The Community Connections Tools form part of the Community Toolkit. The Tools can be used in conjunction with the other elements of the Toolkit to help your community group work effectively towards its goals and objectives. These Tools aim to help local groups learn from each other's experience of developing local projects and running their organisations.

For example, a local village hall group interested in building an extension may want to visit another hall committee who have already been through the process of employing architects, applying for funding and managing the construction work. Alternatively, a community group who want to start producing a new newsletter for its members or local residents could meet with existing newsletter editors to learn about issues such as sponsorship, distribution and legal considerations.

The Community Connections Tools also aim to encourage groups with similar interests to come together to discuss common issues and investigate opportunities to work co-operatively, such as bulk purchasing of materials. These networking events might take the form of formal information seminars, or could simply be a collection of like-minded people meeting in a pub to discuss future plans. Such community connection events may be organised by local support agencies, or interested groups could apply for financial support to run their own networking events.

The Community Connections Tools include:

• A directory of local groups willing to share their experiences. This database directory will provide up to date records of different types of local groups, the projects that they have attempted to develop in the past and those which they are planning to develop in the future.
• Written case studies of local projects which highlight the “dos” and “don'ts” involved in developing a successful project.
• Financial support for travel costs to help local groups connect with other organisations within and outwith Inverness and Nairn.
• Financial support to allow similar groups to organise networking events to discuss common issues and investigate opportunities to work co-operatively.
• A discussion forum to allow community groups to share experience on-line.

The Community Connection Tools have been developed by Inverness and Nairn Enterprise and the local Councils of Voluntary Service through the Partnership for Rural Inverness and Nairn and other local community training bodies.