CASE STUDY ARCHIVED
1.4

Local business support groups benefit community and company

The Ayrshire Business in the Community initiative (ABITC) in Scotland builds links between local businesses and voluntary and public agencies in areas suffering social and economic deprivation. It aims to help alleviate Ayrshire’s social problems and develop the local economy by engaging companies and making use of the skills that businesses already have rather than encouraging simple cash donations. The scheme is run in partnership with Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce. It has been in existence for three years and has a wide range of activities./

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ABITC facilitates exchange of information (e.g., on community initiatives, human resources management) and sharing of experience (e.g., through employee volunteering) between local small businesses, large businesses and the local community. In addition, it focuses on developing links between members of the vulnerable groups of population and local businesses (e.g., providing in-company training to the unemployed). To aid this process and recognize the contribution of the members of the local community, ABITC (in partnership with Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire and Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce) is developing a Bronze, Silver and ˇ Gold award scheme.

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The ABITC initiative is successful for two main reasons: its acts as a visible ‘hub’ of information and it is a local initiative dealing with local problems. It can become known amongst businesses as “the place to go” for any information on working with the community. The scheme is also very much an Ayrshire-based initiative to tackle Ayrshire’s problems using the resources and knowledge of Ayrshire people. This local approach is vital, since different regions have different issues and require different strategies to solve them./

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Contact: jhay@ayrshire-chamber.org/

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