Ailsa Clark

1414

Passionate and creative third sector leader : Based in the place of Argyll with a passion for all things rural and a commitment to tackling inequality. Doing my best to balance the art of work and life. Surrounded by hills and sea to keep me grounded.

Experience in community and economic development, alongside a passion for rural sustainability, employability and equality opportunities inspired me to establish Inspiralba in 2009. Inspiralba is as a charitable social enterprise and our aim is to inspire individuals and communities, whilst addressing inequalities and building capacity.

Inspiralba’s employability activities support individuals facing barriers to work and families affected by poverty in our rural and island communities with a person centred approach, bringing a partnership of third sector organisations with geographic and specialist expertise.

Our business support and www.ruralsehub.net activity aims to support community based organisations to turn their ideas and aspirations in to robust, sustainable business activities that maximise social, environmental and economic benefits for our rural and island communities.

I am fortunate to work alongside lots of inspiring individuals and organisations who bring a huge amount of passion and commitment to address needs and issues within their rural communities, identifying and delivering a range of creative solutions.

We support employability access and progression routes within our own team and for the wider sector, securing investment in wage based placements and Graduate Apprenticeships for social enterprise. We recognise the value of building knowledge, skills and confidence for the next generation of leaders, and the importance collective leadership approaches needed for our increasingly challenging local and global context.

I aim to keep smiling and bring a good bit of banter to my work life. My dyslexic and adhd approach brings its quirks, but I think also allows a whole systems approach (and I have a fantastic team who keep the process and detail elements in check)!

Inspired to work with others to identify and deliver creative solutions to rural challenges and value the strong sense of community that contributes to the vibrant social and community enterprise activity across our rural areas. Love to learn from experience elsewhere to inform work in Rural Scotland and have been fortunate to work with a range of national and international partners.

I also wrote poetry - it helps to focus creative energy and articulate frustrations with the state of the world and the inequalities people and communities face.

My Showcase

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