The Anti-Racism Community Engagement Fund provided community groups and organisations with funds, within this short timescale, to create a focused engagement/ or a series of engagements on the future Anti-Racism Observatory of Scotland (AROS). 

The Design Advisory Group (DAG) and the future AROS value lived expertise as equally important as learned expertise. It was essential that they could gather community expertise, not only about how people understand systemic racism in their lives but also to use that knowledge to build how they want this new organisation to work for them. Attempts to address systemic racialised inequity have not managed to address the inequality. Evidence suggests that many outcomes have worsened (see CRER report). 

The intention for the funding was:

• To build a deeper community understanding of the future AROS.
• To undertake a series of focused conversations about how the participatory community research undertaken by the Anti-Racism Interim Governance Group (AIGG) in 2023 fed into the developing plan for the new organisation. More information on this research can be found in the documents below.
• To explore, from this baseline, how people think the future AROS could work for them.

Organisations led by people adversely impacted by racism were particularly welcomed to apply. Applicats did not need to have been involved in the AIGG community research phase to apply as the fund seeked new voices. It was therefore encouraged that applications were submitted from organisations and community groups currently that were not currently engaged.

The DAG and the Anti-Racism Community Engagement Fund

The DAG members worked closely to support the Anti-Racism Community Engagement Fund. In April 2024, Impact Funding Partners was identified as an implementing partner for the fund. The DAG minutes stated that significant progress made with a view to contracting to recruit staff and administrate and publicly announce the Fund