Rural Communities Policy
What is the project?
The Scottish Government has commissioned a review of three core elements of their island and rural funding and support for communities: Community Led Local Development (CLLD), Scottish Rural Action (SRA) and the Scottish Rural Network (SRN). The Scottish Government is developing a new Rural Support Plan and associated policy. This follows the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024, which replaced retained European Union law relating to agriculture and rural development. A range of policies, plans and programmes will need to be developed to deliver this legislation.
This project will deliver an evidence base to inform this new rural Scotland policy support system. This will be undertaken by a team led by SRUC, University of the Highlands and Islands (Perth), and Ipsos.
What is the approach?
The project will combine existing evidence on rural community interventions (including what works well and what are the barriers and challenges) with theories of change for each of the programmes and new evidence collection with rural communities. The team has designed a multi-stage approach to deliver this project, which is grounded in our desire to undertake research which is creative as well as equitable and ethical.
The research will consider how CLLD, SRA and SRN have:
- delivered objectives
- fit strategically
- experienced challenges and opportunities
The approach also:
- recognises innovation as one of the core principles of community led local development
- acknowledges concerns around research and consultation fatigue amongst stakeholders and communities
Insights will generate options and recommendations to inform the future rural community development support.
How will this be done?
There will be four stages:
- Stage 1: Theory of change
- Stage 2: Evidence review, including international case studies
- Stage 3: Fieldwork, including with those involved in CLLD, SRA and SRN, place-based research, and with young people
- Stage 4: Reporting
What are timescales?
Desktop work is underway, and engagement and fieldwork will take place from February to August 2025. Emerging results will be shared in Autumn 2025.
Which organisations are doing the work?
SRUC is lead partner, with UHI (Perth) and Ipsos. The team includes Rose Regeneration, Rurali, Grounded Insight, Impact Hub Inverness and Science Ceilidh.
How do I ask questions or get involved?
We will be sharing more information on the project and how to get involved. The principle investigator for the project is Jane Atterton, and you can email her at jane.atterton@sruc.ac.uk
