Scottish Rural Communities Policy Review: Stage 4 Final Report

5. Scottish Rural Network delivery recommendations

In this chapter, we provide delivery recommendations with regard to Scottish Rural Network. The chapter begins with a recap of the most pertinent evidence, followed by the recommedations which are grouped by theme.

5.1 Key evidence themes^[11]

Scottish Rural Network (“the Network”) was established in 2007 to support the delivery of the agriculture, environment and wider rural development programmes within ‘Pillar 2’ of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy. The Rural Development (Continuation of Operation) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 came into force in January 2025 and secured the continued operation of the Network until 2030 (or earlier if Ministers decide otherwise).

The Network works with rural and island stakeholders, communities, businesses, delivery organisations and a range of Scottish Government policy areas to strengthen Scotland’s rural and island communities. It aims to support and empower rural and island areas to become more sustainable, resilient and vibrant places to live, work and study, by informing stakeholders of recent policy developments and funding opportunities and by helping to deliver those policies.

The Theory of Change produced in this project outlines the inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and impacts of the Network in more detail (see Appendix A). Briefly, activities undertaken by the Network in the period of this review (since 2021) include maintaining a website (including case study Community Led Local Development projects), a newsletter and a social media profile, (co)organising Scottish Rural and Island Parliament events with Scottish Rural Action (and other partners), and a range of other events, and distributing targeted funding.

Over recent years, the Network has evolved, taking more of a focus on rural and island communities, with less focus on supporting the development or implementation of agricultural and rural policy. Declining capacity within the Network Support Unit (which is now within Scottish Government having previously been housed within external organisations) has led to greater reliance on the Unit funding delivery partners to take forward specific strands of work including research and events.

The evidence gathered in this review demonstrated that Scottish Rural Network has provided a useful information broker and networking role since 2021, with participants valuing the Network’s role in sharing information relating to the latest policy and funding developments and in promoting case studies of community development, thereby providing a means of communities linking up with one another and showcasing and sharing learning. Its website and newsletter were regarded as important assets by participants, as was its role in (co)organising events.

However, as set out in the Review Report (See Appendix A), some (national and local) participants identified that the profile of the Network was low, and there was a lack of understanding about its key functions. There were mixed opinions about the position of Scottish Rural Network within Scottish Government, with positives and negatives recognised, and a lack of understanding of its current governance arrangements. Overall, there was a sense that the Network’s role as a source of information (particularly to external stakeholders) on policy developments, and of learning in relation to rural community-based projects, could be enhanced, expanded, made more proactive and consistent, and better communicated. There are parallels between the work of Scottish Rural Network and Ireland’s national CAP Network, which is assisting with the implementation of Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan through supporting networking, and sharing information and innovation in sustainable agriculture and rural development. The Finnish National Rural Network takes a proactive role in supporting LEADER Local Action Groups and other LEADER stakeholders with their networking activities and provides a comprehensive register of LEADER projects.

Participants in this review reported a lack of clarity about who the Network’s target stakeholders are - communities, government policy makers, other national rural and non-rural stakeholders, or all of these. Moreover, as a network delivered by civil servants, participants noted that its role in representing and articulating the rural voice within government could also be enhanced; this could be complementary to the activities of Scottish Rural Action in platforming rural voice. Again there may be useful learning for Scottish Rural Network (and indeed for Scottish Rural Action, and the inter-relationships between the two) from Irish Rural Link (a non-profit organisation) which supports communities across rural Ireland by representing them in key policy negotiations and driving forward the rural agenda.

Participants in this review also reported a lack of transparency over why, and how, Scottish Rural Network distributes funding to external partner organisations.

There was a sense in which a re-energised, more proactive Network could play a much more strategic role within (and beyond) Scottish Government, ensuring that the rural voice (or voices) is heard across policy areas thereby contributing to thorough and valuable rural proofing processes and building on existing collaborations with Scottish Rural Action and with the Community Led Local Development delivery network.

5.2 Unique selling points of Scottish Rural Network

The evidence points to Scottish Rural Network as having a number of unique selling points, including:

• Acts as a national connector, linking rural communities, stakeholders, and policymakers
• Maintains relationships with networks elsewhere in the UK and Europe (and potentially beyond) to share information and ‘translate’ and disseminate relevant information for rural and island Scotland
• Articulates and supports rural voices in engaging with policy makers, and supports policy makers in listening to rural voices
• Allocates funding for priority topics
• Works closely with Scottish Government rural policy colleagues to provide technical assistance to support the development and delivery of rural policy

5.3 Recommendations

From the breadth of evidence generated in the review we suggest the following recommendations relating to the delivery aspects of Scottish Rural Network. The evidence points to Scottish Rural Network having stretched resources, and so the organisational remit may need to be altered to fit a new set of streamlined activities.

Recommendations relating to changes in the strategic role of the Network, which relate closely to, and are underpinned by, these delivery-focused changes, are provided in the Strategic Recommendations.

Governance and remit

5A. Commence work with stakeholders to develop and publish an annual work plan for Scottish Rural Network with clear aims and actions. This could consider, at minimum, prioritised rural policy goals, priorities for the funding to be distributed, a monitoring and evaluation plan and alignment with Rural Support Plan implementation, the objectives and commitments in the National Islands Plan, Scottish Rural Action activities (e.g. event co-delivery) and Community Led Local Development activities (e.g. supporting information sharing).

5B. Improve the transparency of Scottish Rural Network’s governance by making clear and communicating publicly its function, remit and position within Scottish Government, such as on its website.

Communications

5C. Continue Scottish Rural Network’s role in supporting the exchange of ideas, information and best practice between rural and island communities through its website, newsletter and social media profile, and through the (co)organisation of events.

5D. Consider a page/s within the Network website dedicated to those involved in Youth Local Action Groups, and other organisations such as the Young Islanders Network, to share ideas. This could be aligned with a regular youth section in the Network’s newsletter and themed social media activities.

5E. Consider the potential to use new tools and technologies to enhance this online information sharing. For example, consider page/s within the website open to individuals across rural and island Scotland (and potentially beyond) to proactively share information on the work they are doing, ask for help and advice, etc. We note this would require moderation by Scottish Government staff (which can be time consuming).

5F. Consider the potential for an external organisation to provide a similar or scaled down communication role if communications are not prioritised in the future remit of the Network.

Funding distribution

5G. Commence targeted external communications to clarify the Network’s role as a funder, and the process for accessing funding.

5H. Consider conducting evaluations of the projects that receive funding to ensure learning from them is shared and impacts are maximised.

5I. Consider aligning funding to policy priorities with the Network’s work plan, or incorporating elements of participatory democracy for the funding (such as through a citizens’ assembly at Rural and Island Parliament events to identify funding priorities).

5J. Consider refining the scope of the funding distributed by the Network, including potentially re-branding and/or re-launching it to better align with the community funding sector more widely to provide clear added value.

Developing policy

5K. Continue to work closely with Scottish Government rural and island policy colleagues to provide technical assistance to support the development and delivery of policy (e.g. the Rural Support Plan).

5L. Continue to maintain a focus on rural and island communities and economies and, where opportunities exist, articulate the inter-relationships between agriculture and rural in policy and practice, and signpost stakeholders to other networks and support as appropriate (e.g. the Farm Advisory Service (FAS) and Agricultural Knowledge Innovation System, AKIS). As part of this role, work with stakeholders on aspects of innovation (broadly defined to include social and community innovation).

5M. Continue to maintain relationships with networks operating elsewhere in the UK and Europe (e.g. Rural Affairs Wales, the European Union’s Rural Pact) - and potentially beyond - to share information and ‘translate’ and disseminate that information for rural and island Scotland.

5N. Continue to provide support for Community Led Local Development, working with key policy teams and partners across government and beyond to strengthen and share learning from its activities.

5O. Strengthen the Network’s in-government role as a conduit and partner to articulate rural voices to policy makers through collaborative working with rural organisations (including Scottish Rural Action and Community Led Local Development). This would help to maximise the benefits of Scottish Rural Network being ‘in-house’ within Scottish Government, and will require close collaboration with Scottish Rural Action and Community Led Local Development to prioritise action/s to best strengthen this role and to ensure clarity of roles and responsibilities.

5P. Consider an enhancement of the Network’s role in supporting the delivery of ‘broad’ or ‘integrated’ rural policy in Scotland i.e. in supporting the delivery of rural proofing across Scottish Government policy domains. This would include advocating the use of the Rural Assessment Toolkit, sharing and signposting to rural data and intelligence, and promoting related stakeholder engagement as part of responsive rural proofing– in short, a role ‘championing’ rural areas and issues across government (such a role as a rural champion would benefit from the Network’s position within Scottish Government, however, it would not have the independent oversight benefits of our proposal for an independent Rural Commissioner, which is set out under Strategic Recommendations). Regular reporting on this policy support role could be provided to a refreshed Rural Stakeholder Group to enhance accountability and transparency (See Section 8.4).

Responsibility for all recommendations: Scottish Government