Our most recent RuralSEN, held on 17th September 2024, focused on the critical topic of Tackling Depopulation in Rural Communities, bringing together 62 representatives from organisations across Scotland, including the Scottish Government. The event centred on...

The Rural Social Enterprise Stakeholder Engagement Report provides a thorough account of our project’s background, progress to date, and future priorities. This report is designed to inform stakeholders about the core objectives of the Rural Social Enterprise Hub,...

Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and University College Cork (UCC) carried out a study on remote working and co-working hubs in rural areas of Scotland and Ireland. They looked at how these hubs help rural communities and tackle the problem of people leaving...

Climate Action Towns – Sharing the Learning   Climate Action Towns Report- How to embed Climate Actions in your place  This report summarises key learning from Climate Action towns, introduces the five ingredients for Place-Based Climate Action while sharing the...

A transnational migration lens has shaped diaspora research in recent decades. Yet exploring diasporas in the context of moves across international borders has obscured sub-national diasporas, and this has led to a gap in our understanding of how such groups can and...

This Action Plan newly establishes a strategic policy position for Scottish Government around addressing depopulation and maps a range of new and existing supportive activity being undertaken across Scottish Government and by local and regional delivery partners. The...

For context, analysts in RESAS (Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division) were asked to prepare a Rural Scotland data dashboard for the Rural Delivery Plan Ministerial Working Group chaired by the Deputy First Minister of Scotland. The first...

Equality, opportunity, and community are the three overarching defining missions of the Scottish Government, and the provision of affordable housing in Scotland’s rural and island communities is a recognised priority within the Government’s long-term...

Building on strong local roots to address local development challenges, many social and solidarity economy (SSE) entities are increasingly extending their operations internationally. By responding to international social and environmental challenges, SSE entities can...

Currently, there is a limited evidence base on the makeup and drivers of change in our rural and island communities and economies. This report is the first of an annual series of reports stemming from research funded by the Scottish Government’s Strategic Research...

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) recently published their ‘Big Small Business Survey: 2023 Findings Report’ which presents the views of Scotland’s small business community on a variety of subjects, with insights into the variance in different...

Casandra Bryant has been working in the field of capacity building and development, locally and internationally for 25 + years professionally and academically. Areas of expertise in communication for development, non-profit strategy, and women-led entrepreneurship....

  The Rural Social Enterprise Hub has today published its 2023 Stakeholder Report, detailing the background of the project, work to date, ongoing development, and future priorities. The report is available to view here: Rural SE Hub Stakeholder Report Apr 2023...

(This review is an excerpt from Regional Studies, Regional Science) Rural social enterprises (RSEs) represent an emerging actor in rural and local socio-economic development. The study of RSEs recognises the importance of place-based actions for development. Social...

(This chapter is an excerpt from Rural Areas in Transition)   There is growing academic and practitioner interest in social enterprises (SEs), due to their – mostly assumed – positive social impacts on communities. However, there is less research...

A report which details ‘Reflections from the SEWF ’22 Rural Gathering’ was published on the 22nd of December 2022. Produced by ACRE, the report provides an overview of the Rural Gathering programmatic approach. It also includes a synthesis of...

The David Hume Institute, in conjunction with the Diffley Partnership, published the latest Understanding Scotland: economy insights on the 22nd of November 2022. The data, collected just prior to the chancellor’s Autumn Statement, shows almost universal...

Community-led place-based initiatives are modelling new ways of working – shifting away from top down, program-focused approaches towards an approach grounded in systems thinking and community-led innovations. However, while these stories of change are sitting...

Communities are increasingly getting involved in tourism and shaping the offer their area provides to visitors. The drivers and motives behind this vary considerably and include the desire to secure greater levels of visitor spend; managing visitors to limit their...

Tourism plays a key role in supporting Scotland’s regional and local economies with many rural and island communities reliant on visitor spend. The economic value of the tourism industry has historically been the predominant focus for both industry and government but...

Community Land Scotland, with the support of the Scottish Government, has been working to get a better understanding of Scotland’s “community land cold spots”. The process started with desk-based research and the results have informed this paper.   The following...

  Throughout 2019-20, the David Hume Institute’s Action Project brought people across Scotland together to discuss what was needed to progress towards a more prosperous, sustainable, inclusive and fair country. They spoke to people from all walks of life,...

On the 1st of March 2022, the Rural SE Hub hosted a session at the Illuminating Leadership Festival, a virtual, week-long event hosted by Collective Leadership for Scotland, with a focus on the topic of collective, systems- and place-based leadership. The name of the...

Research led by CoDeL and funded as part of the Northern Periphery and Artic Programme has found that while the health and economic disruptions caused by Covid-19 are undeniable, on balance many rural and island areas have performed relatively well during the pandemic...

Community Based Social Enterprises fostering Inclusive Development in peripheral European Rural Areas. Lucas Olmedo, Mara van Twuijver, Mary O’Shaughnessy.   This paper investigates how community-based social enterprises (CBSEs) foster inclusive development in...