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Results of the Scottish Parliament Election held on 7 May 2026.
Participation Requests
How to submit a request for you and your community to help improve local services.
Participation Requests are a formal process for communities to discuss potential improvements to our outcomes with us. Communities often have great solutions to local issues and it's important for us to know about these.
You can submit a Participation Request asking us to work with you on an improvement process if your group thinks they can help improve local outcomes.
Participation Requests don't replace existing ways to tell us what you think.
We always encourage you to speak to us about anything you would like to see done differently as we might be able to resolve things quickly and easily.
The Participation Request process provides a formal way for us to:
- work with communities in improving outcomes
- encourage and promote conversations
- tackle inequalities
- support the participation of those whose voices are less heard
- support the participation of those who face additional barriers
Information on the Participation Requests we receive each year of our promotion of Participation Requests is included in our annual report.
Previous annual reports are available on request.
Get in touch
The first thing to do is to have a chat with us about your ideas. We will explain more about the process and give you advice on submitting a request.
Email: [email protected]
Submit a formal Participation Request
You need to complete an application form to start the formal Participation Request process.
Who can apply
Only a Community Participation Body can make a Participation Request. This is a:
- Community Council
- community controlled body
- body designated by the Scottish Ministers
A Community Participation Body must:
- say what community it speaks for
- allow all people who are part of their community to be members
- have a membership mostly made up of people from their community
- be controlled by members of their community
- clearly state its aims and how it works for the benefit of their community
Further information on who can apply is available – go to guidance on Participation Requests – Scottish Government.
Complete an application
Our Participation Request process is designed to make sure your organisation has fully consulted with the local community, developed a clear vision that's supported by the community and identified benefits for local people.
The level of detail we need depends on the scale and type of improvements. We've developed a form to help ensure all of the necessary information is submitted:
What happens next
We'll notify you when we're able to confirm that you've submitted a valid request, all the relevant information has been provided and you qualify as a Community Participation Body. We aim to acknowledge valid requests within 14 days.
We'll then assess the request and decide whether it can be approved. We'll let you know within 30 days if the request has been granted or refused. If another public body is involved then this can take up to 45 days because we need time to contact them and check they agree to participate in the process.
Approved requests
Work with your community will normally start within 90 days of us telling you that a request has been accepted. This is known as the Outcome Improvement Process.
Refused requests
We write to you to clearly explain the reasons why a request has been refused. There is no right of appeal if a request is turned down.
Help and support
The Scottish Government has published guidance on Participation Requests – Scottish Government.
A range of local and national organisations can also help:
Recent Participation Requests
These participation requests have now concluded and responses have been issued.
Annual Report
Read the Dumfries and Galloway Council participation request annual report for 2024–25:
Useful documents
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