My Place Community Projects

My Place Awards: Community-led Projects

Entries to the 2024 competition are now closed, and will reopen for next year’s competition in the autumn.

The “Community-led Projects” category of the My Place Awards recognises community-led built environment projects, including:

New buildings
Historic buildings or monuments that have been reused or refurbished
Designed public realm schemes, such as streetworks and parks
Designed landscapes such as gardens or public green spaces

Only community-led built environment projects in Scotland will be eligible for the Scottish Civic Trust My Place Awards.

Submissions will be considered for built environment projects completed between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2023.

The projects submitted must have been completed by community groups. Community groups include, but are not limited to:

Civic societies and other local groups affiliated with the Scottish Civic Trust
Community councils or building preservation trusts
Development trusts
Other community-based voluntary groups, charities or heritage societies

As a national award, the My Place Awards provide the opportunity for local community projects to develop a national profile and evidence impact to potential and existing funders.

Award winners will be celebrated at an award ceremony attended by major stakeholders in the built environment and heritage sectors, as well as representatives from local and national government.

Judging Criteria: The winning project(s) will score highly in all of the following ways:

Community Involvement, Benefit and Impact

The community will have been involved in the design of the project from the start of the process right the way through to practical completion in a demonstrable way.
The project meets the stated vision and needs of the community – for example, by providing educational resources, cultural experiences, health and wellbeing support, inclusive design, etc.
The project has had a demonstrable positive impact on the community – for example, increased numbers of people involved in or using the project space, user satisfaction surveys, social media support.

Build Design and Quality

The project will be appropriate for its locality in terms of scale and massing, finish and functionality.
The project will successfully address the Climate Crisis through the sustainable elements of its design.

Preservation or Enhancement of the Local Built Environment

The project will take cognisance of its surroundings in an appropriate way – either reflecting sensitively on its surroundings or providing an informed contrast.

Achievements of the Project

The project successfully overcame the challenges of the build programme without compromising the central vision of the community – for example, budgetary restrictions, unforeseen site issues, community governance changes.

How to enter

Community groups responsible for a transformative, regenerative built environment project can the My Place Awards using our entry form.

The entry form has 4 sections:

Basic information: The first group of questions asks for basic information like the name of the project, date of completion, name of the building owner, name of architect or designer, local authority area, name of nominating body, contact details for the nominating body, etc.
Summary description of project: This section of the entry should outline the story of your project. A compelling story will begin by laying out the community need(s) that drove the project’s inception, followed by information about how the project progressed (including any obstacles) and ending with the project’s completion and details of how community need(s) were met. In writing this section, be sure to include the who, what, where, when, why and how of your project. An example of an entry that tells a compelling story in its description section is 2020 My Place Awards winner Strontian Primary School.
Supporting statement: This section should clearly explain how your project fits the criteria for the My Place Awards. Please directly refer to the judging criteria listed at the top of these guidelines. You may consider dividing your answer into the 4 criteria headings of community involvement, benefit and impact; build design and quality; preservation or enhancement of the local built environment; and achievements of the project. An example of a submission that has a strong supporting statement that provides a clear argument for the project’s suitability for the Awards is 2020 My Place Awards highly commended project Bridgend Farmhouse.
Image upload: Please upload a selection of high quality photos of your project. In order to be used in our press and media, the photos should have a width and height of at least 1600 pixels. Please provide a brief description of the images as well as indicate any image credits. You may consider submitting 1 or 2 “before” photos so that the judges can have a better idea of the impact your project has made.

To ensure an equitable submission and judging process, we will provide guidance and assistance on submissions. Please email Erin.Burke@scottishcivictrust.org.uk if you have any questions.

Judging Panel and Process

The judging panel will be appointed and managed by the Scottish Civic Trust and will include Scottish Civic Trust representatives. Panel members will have knowledge of and interest in Scotland’s buildings, places and spaces. The panel chairperson will be nominated by the Scottish Civic Trust.

After an initial review of submissions, shortlisted entries will be invited to submit a short film showcasing their project to the judging panel. The films will also be promoted externally through Scottish Civic Trust channels to raise the profile of the Awards and the shortlisted projects. In these short films, judges will want to hear from, at minimum, a member of the group responsible for the project as well as a member of the community that makes use of the project’s space or services. The judges won’t be looking for professionally-made films, and films will be judged on the basis of project quality rather than video production quality. Shortlisted projects will be sent a guide with tips for how to put together their film.

Judges will then review the short films and invite shortlisted projects to an interview to learn more about the project and ask any further questions.

Finally, judges will meet to discuss the short films and interviews and make awards decisions, which will be final. At the joint discretion of the Scottish Civic Trust and the judging panel, there may be a number of commended entries. In the event of the judges being unable to determine a single winner, it will be left to their discretion to offer a joint award. There will be a ceremony held to celebrate the award winners.

Use of Information

Data supplied by submissions, including images, plans, drawings and narrative text submitted in support of the My Place Awards will only be used for assessing, awarding and promoting the My Place Awards. Personal contact information will not be disclosed to other parties.

Data will be held by the Scottish Civic Trust in perpetuity to maintain a record of entries.