How to Participate
Want more detail? Read on!
There are a number of ways to participate in the Scottish Rural Communities Policy Review. We want to capture a wide range of views, as well as investigate in depth.
Three workshops were held over February and March 2025 for those involved strategically with Scottish Rural Action (SRA), Scottish Rural Network (SRN) and Community Led Local Development (CLLD) to comment on the draft Theories of Change. These theories of change are now updated, and will be revised as the research progresses.
Input has been sought on available data, with the initial data in hand and analysis ongoing. UK and international case studies have been commissioned on England, Ireland, Finland and Canada.
There are six key ways to get involved in the fieldwork:
- A survey and interviews/focus groups for those who have engaged with Community Led Local Development. [more information soon].
- A survey and interviews/focus groups those who have engaged with Scottish Rural Action and Scottish Rural Network. [more information soon].
- Place-based research with six rural communities. Six Local Action Group areas were selected using a robust framework based on a number of criteria, including geographical location and governance arrangements. The research team have held online workshops in these areas over the last few weeks to share their planned approach and ask for people’s views on what they should focus on. This is one way local perspectives are influencing the research design. As of May 2025, the research team are in the process of analysing the workshop information and deciding on the case study locations within the six Local Action Group areas. [more information soon].
- Engagement with young people, through interviews and a place-based study. [more information soon].
- Interviews or a workshop focusing on monitoring and evaluation. [more information soon].
- Engagement with wider stakeholders, picking up on any key points not addressed through the previous stages. [more information soon].
The fieldwork will be conducted in phases over Spring and Summer 2025, with learning shared over Autumn 2025.
