Downloads: Thriving Communities

2011: Rural Policy in Scotland and England

This study reviews recent rural policies and rural policy-making processes in Scotland & England.
Below are two Policy Briefings (Scotland & England) or the full report 'A Comparative Perspective'

2011: A Vulnerability Index of Scottish Towns

Key findings of exploratory research which uses a 'Vulnerability Index' to calculate the vulnerability of 44 Scottish towns to economic downturn associated with public sector funding cuts.

2011: Community Land Ownership and Community Resilience

This report discusses the main findings from a study of seventeen community land trusts in Scotland, carried out in May 2011.
A 2-page summary Research Briefing is also avilable

2011: Mobile Phone Coverage in Rural Scotland

Communications infrastructure is vital for underpinning activities and wellbeing in rural Scotland, but many rural areas have no, or very limited and unreliable, mobile phone coverage.

2011: What might the re-election of an SNP Government mean for rural Scotland?

The May 2011 election in Scotland returned an overall majority for the SNP, the first majority in the Scottish Parliament's history.

2011: The vulnerability of Scottish local authorities to public expenditure cuts

This Research Briefing highlights the key findings from a 'Vulnerability Index' of Scottish rural local authorities.

2011: The Implications of Changing Public Sector Budgets for Rural Scotland

The Rural Policy Centre's latest research report explores the rural implications of changing public sector budgets in Scotland.

A 2-page summary Research Briefing is also available

2011: Fuel Prices in Rural Scotland

This Policy Briefing reviews some of the current policy debates surrounding the high price of fuel.

2010: Rural Scotland In Focus Report

The Rural Scotland in Focus Report 2010 is the first of what will become a series of SAC reports on the state of rural Scotland.

2010: Rural Businesses

This research briefing discusses the key findings from a survey of rural businesses in the North East of England carried out in 2009.

2008: Farming's Retreat from the Hills

This report looks at the trends in livestock numbers and at some of the policy challenges that these changes raise.
For a 2-page summary please see the Research Briefing.

2008: Special Study on Rural Poverty

This review for the Scottish Government looks at the literature on poverty in rural areas.

2012: Rural Parliaments in Europe

The Rural Policy Centre carried out a study on the Scottish Government’s behalf, looking at Europe’s existing Rural Parliaments.

2012: Rural Scotland in Focus Report

This report is the second in the Rural Scotland in Focus series and aims to provide a fast-track to evidence, commentary on key themes, and an extensive compendium of resources.

2012: Mapping the distribution of charities in Scotland

2012: Rural Parliament Next Steps Study

A report on stakeholder views on the establishment of a Rural Parliament in Scotland in September 2013

Rural Transport

The final Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Rural Policy was held on the 22 May 2013. The agenda, minutes, presentations and summary briefing are available to download below.

2012: Building on the New Rural Paradigm - A view from the UK

Policy briefing discussing the future of the New Rural Paradigm, drawing on recent rural policy developments in England and Scotland

2013: Housing in Rural Scotland

This policy briefing discusses the challenges of securing affordable housing in rural Scotland and provides some key messages for research and policy.

2013: Sustainable Rural Development in Serbia

This report is based on collaborative work undertaken in Boljevac, a rural village in central southern Serbia to understand the scale and nature of the challenges and opportunities faced.

2013: Planning: enabling or disabling Scotland’s rural economic and social development?

This Policy Briefing is based on the presentations and discussion at the SRUC Consultative Committee on Rural Development, held in March 2013.

2013: Businesses and Development in Rural South Australia

Based on exploratory work in South Australia, this briefing discusses the varied benefits that rural businesses bring to their local communities and includes some key messages for policy-makers.

2013: Community Ownership of Assets

This briefing summarises the views expressed at the meeting of the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Rural Policy in March 2013, which focused on the community ownership of assets.

2013: Volunteering and Public Service Reform in Rural Scotland

This report examines volunteering in rural Scotland. The study found variations in volunteering activity across Scotland which need to be taken into account at a time of public service reform.

2013: Volunteering and Public Service Reform Research Briefing

This briefing summarises the key findings of research which explored volunteering in rural areas of Scotland at a time of public service reform.

2013: Family Estates and Rural Resilience

The report on the linkage between the management and decision-making of family estates, and wider rural (community) resilience can be downloaded below

2014: The Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES)

Research undertaken as part of the Scottish Government's Strategic Research Programme, Economic Adaptation: Developing a low carbon rural economy

The Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) 2014-2020

This briefing highlights the main issues discussed at the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Rural Policy and provides some key messages for research and policy on the SRDP 2014-2020.

2013: Achieving a Low Carbon Future in Rural Scotland: The Development of Passivhaus

This research briefing discusses the findings of research work to understand how the application of Passivhaus building design standards could help achieve a low carbon rural future.

Rural Poverty and Disadvantage

The presentations and meeting materials can be downloaded below

2014: Planning and Rural Economic Development

The briefing is based on the views expressed at the meeting of the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Rural Policy in February 2014.

2014: Rural Scotland in Focus Report

A copy of the 2014 report can be downloaded from below either in high or low resolution. If you have a slow internet connection please download the low res copy or email us for a hard copy.

2014: Rural Scotland in Focus 2014: Summary of Key messages

This Research Briefing highlights some of the key messages that have been discussed in the Rural Focus in Scotland 2014 report.

2014: Successes and challenges in low carbon governance

This Research Briefing discusses the community benefits of commercial developers to nearby communities in relation to the installation of renewable projects.

2014: Coastal Community Regeneration: Discussion at the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Rural Policy

This is a policy briefing of the discussion held at the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Rural Policy on Coastal Regeneration.

2014: Building Community Resilience and Empowering Communities That ‘Do Not Engage’

This is a Research Briefing highlighting some of the findings from on a LEADER funded initiative called Capacity for Change.

2014: Referendum 2014 – How Rural Scotland Voted

This is a Report analysing the 2014 referendum on Scottish Independence in September 2014 from a rural perspective.

2015: Local Democracy in Rural Scotland

This policy briefing discusses the context and background to the case for further devolution of power to Scotland’s communities.

2015: Older Business Owners in Rural England: Some Issues for Research, Policy and Practice

This Research Briefing investigates the business activity of older people (aged 50 years+) in rural areas and how this differs to businesses owned by younger people (aged 49 or under).

2015: Do rural and urban Scotland need each other?

This report summarises discussions from a Joint Roundtable Event organised by the Scottish Consortium for Rural Research (SCRR) and SRUC Rural Policy Centre and held on 30 June 2015.

2015: Supporting rural businesses, S J Noble Trust policy briefing

This policy briefing summarises the key findings from an RPC study to evaluate the impact of the S J Noble Trust’s funding for rural businesses operating in the Argyll and the Islands area.

2015: Scotland's rural enterprises: what do we know and where are the information gaps?

This policy briefing discusses the existing evidence base on rural businesses in Scotland and identifies some key gaps that need to be filled in order to improve what we know about these businesses.

Landowners in the Cairngorms National Park (CNP)

Briefings by Rob McMorran on how landowners impact CNP

Barriers and opportunities for community renewables in rural Scotland

This research briefing highlights the motives, barriers and opportunities that community groups face when installing renewable energy projects in Scotland through a case study approach.

Informality, Inclusion and the Green Economy Transition: Insights from Johannesburg, South Africa

This research briefing by Hannah Benn uses South Africa as a case study for exploring issues related to the 'Green Economy Transition'

Growth sector businesses in rural South of Scotland: Enterprise support experiences, needs and local connections

This briefing summarises work undertaken on business support experiences of firms located in rural areas in the South of Scotland, and their needs, challenges and opportunities.

Diverse rural economies: Discussion at the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Rural Policy

Key issues raised at October 2017 Cross Party Group on Rural Policy, which focused on 'diverse rural economies'

An Evaluation of the Scottish and Southern Energy Griffin and Calliachar Enterprise Fund

Report on the evaluation of the Scottish and Southern Energy Griffin and Calliachar Enterprise fund - published January 2019