FIOS COLUMN – 17 JANUARY 2017

It’s been quite a year already! UOG celebrated its 10th anniversary on 12th January and held a press event to mark the occasion. This event also saw the launch of a £10,000 funding stream of the Community Investment Programme. Around forty projects have already benefited from the programme and with the recent launch of a £5,000 stream and now this £10,000 addition it is expected we can see some really exciting projects being proposed. If any group wishes to discuss a project idea for the larger streams of funding then they can contact the office and staff will be very pleased to discuss the idea and see how that fits the funding criteria. It never does any harm to sound out an idea, even if at an early stage.

We have a series of events and activities planned for throughout the year and hope to have a large community celebration in the Summer months. Our events kick off with a talk on the 24th January at 7.30pm in the UOG Business Centre. This talk is being delivered in partnership with UHI and will look at Galson: The Evolution of a Crofting Township. All are very welcome to attend.

Over the course of the year we will be working on a series of workshops for businesses and organisations. We will launch these under the banner of “Fàs”. Our first workshop will commence in February and will be a half day session entitled “Managing Projects”. In March, in partnership with Business Gateway we will be offering workshops on Marketing, Finance, Succession and other topics also. Please keep an eye in Fios for more information and on our Facebook page.

2017 is a new chapter for the UOG and the community; a decade of community ownership, a newly launched Strategic Plan and a fully functioning Community Investment Programme. We are very much looking forward to working in partnership with others to explore and deliver a range of projects that will deliver against the priorities established as part of the consultation process undertaken throughout 2016. Here’s to a productive year ahead!

We welcome Malcolm Morrison to the staff team. Malcolm has taken up post as Amenity Site Supervisor. Many thanks also must go to John Da Sykes and Daniel MacDonald for the relief cover they have provided over recent weeks.