Communications Brief
August 2013
What is Ayrshire 21 all about?1
Ayrshire 21 is a programme to encourage local action across rural Ayrshire. It is
working with 21 communities to help them gear up for sustainable community
development by:
 encouraging more involvement and interest in their area
 bringing people together
 helping people become more active in their community
 strengthening local democracy so people have more of a say
 assessing needs and issues and planning for change
 being innovative
 becoming better organised to implement plans
 cooperating with other communities
 influencing decisions
The communities taking part include those that have missed out in the past – where
people are frustrated at the lack of progress or development; where there are
stresses in the local economy or social problems, or where there are opportunities
for change to be grasped. We will prioritise those who need it most – particularly
groups in a period of transition or facing new challenges.
What’s on offer to communities?
 Personal support - helping groups to identify what they’re good at and where
they need to improve or become more effective
 Helping groups to fully understand their community, its assets, strengths and
problems, to develop a plan of action in order to make their required changes
1
Based on presentation by Fiona Garven at Growing Rural Communities conference available here.
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Training and learning opportunities to help groups become better organised,
more influential and more sustainable
Supporting groups to put their plan into action
Helping groups increase their profile and get recognition for what they do
A closer relationship with decision makers to help plans be financed and
improvements be sustained
Possibility for community agents to be employed to work with your
community
Networking with other groups to share learning and experiences
Building a strong Ayrshire-wide forum to attract investment in the future
How does it work?
Ayrshire 21 is funded until December 2013 through the Ayrshire LEADER
programme, and managed by the three Ayrshire councils. The work is being carried
out by the Scottish Community Development Centre, Scotland’s Rural College,
Coalfields Regeneration Trust, STAR Development Group, Alan Jones Associates and
Ailsa Horizons.
In more detail
Rural Ayrshire 21 is in four components, one in each of the three Ayrshire council
areas, and a managing agent programme. It is an intensive programme, as it required
to be complete by the end of 2012. The programme centres on identifying and
working with 21 communities (in practice there are 26) with seven participating from
each Ayrshire local authority area. They are all ‘cold spot’ areas for resource
investment and are seen to have relatively weak community structures. The aims
are:
 Widening of community engagement
 Visioning for the future
 Capacity building process
 Establishing effective partnerships
A pan-Ayrshire Steering Group has been established, which the managing agent
reports to. The contractor partners are SCDC and Scotland’s Rural College (managing
agents), Alan Jones Associates working with Ailsa Horizons (South Ayrshire), Coalfield
Regeneration Trust working with Star Development Group (East Ayrshire) and SCDC
in North Ayrshire. Contractors provide direct support to communities and facilitating
partnerships drawing on a combination of training, mentoring and tailored
development support. Over the contract period there is a process involving selection
of communities, establishing contact, local engagement and local action planning, all
supported by local training and research and learning. The expected outputs include:
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21 local awareness raising events
5 pan Ayrshire training events
30 local training courses, 200 people
5 community agents
2 pan Ayrshire conferences
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21 local action plans
Research and evaluation report
The outcomes anticipated are that residents in the 21 localities are more connected
and more active in community affairs, that community organisations in 21 localities
have a clearer understanding of local needs, issues, strengths and weaknesses, that
the local communities strengthen their engagement in decision making processes to
achieve investment and that public agencies have a clearer understanding of rural
community issues and more productive engagement with community aspirations.
The communities and work so far
The seven communities taking part in East Ayrshire are New Cumnock, Logan,
Mauchline, Fenwick, Darvel, Newmilns and Auchinleck. Steering groups have been
established in each community and a first meeting has taken place in each
community with follow-up meetings held in Newmilns and Mauchline. The
consultants are planning to carry out a process of community engagement – which
will include a Community Views Survey, Stakeholder Interviews and Focus Group
meetings, Community Profile, Open Day Community Event and to produce reports
for each of these engagement activities. Support is provided to individual staff by
email, phone and face to face meetings to support the community engagement
process and ensure quality control. On a wider platform, participating communities
in East Ayrshire and across Ayrshire are being supported to share lessons and
experience, and to develop strategic partnerships.
In North Ayrshire work is well under way with each of the seven communities in the
programme: Beith, Dalry, Dreghorn, Fairlie Kilbirnie, Skelmorlie, and Springside.
Community Strengths Assessments have been completed in six, while in the seventh,
Beith, this will be incorporated in the stakeholder engagement process. Steering
groups have been established in most of the communities: the exceptions are
Dreghorn where a collaboration between the Community Association and the Youth
Group is being set up; Fairlie where a meeting is to take place in late July to build on
interests already expressed, and in Beith where the Development Trust is likely to
act as a steering group. The support agency assessment has been completed, and
the launch event took place in Dalry on 17th April. No local training events have taken
place to date, although community agents, community organisation members and
young people have participated in the Ayrshire-wide programme. Training in the use
of VOiCe is planned, and a VOiCE record is established for each of the seven
communities. Glasgow University has been commissioned to run an Activate training
course which will be open to 20 community participants. Many and varied
community engagement events have taken place and will continue.
In South Ayrshire twelve, rather than seven, communities are taking part. They are:
Annbank , Coylton, Craigie, Crosshill, Kirkmichael , Straiton, Dundonald, Dunure,
Loans, Maybole, Minishant and Symington. Within South Ayrshire the initial tasks
for the rural communities identified was to engage with the communities selected
and communicate with them, highlighting and profiling Ayrshire 21 growing rural
communities together. There was success with some of the communities who have
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already strong Community Councils or strong active Groups within the community.
Where the team attended meetings and gave a presentation on Ayrshire 21 they
have been able to establish good key contacts for networking for the remainder of
the project. However some of the communities that did not have a strong
infrastructure within the community through groups were harder to access. This
created a challenge to identify key contacts within the community that would be
willing to become active and motivated to be involved in the project.
Building community capacity2
Rural Ayrshire 21 is all about ‘growing’ stronger communities that can have a strong
voice in shaping the future of their village or community; take a lead in setting up
and running needed local initiatives; get the funding and support they need and
work together across the Ayrshires to learn from each other and link to development
agencies and others. To do this means having the opportunity, the motivation and
the capacity. Rural Ayrshire 21 is the opportunity.
The motivation is in the communities involved – local groups are best placed to know
what’s needed and to make the case: again Rural Ayrshire 21 can help. The capacity
is what it takes to make the change: and Rural Ayrshire 21 is here to support it.
But what is community capacity anyway? A useful definition is: ‘Activities, resources
and support that strengthens the skills, abilities and confidence of people and
community groups to take effective action and leading roles in the development of
communities’. This definition breaks into four key components:
Skills: the skills, knowledge and confidence that helps communities, community
organisations and their members to be effective in achieving their aims, to
participate fully in community life, and benefit from community activity
Organisation: the development and activity of community groups and organisations,
and how well they work in the interests of the community
Equality: the extent to which community and voluntary groups are inclusive, and
work to build equality in their communities
Involvement: the extent to which community organisations encourage local
involvement and influence decision making and change
Communities need all four to be really effective, so what this means for Ayrshire 21
is that communities will be supported to assess and develop their community
capacity and the support they get from local authorities and other agencies will be
reviewed and improved. Plans will be drawn up both for building capacity as well as
for local action – the two work hand in hand.
Discussion points
2
Based on presentation by Susan Paxton at Growing Rural Communities conference available here.
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Are community organisations in contact with each other and with wider
networks to access resources and share learning and ideas?
Can community groups bring about tangible and beneficial change for their
community?
Do community organisations involve and include all interests and identities in
their work?
Are community organisations effective in exerting influence and articulating
their priorities in planning and decision making structures?
Action Research by, in and for Communities3
This means research that is conducted by, with and for people, rather than research
on people. The starting point is with communities, and communities are fully
involved throughout the process. The research is focused on making a difference to
the problems or issues that affect people’s lives – this means that direct action will
happen as a result of (and during) the research
It is research that wants to make change …
 To a situation e.g. a community meeting space, to a service, to an area, etc.
 To practice e.g. how we can be more effective, how we can respond better to
the needs of communities
 To a policy – e.g. to influence policy on the service needs of carers, or the
communication needs of people with a learning disability, etc.
Successful community action research in recent times have led to Creetown Initiative
– development and successful funding (£190k raised so far) of community facility
[change to a situation]; Clackmannanshire Disability Awareness Group (DAG) –
various pieces of research to demonstrate the needs of disabled people in Alloa –
leading to successful bids for £100k for a variety of local projects [change to a
situation]; Homelessness issue in Stirling – production of DVD about poor service
provision, led to funding for further work to impact on service delivery [change to
practice]; Enable – joint research project between Castle Douglas and North Ayrshire
focusing on issues of support and resources for carers over 50. Use of the findings to
influence policy and planning at local and national level [change to policy]
The research process goes through several stages, including:
 Thinking about your research question
 What will you gain from your research
 What skills/resources do you have or need?
 Thinking about your research methods
 Engaging with your community
These link to the stages in Ayrshire 21 to do with mapping and assessment, and
community engagement and visioning. Later stages of the process include making
sense of and using your findings to move from research to action. These correspond
3
Based on presentation by David Allan at Growing Rural Communities conference available here.
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with the stages in Ayrshire 21 concerned with action planning and planning for
sustainability and influence.
There are many methods that lend themselves to community action research. These
include
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Questionnaires/surveys (various methods)
Social media
Story dialogue
Walking along with people
VOX box/video box
Drawings and photographs
Focus groups
Semi-structured interviews
For more information, the ARC resource is available here.
Some useful websites
www.evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk
www.arvac.org.uk/gettingstarted
www.evaluationtrust.org/tools/profile
Discussion Points
 How would you/could you use community-led action research approaches in
the areas that you are working in?
 What would be the benefits of doing so?
 What would be the challenges involved?
Engaging your community and planning your project4
The success of Ayrshire Rural 21 is largely dependent on effective engagement. This
means both the extent to which the 21 communities engage with their residents in
developing the community action plans, and the extent to which effective
engagement is established between the communities and the local authorities and
other bodies who should support the implementation of the action plans.
The definition of community engagement in the National Standards for Community
Engagement reads:
“Developing and sustaining a working relationship between one or more public body
and one or more community group, to help them both to understand and act on the
needs or issues that the community experiences”
For communities, this means that community organisations should know about and
understand the whole community, that they should be experienced in engaging with
people and mobilising and energising the community. They should make best use of
the assets and resources they have to build a convincing argument in their action
4
Based on presentation by Stuart Hashagen at Engaging and Planning event, available here.
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plans, so they will be well prepared to engage with decision makers, making a strong
case for the changes needed.
In building these relationships and making a strong case, the National Standards are
an invaluable resource. They remind everybody of the importance of ten factors:
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Involvement – making sure everybody with an interest gets involved
Support – being aware of barriers to involvement and removing them
Planning – gathering good evidence and agreeing purpose and action
Methods – need to be fit for purpose
Working Together – having clear procedures and being effective and efficient
Sharing Information - getting communication in place and working
Working with others – bringing in others who can assist or support change
Improvement – developing everybody’s skills, knowledge and confidence
Feedback – so communities and agencies know about what has been
achieved
Monitoring and Evaluation – to ensure the engagement achieves its purpose
and that the Standards have been observed.
Communities also should be clear about the purpose of the engagement they are
carrying out. Depending on the purpose, several levels of engagement are possible:
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Informing: This means we are only going to tell people what we plan to do.
Consulting: This means we will offer people restricted options to choose
between.
Engage: to take shared decisions - this means the community will influence
options and choices of action.
Engage: to take shared action - this means the community will share in any
action taken.
Community led action - this means the community will lead the action.
It is only the last three of these that are about community-led development. The
starting point is to think about the information you have, and the information you
need.
 What do we need to know?
 What do we already know?
 What don’t we know?
 How will we find out?
 Are we sure that it is an issue for the whole community?
 Who else in the community is interested?
 What agencies have an interest – or should have an interest?
 Are there any conflicts of interest?
 How can we enable all voices to be heard?
As well as thinking about needs and interests, it is also important to think from the
start about the outcomes you hope to achieve. Outcomes are the changes that occur
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or the difference that is made for individuals, groups, families, organisations and
communities and should set the direction for planning and actions. They answer the
‘so what?’ question. So it is important to think about what is each group in the
community is looking for; whether they are the same things, or can differences be
accommodated; what will success look like, and what barriers to success can be
anticipated?
Once the outcomes are clear, a plan can be put together. This should include
thinking about the resources that will be needed, whether money, expertise, local
knowledge, or time and energy; whether any specialist advice or support will be
needed; what would be the best methods to use, and what actions need to be taken
by whom, and when. The plan should also include the ways in which records will be
kept, progress checked and actions co-ordinated. As the plan is put into practice
some of the key challenges will be to keep the stakeholders involved, motivated and
mobilised, to watch for obstacles and keep communication going; to make sure that
people are working well together – that everybody is clear and confident and that
conflicts are being dealt with. You will also want to make sure you learn from your
successes – and your mistakes, and feed back these lessons to both the community
and the agencies working with you.
References: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/94257/0084550.pdf
http://www.scdc.org.uk/media/resources/voice/Finding%20your%20voice%20bookl
et.pdf
Developing rural Ayrshire: context, policy and funding5
How much of the Ayrshires is rural? The Scottish Government divides communities
into six categories: large urban other urban, accessible small towns, remote small
towns, accessible rural areas and remote rural areas. In Scotland as a whole 94% of
the land mass is in the ‘accessible’ rural and ‘remote rural’ Scotland, and 18% of the
population lives in these areas. The diagram below shows how the population of the
Ayrshires divides between the various areas, and shows that on the same basis East
Ayrshire is 27% rural, North Ayrshire 11%, and South Ayrshire 22%.
5
Based on presentation by Mike Woolvin at Developing Rural Ayrshire conference, available here
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Data taken from: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00399487.pdf
The full presentation provides much detail on access to services, broadband
coverage, socio-economic projections, the survival rate of enterprises, civil society
and volunteering. Taking these factors into account it can be seen that circumstances
and prospects in the Ayrshires are relatively poor, and this is confirmed by the fact
that five out of the ten most vulnerable settlements in Scotland are in the Ayrshires.
Overall, rural Scotland is different from urban Scotland, with a mix of challenges and
opportunities including variations in access to services, employment, age structures,
levels of enterprise, and charities and volunteering. Within this national picture,
particular issues for the Ayrshires include the varying degrees of rurality, challenging
broadband, an ageing and declining (out-migration) population, weak levels of
sustained enterprise, moderate rates of volunteering and vulnerable small towns.
Funding – and support to access this funding is available to address these challenges
in rural (and other) areas, but note that there is currently a phase of transition for
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many funding streams. Useful information on funding options can be found at
Scotland’s National Rural Network and Rural Direct:
http://www.ruralgateway.org.uk/en/funding-support
http://www.ruraldirect.org.uk/
DEVELOPING RURAL AYRSHIRE a new way forward6
Community led development encourages local communities to develop integrated,
bottom-up approaches in circumstances where there is a need to respond to
territorial and local challenges calling for structural change. It can build community
capacity and stimulate innovation (including social innovation), entrepreneurship
and capacity for change by encouraging the development and discovery of untapped
potential from within communities and territories. It can promote community
ownership by increasing participation within communities and build the sense of
involvement and ownership that can increase the effectiveness of EU policies; and
assist multi-level governance by providing a route for local communities to fully take
part in shaping the implementation of EU objectives in all areas.
Community development is a process where community members come together to
take collective action and generate solutions to common problems. Effective
community development is
 Long term
 Well planned
 Inclusive and equitable
 Holistic and integrated into the bigger picture
 Initiated and supported by community members
 Of benefit to the community
 Grounded in experience that leads to best practice
As such, it is a long term process by which communities can become more
responsible; organise and plan together; develop healthy lifestyle options; empower
themselves; reduce poverty and suffering; create employment and economic
opportunities and ultimately achieve social, economic, cultural and environmental
goals.
In other words, community development seeks to improve quality of life by building
hope and trust through providing a vision for the revitalising areas of greatest need,
building sustainable communities and improving people’s quality of life.
CD is not a quick fix, nor is it a short term response to a specific issue within a
community, or a process that seeks to exclude community members from
participating. It is not something which happens in isolation from other community
related activities. The underlying principles are empowerment, participation,
6
Based on presentation by Chris Savage at Developing Rural Ayrshire conference, available here.
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inclusion, self-determination and partnership, always driven by community need and
demand, and developed jointly with, rather than for the community.
What is rural?
Is it the 2 fold definition? settlement < 3,000
Or is it the 3 fold definition? accessible or remote settlements
Or is it the 6 fold definition? areas < 3,000
Or is it the 8 fold definition? areas + settlements + drive times?
It is all of the above, depending upon the situation. Ayrshire has lots of rural
communities and they are all different (farming, fishing, mining etc). They have
different resources, assets and residents; They will all want/need different things,
and they will all have different priorities. Nevertheless they face common issues.
These include:
 A shallow volunteer pool (especially young people)
 Variations in experience/knowledge/time
 Attitudes
 Apathy
 Systems/procedures/bureaucracy
 Variations in leadership/passion/enthusiasm
 Conflicting priorities
 One size fits all policies
But there are important opportunities available that can be grasped. The
forthcoming Community Empowerment and Renewal bill “will support communities
to achieve their own goals and aspirations through taking independent action and by
having their voices heard in the decisions that affect their area”. The Land Reform
Review Group have been appointed by Scottish Ministers to identify how land
reform will enable more people in rural and urban Scotland to have a stake in the
ownership, governance, management and use of land, which will lead to a greater
diversity of land ownership, and ownership types. It will assist with the acquisition
and management of land (and also land assets) by communities, to make stronger,
more resilient, and independent communities which have an even greater stake in
their development, and will generate, support, promote, and deliver new
relationships between land, people, economy and environment in Scotland.
Rural Ayrshire 21 is an opportunity for communities to assess needs and formulate
plans, while the place based approaches being advocated may provide a new focus.
It should help establish better collaboration and partnerships based on better
identification of local priorities. More widely it is important to recognise the role of
towns, the importance of the private sector, and the need to invest in technology.
The LEADER approach, of which Rural Ayrshire 21 is an example, is based on seven
key features: the evolution of area based Local Development Strategies; a bottom-up
approach; establishment of public/private partnerships; facilitating Innovation;
integrated and multi-sectoral actions; networking and co-operation.
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It is better to take many steps in the right direction than to take a leap forward only
to stumble back
Planning ahead: It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark
West Kilbride Community Initiative Ltd / Crafttown Scotland7
Nurturing creativity with Quality, Integrity and Community
About West Kilbride: a little bit of ‘demographics’. Population: 4620 (fell from 1992
to 2001 but sharp increase by 2004). Higher than average levels of home ownership
and employment in the professional sectors; disadvantaged areas still existed. In
1996 West Kilbride’s centre was in decline with 21 out of 40 business closed and
boarded up. Residents were suffering from low morale and reduced civic pride and
there was concern for the town’s future. Place is about people but buildings matter
too.
Our response was to call a public meeting in 1996 to discuss what to do. Inspired by
the idea of developing a ‘themed’ town the West Kilbride Community Initiative Ltd
was established in 1998 as a Company Limited by Guarantee with Charitable Status.
Its aim was reposition West Kilbride as Scotland’s first Craft and Design Town with
studios open to the public. Increase footfall and encourage new business. Despite a
lack of support from North Ayrshire Council, Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire or the
Scottish Arts Council the company was undaunted and leased a former chemist shop
as registered office, set up a community information centre, meeting place and local
amateur crafters outlet and organised the first WK Christmas Craft Fair managed and
staffed by volunteers.
An Environmental Group was established in 1999 to improve gardens & walkways:
30 hanging baskets which grew to over 300! They purchased a disused quarry and
two meadows to safeguard green space for community, and gave a focus on
environmental awareness in population leading to healthy bodies and healthy minds.
The Village Hall was threatened with closure in 1999 - WKCIL leased the building
from NAC and established a Volunteer Management Committee – great
improvements in facility. In 2000, the old Barony Church bought by the community
in for £7000. It is a ‘C’ listed landmark building integral to conservation area and
sense of community identity. Fundraising included 2nd hand furniture sales –
donated goods, generated up to £27,000 per year income.
Thanks to political lobbying the project was endorsed by Scottish Parliament in 2000.
Moffat Charitable Trust bought and refurbished first two studios in 2001, while in
2002: Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire made a financial contribution of £115,000 over 4
years, to be match funded by WKCIL: it is testament to the dedication of volunteers
that this was surpassed to the tune of £131,000. There was still a need to develop
7
Based on presentation by Maggie Broadley at Developing Rural Ayrshire conference, available here.
12 | P a g e
additional focal point, which became the refurbishment of former bank on
prominent site. This was launched in 2005 and quickly recognised for quality of
exhibitions and produced income from commission on sales.
The Craft town achieved Visit Scotland accreditation in November 2006, which along
with Brown Tourism signage led to vital credibility and increased visibility as a
cultural attraction. It was awarded Visitor Attraction 3 star listing in July 2008.
Volunteers are critical. There is a team of 34 volunteers, from 16yrs to 60+, staff
Barony Centre, averaging 3 hours per week, which equates to approx. £30,000 per
annum ‘in-kind’. Volunteering brings social benefits and reduces isolation It helps
increase confidence and skills “..thanks for giving my mum a reason to get up in the
morning”
The Barony Centre is much more than bricks and mortar. It is owned and managed
by the community, a hub of activity –and instils a sense of confidence amongst local
people. It is intended as a beacon for the future, additions to the building should be
innovative and contemporary. ‘We value our heritage but look to the future’
The project secured the total cost of £1,654,766 from
 North Ayrshire Council Landfill Communities Fund: £25,000
 GCA Big Lottery Fund Scotland: £1,028,072
 Town Centre Regeneration Fund: £296,290 (Total award £439,292 included
Village Hall Heating + purchase of WK Initiative Centre)
 Ayrshire LEADER: £266,634
 Robertson Trust: £60,000
 Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: £11,000
 Third Sector Enterprise Fund: £95,000
Our Board is an example of ‘Local People Leading’. Drawn exclusively from the local
community members past and present have made a huge contribution, providing
strategic planning plus ’hands on’ contribution.
The Barony Centre was officially opened to the community and the public on the 1st
of May 2012 by Mrs Jean Palmer and 3 generations of her family – past, present and
future. This operational phase poses a new challenge – staffing and volunteer levels,
first time activities and increased visitor numbers.
Pros of community owned assets: The building is yours, it belongs to the community
You decide what to do, when to do it and who will do it
Cons of community owned assets: The building is yours, it belongs to the community
You decide what to do, when to do it and who will do it …eh? Responsibilities bring
challenges and freedom, sometimes a heady mix but by working together these can
transform a village, town, community…nation.
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We are all operating in an ever-changing environment, Community Empowerment
and transfer of assets are buzzwords/phrases as are budget cuts and austerity
measures. Be bold, communities have much to learn and much to offer –
partnerships must be equal, local authorities, local businesses and local people
should have an equal and respected voice Rural development can be innovative,
responsive and community driven.
Developing rural Ayrshire: rural forums?8
Ian Matheson of LEADER LAG argued that we should think differently: how would an
Ayrshire rural forum look, what could it do? Beyond being a talking shop it could
raise topical issues, network and exchange learning between communities. The
vision is for a body to help shape rural policy, advise local authorities, critiquing and
feeding into policy rather than reacting. Westray community development trust
http://www.westraydevelopmenttrust.co.uk/current-projects.html is a good
example of what can be done.
To kick start the process needs a sponsor, and a vehicle to leads discussions,
exchanges, conversations and to float ideas. To be aware of barriers and obstacles
but to adopt lateral thinking. Bottom-up but engaging with the key agencies.
Dare to be different!
Mike Woolvin’s presentation covered the following:
What is already happening – place based?
Community Councils: ‘are voluntary bodies which exist within a statutory framework
and which have been granted statutory rights of consultation. The general purpose
of a Community Council is to ascertain, co-ordinate and express the wider views of
the entire community within its boundaries” http://www.carrickforum.org/
LEADER Local Action Groups: In Scotland there are 20 Local Action Groups with
representatives from communities, business, representative bodies and local
authorities
Development Trusts: are community-based and issue based, offering diverse skills
and networks
Community Land Trusts: where communities buy the land they live on, from a
private or Government owner – there are 34 of these in Scotland.
Issue based
Action for Market Towns Action for Market Towns (AMT) is a national membership
group that provides small towns, local authorities and others with information and
advice, examples of best practice and national representation.
8
Based on presentation by Mike Woolvin at Developing Rural Ayrshire conference, available here.
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“Small towns are important. They are critical employment and service centres for the
countryside, and they serve up to a quarter of the nation’s population. Yet these
towns face many challenges – loss of services due to centralisation, out-of-town
shopping, and car parking and traffic congestion. All are obstacles to prosperity that
threaten vitality and viability” http://towns.org.uk/
Rural based
Rural Community Action Network (RCAN) England supports community-led action
and strong local governance, works to increase the long-term sustainability of local
community life, seeks to Influence policies and services, particularly to achieve
equity for rural communities. It has a membership of 38 ‘Rural Community Councils’
(County based) and 8 ‘Regional Community Council Networks.
Community Action Northumberland is an example of a rural community council in
England. It is an unincorporated voluntary association, and a registered charity. It
serves as a voluntary sector intermediary body to support and develop community
groups, charities and voluntary bodies throughout the County of Northumberland.
As a Rural Community Council and a Council of Voluntary Service it belongs to the
Rural Community Action Network (RCAN). Members are drawn from the major local
voluntary and statutory organisations, the chief officers of public bodies, and
individual Associate Members. The full committee meets twice a year and elects an
Executive Committee of between 21 and 30 members, who are the charity's
trustees. CAN exists to support communities in Northumberland realise their own
future for the benefit of all. CAN wishes to see strong, effective, viable and inclusive
communities in the County.
Rural and Farming Network England: A network of 17 groups across rural England
that “keep government informed of rural communities’ concerns”. Rural roadshows
attended by Defra ministers. The network is a 2-way channel between Defra
ministers and rural communities and businesses. “Government has not always been
successful in considering the needs of rural communities when making policy… We
have to make sure all our policies are ‘rural proofed’. This means we have to take
into account the needs of our rural communities and make sure they are treated
fairly”
Rural and Farming Network: East Midlands: The network seeks to exchange useful
information and experiences, help develop and share good practice as well as
facilitate networking, consultation, learning and influence policy development.
National Rural Network: Scotland
This aims to connect rural Scotland in all its diversity to promote economic growth
and community development. It provides news, information and networking
opportunities for everyone living and working in rural Scotland, and helps them to
keep in touch with similar communities in the rest of the UK, Europe and
beyond…sharing of common issues and examples of good practice by rural
development practitioners and stakeholders. It helps with finding out about funding
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opportunities for a wide range of rural projects and publicises events in Scotland and
throughout the UK and Europe which will help promote sustainability and economic
growth, and it disseminates information about innovative social, economic and
environmental initiatives.
What why and how – the rural parliament example
“To ensure the voice of rural Scotland is heard, we will take forward proposals for a
rural parliament to enable rural communities to engage more effectively with
government”. SNP Manifesto 2011
Rural Parliaments were generally established in the early 1990s and intended to give
voice to rural populations, influence policy and practice and develop networks. They
form a focal point for engagement with policy makers and to give wider movement
direction. Their aims and objectives include
 Increase quality of life
 Promote sustainable rural development
 Share best practice
 Overcome (socio-economic) challenges
They are generally initiated from the grassroots - not ‘top down’, involving
individuals and NGOs. Central government is an important stakeholder, but rarely
the initiator. Organisation takes the form of wider rural movements supporting local
member organisations with the host organisation (and therefore location) rotating.
Participants normally include individuals, smaller and larger NGOs, representatives
of Local Authorities and national governments, speakers (academic, policy and
practice), policy-makers and politicians. Membership is generally open to all,
however the mix of representatives differs. There are generally between 100 and
450 participants and meetings take place biennially. Funding comes from multiple
sources including the wider rural movement, public sector (multiple scales), private
sector, grants, donations, fees. Also, by engaging with wider activities (e.g. culture
and tourism).
The format generally runs over two or three days, with workshops, presentations,
addresses, visits, food and cultural activities. Outputs take the form of reports on
outcomes/key themes, newsletters and outreach work. Outcomes include sharing
good practice, empowerment, inspiration and developing networks and engaging
with policy makers.
Why establish some form of rural forum?
Such a forum can achieve many things, including giving voice to rural populations,
influencing policy and practice and develop networks, providing a focal point for
engagement with policy makers and achieving economic and social development
goals. It could be built upon linking between existing organisations, linking between
existing communities (through funding?), or linking between existing umbrella
bodies. The format would need to be agreed, including thinking about frequency,
who should attend and what the outcomes and outputs would be. Whatever way it
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goes it is most important that the initiative has support from both the grassroots and
the key decision makers.
Feedback so far: notes and comments from the Ayrshire 21
events
Action Plans and volunteering:
Some concern about timescales for production of action plans and the reliance on
volunteers who may be apathetic. We need to be dynamic in how we work with
volunteers – we must offer it as an opportunity, not a burden. Look at engaging with
volunteers to ensure that there is not a financial cost involved. Volunteering is seen
in rural areas as ‘helping me to help myself’. Consideration to be given to coordination of action plan implementation, and the long term evaluation of their
impact. Some communities already have an action plan – don’t forget them! Who
will provide support, and how will RA21 complement existing work?
Engaging young people
The potential use of Facebook to get young people involved – already happening in
North Ayrshire. RA21 should play a dynamic role in getting young people to get
actively involved in bettering their communities – on their territory and on their
terms. Succession planning is important – young people are the next generation of
volunteers. It is a challenge to engage young people in ways meaningful to them. It
can take the form of adults expecting young people to engage with the structures
established and used by adults. We need to be able to fit with structures and
activities that young people are comfortable with. Go to them instead of expecting
them to come to us.
Ideas for a rural forum
We need to be conscious of people’s time and ensure we reduce duplication. It
should not overlap with other structures or re-invent the wheel – it could link with
existing structures in the local authority areas. Suggestion of Ayrshire Gatherings:
quarterly sessions bringing together reps from across Ayrshire to share practice,
knowledge, skills and opportunities around specific topics. It should not be a social
policy forum. Important to start small, at local / village level and then process step
by step. Valuable to share best practice, supported by specialist skills – building
confidence, credibility and trust. It is different this time – a clear vision of success
breeds success. Another possible route is to start with identifying reps from each
community, establishing themed groups which would then combine into a rural
forum. The bottom up needs to be stitched together with the top down, and maybe
link to community planning partnerships. Populated from the bottom up: facilitated
from the top down
Other points
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How can we best get the message across that this is a bottom-up process, and how
does it meet the top-down? This question is on the radar but it needs to be
crystallised
To maximise learning across all rural areas it is important to connect the projects, to
create a database of initiatives, to undertake an assets audit to include projects and
organisations.
RESOURCES available
Rural Ayrshire 21 has encouraged the production of a number of resources that are
now available. These include the full powerpoint presentations on which much of
this report is based, and reports and document produced for the programme. These
can now all be accessed via the Rural Ayrshire 21 page on the SCDC website.
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Action Research in the Community – guide to community action research
Skills for Rural Community Development – practice guide
PowerPoint files from the three events to date.
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