Angus Hardie: Our community spirit deserves more recognition

You might be under the impression Scotland has had a Big Society by-pass. But fear not – Scotland's Big Society is alive and kicking and has been around for longer than anyone cares to remember, though it is not as visible as it should be and its contribution has not been recognised by government in the way that it might.

This is the reason why the leading networks within the community sector have come together to form the Scottish Community Alliance.

Everyone lives in a community of some description, and hundreds of thousands of people take an active part in helping to make them better places to live.

Thousands of local groups operate across the country. Some are formal organisations employing staff, while others are run entirely by volunteers. The range of what these groups do and the contribution they make to society is enormous – from owning wind farms with a potential income of millions to managing local woodland and recycling waste.

It is this mass of grassroots activity that forms the bedrock of our society. However, we believe Scotland's community sector – its scale, achievements and contribution to Scottish prosperity – has gone unnoticed for too long and that it is time that it found its voice.

Despite our significant achievements, we believe the real potential of the community sector remains untapped. There are huge reserves of creative energy and resourcefulness that can and should be harnessed for the common good of the country. For this to happen we call on government, at local and national level, to work with the community sector in a renewed spirit of partnership based on trust and mutual respect.

Communities are the corner-stone of a good society and we are confident our sector has the passion, the energy and commitment to play a distinctive part in reshaping our society in the years ahead. Establishing the Scottish Community Alliance is an important step towards this goal.

• Angus Hardie is director of the Scottish Community Alliance.