Harris is the southern and more mountainous part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island in the Outer Hebrides. West Harris is an area with a population of roughly 150 people. The West Harris Trust is a community, land-owning charity responsible for managing 7225ha of land on the West side of Harris. They’ve been in existence since 2011 Read more…
Assynt Development Trust: A Collective Leadership Case Study
Assynt is a sparsely populated area in the south-west of Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. It has a population of around 11,000 and is an area which has become dependent on tourism as its main income. Due to the creation of the Northwest 500 driving route, Assynt has had a massive influx of visitors passing Read more…
The Embo Trust: A Collective Leadership Case Study
The Embo Trust Urras Euraboil (the Trust) is a community development trust which aims to revitalise its local community by refurbishment of the former village school for community use. This will help in creating: a strong, resilient village; community owned assets; income generation opportunities, and significant local services. Embo is a small village which Read more…
South Ayrshire Community Transport Hub: A Collective Leadership Case Study
South Ayrshire Community Transport Hub (SACTH) are a community transport organisation who serve both urban and rural areas within Ayrshire. SACTH hires out vehicles with or without drivers to community groups and organisations. In addition to this, they also run excursions and shopping trips for the elderly and disabled. Their scheduled bus service runs 4 Read more…
The Langholm Initiative: A Collective Leadership Case Study
Langholm – Eskdale’s largest town – was once well renowned for its busy textile mills and growing population. Since the 1980s however, traditional industries have been in decline in Eskdale and as a result, Langholm’s population has rapidly decreased, and the economy is suffering. The Langholm Initiative Community Development Trust was established in 1994 in Read more…
Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust: A Collective Leadership Case Study
The Isle of Gigha is a small island off the west coast of Kintyre, Scotland with a population of around 160. In 2002, the islanders came together and secured community ownership of the island. When Gigha was put on the market in 2001, the community came together in 2002 to form the Isle of Gigha Heritage Read more…
Brandon Clements, Young Board Director – Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust
About the organisation: Name – The Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust (IGHT) Location – Isle of Gigha, Argyll and Bute About the Area Geography – Gigha is an island off the west coast of Kintyre, Scotland Population Size – Gigha has a population of around 160 people. Demographics – Gigha has an elderly demographic as Read more…
Digital Villages
Case study of the Digital Villages project in Germany where local residents, local authorities and local industry collaborated to develop digital solutions for the rural area. The partnership created a series of apps to encourage and enable community networking and participation via an online marketplace, local news app and a rural delivery service operated by Read more…
Smart Villages
“Smart villages are communities in rural areas that use innovative solutions to improve their resilience , building on local strengths and opportunities”. Smart villages is a sub-theme of the European Network for Rural Development’s work on ‘Smart and Competitive Rural Areas’. Case studies, publications and information from the thematic group available at: https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/enrd-thematic-work/smart-and-competitive-rural-areas/smart-villages_en
COMCOT – An Innovative Tool for Improving the Competitiveness of Community-Based Tourism
‘Community-based tourism development is based on trust – the process should be understood as a long-term investment in the community. Also do not underestimate the importance of proper networking to ensure long-term co-operation’.
Appin Community Co-operative
When the village shop was under threat in 1983, local people formed the Appin Community Co-operative to take collective ownership of an important local asset. The group have managed to sustain the village shop, an essential service in such a remote location, and reinvest profits into community projects. Case study part of ViSENet materials under Read more…
Bearing Fruit: Good Practice in asset-based rural community development.
This report by DTAS and Carnegie UK looks at seven rural and semi-rural development trusts that have successfully developed and managed community assets. Underpinning the whole project was a desire to see ‘what works’. Current policy approaches to rural community development are often based on the perspective of rural deprivation and disadvantage. However, narrowly focusing Read more…
Memory Montage Podcast from Rockfield Centre (Oban, Scotland)
Podcast of a memory montage of previous students sharing their memories of the school that was to become the Rockfield Centre.
Ross of Mull and Iona Community Plan
Our Vision. In 10 years time the Ross of Mull and Iona will be a proactive community, developing practical ideas and opportunities to achieve a balanced, socially and economically viable and prosperous population. The Ross of Mull and Iona will be an even more attractive place in which to live, work and visit, by revitalising our fragile and distinctive settlements and communities, with an upgraded infrastructure, wholly in keeping with our outstanding natural environment.
HIE Community Capacity Building
Throughout our communities, there are a range of projects being scoped, underway or already completed and delivering real benefits to our communities. In this publication we have focussed on a selection of the communities we are supporting to give a flavour of the variety of developments being undertaken, always recognising that these communities are at different stages in their journeys towards resilience and have different priorities.
Case studies wanted
Case studies wanted
Community Learning Exchange to the Scottish Borders. Tuesday February 4th 2020
‘I drew two key things from the day. First, inspiration from individual organisations who were doing fantastic work, and from the overall experience that confirmed how much social enterprises can and do contribute to deliver critical services in rural areas. The vibrancy of the social enterprise sector, and its deep contributions to rural communities, including vulnerable groups, is striking’.