About SRCN

What is the SRCN?

The Scottish Rural Community Network (SRCN) is an initiative which aims to establish a national network as: “a community led national network of local community groups and others from throughout rural Scotland, to promote greater contact between these groups and increased representation of their shared interests”.

Why is it needed?

There has been a remarkable growth in the number and diversity of local community groups in rural Scotland that are actively promoting community development in their local area.

Rural communities across Scotland face many similar challenges and opportunities. There has been an increasing recognition amongst rural community groups, and others, that greater networking between the groups at regional and national levels could produce the types of valuable local and wider public benefits, demonstrated by the rural and village action movements elsewhere in Europe.

These benefits in Scotland would include:

• Increased exchange of information and experience between these groups and greater confidence from awareness of their shared interests and concerns;
• Increased recognition of the scale and value of this community sector and greater capacity for it to influence rural policies and support at regional and national levels.

The European context

This initiative has, in part, been inspired by the achievements of 17 national rural and village movements of Europe. These have developed over the last 30 years in: Ireland, Wales, England, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Netherlands and Portugal. Rural Forum Scotland existed from 1986-99.

The European rural movements represent an organised approach to providing a network and voice for rural areas, their people and the many organisations working for rural development. Faced with rural decline, centralising policy, globalising markets and European integration, rural people across Europe have organised themselves to raise the challenge of a new rural Europe.

They work at village, regional, national and international levels, to make sure that the voice of the rural people is heard at every level of decisions making. They also work together to build the capacity, confidence and achievements of the local actors in creating a better future for Europe’s many thousands of rural communities.

Because of their high level of organisation, networking and direct relationship with the rural communities, the rural movements represent a potentially very significant new voice on the European stage, and are likely to become key players in the EU. In January 2005, the 17 rural movements met to establish a European Rural Network. Scotland deserves to be part of this.

Reports on these movements are available on the Rural Gateway website at: http://www.ruralgateway.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=661

How will it be set up?

The SRCN Initiative Steering Group will organise a series of regional meetings throughout rural Scotland in the spring of 2005, leading to a national gathering, at which rural community group delegates and others from across Scotland will establish the SRCN.

Establishing support
In the early stages, community groups and others will be asked to give their initial support to the initiative to explore the proposal for a Scottish Rural Community Network. Groups can do this by completing a simple ‘Support Form’ which will agree their support for the initiative and commitment to sending a member to the National Gathering. It is important to note that the form is simply supporting an idea, not signing up for membership.

Regional Meetings
Regional meetings will be held across rural Scotland, involving local community groups and other related interests and organisations. The meetings will adopt a consistent approach, enabling participants to discuss and understand the purpose and potential the network, and its relevance to local interests, and to prepare delegates for the National Gathering. There will also be two seminars for regional and national NGOs held in Edinburgh and Inverness.

National Gathering
The Gathering will present, discuss and approve proposals for the SRCN. Members of other European rural movements will be present to share information on their work. It is intended that attendance at the event will be free for community group delegates. It is also hoped,  if funding can be secured, to subsidise the costs of the community delegates coming from the more distant locations.

Who will be involved?

The actual structure of a SRCN will be the subject of discussion following the National Gathering. However, in the interim, the Steering Group is working on the following premise: To ensure that the SRCN remains just that, it will be important to ensure that the Network belongs to and is run by Scotland’s rural communities themselves, and not by any intermediary organisations. This suggests at least two levels of membership:

1.  Core members:

Rural Community Groups
Rural communities, as represented by “local community groups in rural Scotland that are democratically constituted and contribute to the common good of their community.” This includes all rural:

• Community councils and community associations
• Community development trusts, community businesses and similar groups
• Related local groups involving only part of the community and a particular focus.

Rural community networks

While local community groups are envisaged as the core membership of the SRCN, a second category of membership is likely to be local partnerships and networks in which local community groups comprise a significant proportion of the members.

2.  Supportive members:

Voluntary organisations

There are many voluntary organisations, or NGOs, supporting rural development in Scotland, at local, regional and national levels. The support of such bodies will be essential to the success of the SRCN.

Others

Any organisation or individual not listed above, with a wish to support the work of the SRCN. This would include public bodies, academic interests, commercial businesses, ‘pressure groups’, funders, interested individuals, etc.

In discussing the Initiative with community groups & NGOs, the Steering Group is looking for 3 things:

• Support in principle for setting up a Scottish Rural Community Network;
• A willingness to send at least one members to one of the regional meetings;
• A commitment to send a member to the National Gathering on 19 November 2005.

Who is supporting this initiative?

The Steering Group
The SRCN Steering Group was formed in 2004, as a result of meetings in Inverness, Aberdeen and Perth during 2002-3, to discuss the idea of establishing a national rural community network in Scotland. The Steering Group comprises experienced rural development practitioners from a variety of backgrounds and locations in Scotland. These individuals are members in a personal capacity, not as representatives of organisations. The Group is chaired by Prof. John Bryden. Under the plan for the SRCN Initiative, this ‘ad hoc committee’ will be replaced by a democratically elected committee, which formally establishes the SRCN.

Regional Co-ordinators

Steering Group members and others have taken on the responsibilities for setting up regional seminar across Scotland.

The Arkleton Trust

The Steering Group works under the auspices of the Arkleton Trust, which is a charity founded in 1977 “to study new approaches to rural development and education”. The Trust has a notable history of involvement with rural development in Scotland, including founding the Arkleton Centre for Rural Development Research at Aberdeen University. The charitable status of the Arkleton Trust enables the Steering Group to secure funds to implement the SRCN Initiative. The Arkleton Trust recognises the need for the Steering Group to be as independent as possible.

The funders

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