to 18 of them to discuss their experiences and backgrounds in more detail, which helped us select 11. This group brought together a range of backgrounds and perspectives and were a mix of ages, genders and lived in different places across Scotland.
Beyond their personal perspectives, panel members brought experience of disability rights action, environmental rights campaigning, refugee, LGBT+ and housing rights work and advocacy, as well as advocacy on carer and sibling rights and on rights to social security. Seven panel members brought experience of community activism on human rights, a mix of place-based human rights work with a community living in a particular place and of work with others across Scotland on specific human rights issues.
Four of the panel were from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities and seven were white. While this was positive in that the panel’s discussions were informed by lived experience relevant to several of the priority groups of people whose rights are most at risk, we did not manage to engage panel members with a Gypsy/Traveller or Roma community background. Identifying effective ways to incorporate those perspectives into future decision-making processes is a learning point to take forward.
At Corra we’re continually learning about participatory grant making. We know that panels cannot reflect all relevant lived experience. We aim to include as much diversity as possible and to consider additional steps that might be needed to ensure under-represented groups have equitable access to funding. For the Independent Human Rights Fund, this included background information about the human rights sector in Scotland, and groups whose rights are most at risk. We are reflecting and learning from this round and may build in additional steps in any future funding rounds.
We worked with the wise and brilliant Zara Todd, one of the Advisory Group members, to facilitate the panel’s meetings and she also advised us on developing the process for the panel. It was important to us to have somebody external facilitate; Corra staff did not direct the panel or share our opinions on any of the applications.
The panel’s work began in late September with background reading on the Fund and on human rights issues and priorities in Scotland. We then shared a ‘fake’ application from an organisation and a proposed assessment template. These were tested out by the panel at their first online meeting, which focussed on preparation – also covering bias, conflicts of interest and agreement on an approach to application review. Following internal checks on eligibility, due diligence and shortlisting by the Corra team, 17 applications were shared with panel members in mid-October.
It was a real pleasure to meet the panel members in person at the final two-day meeting in late October. We reviewed the Fund’s aims, undertook a “five years’ time” visioning exercise, and panel members worked to share and compare portfolios, considering spread across thematic areas and geography. It is a hard task to have to select from a number of excellent and much-needed proposals because only a limited number can be supported and the panel members worked constructively and with dedication and respect to select seven applications for funding. We were pleased to be able to fund the panel’s eighth choice after additional investment from Indigo Trust.
Participation will continue to be at the heart of the Fund as we listen to feedback, and work with our independent learning partners to reflect on its impact in helping rights realisation in Scotland.