Rural Support Plan (RSP) - Annex

Rural Community and Networking Support

Note on monitoring and evaluation:

Monitoring and evaluation of Community Led Local Development (CLLD) and the Scottish Rural Network (SRN) is undertaken separately to the agricultural support schemes. CLLD currently uses an accredited digital platform designed to measure and enhance the social impact of projects which enables robust Social Return on Investment (SROI) calculations to be undertaken. CLLD and SRN are also being evaluated as part of the wider Scottish Rural Communities Policy Review, which is due to report in 2026. Future monitoring and evaluation will be incorporated into the reporting structures for the Rural Support Plan in line with legislative requirements.

SRN and CLLD both contribute towards the Strategic Outcome “Enabling Thriving Rural Communities.”, specifically the sub-outcome “Sustainable and empowered rural communities: enable communities to build on their own strengths and tackle their local challenges.”

CLLD and SRN are more focussed on supporting rural and island communities where other schemes listed in the Rural Support Plan have more of a focus on supporting agricultural businesses. This is reflected in the support descriptions below. It is important to note that many of the drivers that contribute towards thriving rural communities, such as public transport services, childcare provision and broadband access, are beyond the scope of the support provided through the Rural Support Plan. These wider issues are considered across the relevant Scottish Government portfolios.