Have Your Say: Help Shape Third Sector Support in Argyll and Bute

4 November 2025

The future of community support in Argyll and the Isles is being shaped now — and your voice is essential. ABTSI is developing a sector-wide strategy that will guide how we support charities, voluntary organisations, community groups and social enterprises across our area. Whether you volunteer, run a local group, rely on community services, or simply care about the sustainability and wellbeing of your community, we need to hear from you. Your testimony will also help us campaign for more resources at a local and national level.

Why your response matters

Communities across Argyll and Bute face real pressures: cost of living, sustaining volunteering, rising demand, and uncertainty over funding. The survey will provide robust, local evidence to inform three key outputs:

• a State of the Sector Report to understand current needs and strengths;
• a Future Ambitions Report to capture where communities want to be in five years; and
• the ABTSI Strategy to target support where it will make the greatest difference.

Your insights will help shape practical support on issues such as volunteering, preventative services, governance, training, collaboration, and community wealth building. Even if you don’t currently volunteer or use third sector services, your perspective as a resident is vital — it helps ensure resources and support reflect local priorities and stay in our communities.

Who should complete the survey?

• Volunteers, trustees and staff in third sector organisations
• Community council and neighbourhood activists
• Social enterprises and development trusts
• Residents concerned about local services, resilience and place-based sustainability
• Public-sector partners working alongside the sector

What happens next?

Survey findings will be explored with focus groups, locally-led consultation activities and stakeholder discussions to test and refine priorities. This collaborative approach ensures the strategy is grounded in real experiences from across our distinct geographies — mainland and islands — and that the benefits (skills, funding and evidence) remain local.

Deadline and link

The survey deadline has been extended to 17 November. Please add your voice today and encourage others to do the same:

Take the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/argyllbute

By completing the survey, you are directly influencing how ABTSI targets support, strengthens collaboration, and helps our third, community and social enterprise sector to grow and flourish. Thank you for speaking up for Argyll and the Isles!