The relationships between decision makers, citizens and communities are currently being redefined in Scotland. We are in the grip of an exciting debate about social justice, values and community empowerment.

Against this backdrop, 'asset-based' and 'place-based' approaches signal a new way of doing things that are focused on collaborative and mutually beneficial engagement with people and communities. This aspiration is great, but the practice is challenging.

Between June 2014 and April 2015, Iriss led a project to explore the perceptions of, and approaches to, innovation in homelessness prevention in Scotland. Through engagement with a variety of partners including local authorities, third sector, health and Scottish Government, the project captured key messages from a collection of approaches which help support people affected by homelessness.

Iriss's Leading Change in Supervision project aimed to explore the topic of supervision with six partners from across social services, and to highlight the challenges and enablers for changing supervision.

The final report and case studies, as well as an Iriss Insight - Achieving effective supervision - have been published.

Living it Up describes itself as an online self-management hub, which aims to empower people to improve their health and wellbeing. Aimed at the over 50s, the resource is packed full of ideas and activities and is useful for those with long-term health conditions, those who provide care and anyone who wants to improve their health, wellbeing and quality of life. It is driven by a collaborative community approach.

Yesterday (May 26th) I organised my last event for Iriss. It focused on Achieving A Better Life for People Living with Dementia and was based in part on the DEEP project (Developing Evidence-enriched Practice) funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Case studies from this project (one from North Lanarkshire, one from Gwalia in Wales) were supplemented by inputs from Emma Miller on personal outcomes, from Ann Pascoe on three key dementia challenges, and from our own Keeping it Personal project.

Pilotlight set out to lead thinking on co-designing self-directed support for people across Scotland.

Pilotlight has co-designed four pathways to self-directed support focusing on mental health, risk, self-employment and young people in transition. The co-design teams for each pathway have included people who access support, local authorities and support providers. The project has tested and refined a model for successful power sharing, produced tools and resources, and developed solutions for the implementation of self-directed support.

If you want to present information in a more creative, engaging and memorable way but have no design skills, Canva can help you. Canva is a really simple design tool that requires no experience or formal training in graphic design programs such as Photoshop or Indesign. It enables you to create posters, flyers, infographics, website graphics, invites and even presentations without any fuss, and in no time at all. And it's free to use. Simply set-up an account and start creating designs.

Communities of practice or enterprise social networks as they're also known are great for sharing learning, developing new connections and collaborating. The Knowledge Hub, Yammer and Socialcast are examples of platforms where people come together to collaborate, network and share information. These online communities can save a lot of time and money as there's no need to travel long distances, replenish the petrol tank or raid the purse for train and bus fares.