Open Doors scheme review

A review of Dundee’s Open Doors scheme, which came into effect during the emergence of the cost-of-living crisis last year, has shown it helped reduce social isolation, alleviate the effects of poverty and signpost individuals to more support.

The Open Doors initiative saw a range of partners, services and community groups provide free or low-cost activities in local communities, ensuring accessibility, and making hot drinks & meals available where possible.

Over March and April 2023, Dundee City Council’s Community Learning and Development Service found the scheme’s welcoming nature helped reduce social isolation, participants praised the local nature of the initiative, activities being free or low-cost contributed to alleviating the impacts of poverty, and the signposting or support provided helped individuals with other matters.

Dundee Partnership Chair and Co-Chair of the Dundee Fairness Leadership Panel Councillor John Alexander said: “The way so many of Dundee’s organisations came together over the colder months of last winter to help support the community in a range of different ways was really impressive.

“The activities were well used and well attended. They provided members of the community with a place to keep warm, meet new people, or get hot food & drink, at a time when they needed it.

“This analysis helps to highlight and better understand what was done well and what can be improved upon further. From the feedback gathered from participants, it is particularly noteworthy and encouraging that the network of group meetings and activities helped to reduce social isolation, alleviate the effects of poverty, and helped point people in the right direction for additional support.

“We are lucky and can take pride in the fact our city has so many active and caring volunteers and organisations who provide these important opportunities for individuals.”

The report collated by the council’s Community Learning and Development Service also set out five key recommendations to build on from the evaluation.

These included differentiating between ‘warm spaces’ and ‘open doors’, further establishing the key principles for Open Doors provision, developing a city-wide approach to the desire for the initiative to continue, targeted promotion, and gathering more data on the impact of the Open Doors provision.

Members of the public can access a two-page summary document of the Open Doors Review on the Dundee City Council website.

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