Below is an overview of points made in the course of 'focus group' discussions. Many thanks again to those of you who wrote up minutes and sent them to us. We have incorporated them into the document below. Participants will note that quite a few of the points made here are familiar to the steering group and are under active consideration. Further information on progress to date is given on the page headed 'Timeline'.

Group A (remit: space, physical lay-out, facilities)

'A space where friends can gather. Writing is a lonely business. Just as members of the Polish community head for the Polish centre why would writers not make for the writers' centre.'?

'An Aye Write every day of the year. A space filled with every conceivable type of writing activity every night of the week'.

Would the space be owned or rented? There was a discussion of Culture and Sport's willingness to see space in one of the Merchant City buildings currently owned by the Council being used as a writers' centre. Could a centre inhabit a library such as the Mitchell Library?

• 'A flexible space with performance area, meeting rooms (but how many? Would it be possible to marry this facility up with the 'quiet' areas reserved for writing? Danger of wasted space)
• a bar/café (but licence issues here…just let members bring in drink? Soft drink franchise? License for specific events?)
• A bookshop? (franchise income; Borders, Waterstones or an independent bookseller? The possibility of getting sponsorship from one of the larger chains.)
• A flat for writers (not just for foreign visitors but for Scottish writers from all parts of the country wishing to spend time in Glasgow at the Centre. Another source of income? Discounted rate for members?)
• Writers' 'pods', quiet spaces within the centre for writers who struggle to find time and quiet at home.
• Offices for admin purposes: not just the centre itself but for existing writers' groups.
• Audio-visual facilities: smart screens, projectors, flipcharts, white boards…(or have groups renting space provide much of this?)
• Reception space,
• toilets.
• A garden (we supply the vase, you bring your own flower!)

Group B (events, activities, programmes etc)

• issue of accessibility was flagged, both in making sure all writers felt welcomed and in reaching all parts of Scotland. Collaborative ventures would help to ensure that a Writers' Centre was open.
• Someone asked why was a building needed, a building that would soak up funds when we could operate out of existing accommodation? better to have writer's rooms being set up across the country? Why go for a building in a time when everyone else was moving away from actual space to virtual?
• a concern that a single writers' centre might impact badly on the plurality of the present situation where lots of autonomous events happen in different places.
• All genres should be provided for, including drama
• The international aspect is important: a writer's residency, writers' exchanges
• Provision of online courses
• Request for the group to provide its mission statement

Group C (Partnership and Links)

Participants:
Claire Dow
Geoff Cooper
Marc Sherland
Monica Pitman
Gerry Loose
Linda Jackson
Moira McPartlin (Minute)

• Partnerships with other groups would be both physical and virtual.

The objective of those partnerships:

To create partnership with organisation and government bodies which would have a two way benefit.
The Centre would create a hub to link to other areas with local, national and international aspirations – Similar model to The National Theatre of Scotland.
It is envisaged that the partnerships would host SWC events all over, which would be beneficial to writers outside Glasgow.
The forming of partnerships across Scotland will help in funding the Centre; partners will be able to approach their own councils to seek funding

• We identified that the process of linking with potential partners would need to be carefully timed. At the moment we have only an idea to offer. Careful project planning and critical path analysis would need to be deployed.
• We further identified that we would need something specific to offer Councils in return for funding e.g. a specialist service.
• Types of organisations identified as potential partners.

National Groups:
Scottish Association of Writers; Federation Of Writers; Scottish Arts Council; Scottish Book Trust; Society of Authors; The Scottish Executive; Festival Group (Alistair Moffat)

Specialist Groups:
Poetry Library; Scottish Playwrights; Scottish Crime Writers; Romantic Novelist Association; CONFAB; Mirrorball; Artists in Exile; Lapidus; Vital Synz; Sabhal Mor Ostaig (Gaelic); Storytelling Centre; Burns' Centre; Book Festivals; NALD; Tramway; Seeds of Thought; Streetlevel Gallery; Croiispol, Durness; Scottish Publishers Association.

Regional Groups:
Scottish Regional Councils; Hi Art; Dundee Centre for Contemporary Art; Gracefields, Dunfries; H&I Art Centres.

Educational:
Scottish Councils' Community Learning; Libraries Community Learning; Creative Writing Courses, Universities and Colleges

International Groups:
PEN; Irish Writers' Centre; Other International Writers' Centres; Ecotec, Scandinavia

Group D (Funding sub group)

Etta Dunn
Simon Biggam – Glasgow City Culture and Sport
Deborah Niven
Donal McLaughlin
Karen Peters
David A. Allan – (Minute)

• The Scottish Writers' Centre received a one off grant from Glasgow City Culture and Sport of £1,500 towards the end of 2008. This is to be used to set up the website and to organise various meetings throughout 2009. There will be no further consideration of grant money being made available from Glasgow Culture and Sport until April 2010 at the earliest.
• Consideration should be given to adding the word National to the name of the proposed centre to counteract any belief that it only covers one geographic area i.e. Glasgow. National Scottish Writers' Centre = NSWC
• In order to make any application to the lottery, or indeed any major funding organisation, a formal AGM must be held and officials, Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer etc, be elected. This therefore has to happen before any funding application can be made.
• National Aims require to be set.
• It was agreed that the most sensible way forward would be to apply for a Lottery Feasibility Grant. With this a consultant would be employed who would undertake a feasibility study of the need and uses of such a centre and would also explore appropriate forms of future funding. Current turnaround for Feasibility Grant funding from the Lottery Board is approx 12 weeks.
• Charity status should be pursued if it is not already in hand.
• Capital Funding should be, where possible, be kept separate from 'working' funding. European Structure Funding may be suitable.
• Any building should be aimed to be self financing within five years. This could be achieved through: room rental to other organisations, a public café/bar, a shop/ a gallery/ etc etc. It may be the case that the NSWC could become an umbrella landlord for a number of related groups.
• If the Scottish Writers' Centre is registered as a Limited Company, then any member shall have to pay a membership fee. In other organisations this is usually a token fee of one pound. Also all members will have equal rights. Therefore a sliding membership fee scale is probably not possible under Limited Company regulations.
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• It would be highly beneficial to write now to all Local Authorities in Scotland outlining the proposals for NSWC and asking for their moral, if not financial, support and asking how they believe NSWC could benefit writers in their area.
• It would be useful to have some discussion with the Arts Council and Creative Scotland along with GCVS, and its equivalent in other areas.

Group E (Membership issues)

Rachel Jury
Liz Lochhead
Maggie Graham
A C Clark
Leela Soba
Gillian McDougall
Mick Parkin

• Basic membership should be free with a sliding scale of rates depending on which services members wish to make use of
• All members will have voting rights
• Some discussion about who 'qualifies' as a writer (a publication of some kind or a performance?)
• Organisation of the centre: a core group of paid staff
• Paid writers delivering services such as workshops
• A Board of Directors
• Consideration should be given to using existing facilities like the Mitchell Library
• the opinion expressed that a lot of funding would be necessary for a centre of this type (would this be money well spent?) how would it impact on other areas of literature provision?
• Fears of elitism were expressed: who is the centre for…
• It must be socially and geographically accessible.