Scottish Rural Action announces 2017-19 Action Plan

16 July 2017

Scottish Rural Action (SRA) was established in 2013 with the
working name of Scottish Rural Parliament and had two aims:

To encourage and actively support the development of an inclusive
and sustainable Scottish rural movement that is rooted in Scotland’s
rural communities and empowers and connects them.

To support the organisation of a Scottish Rural Parliament that
meets with the purpose of giving a stronger, more coherent voice
to Scotland’s rural communities and enabling them to engage more
effectively with government at all levels.

Introducing the organisation's 2017-19 Action Plan, SRA Chair Amanda Burgauer writes

As SRA has sought to take forward and develop these activities, it has become clear that there is a need for SRA to be a proactive influencer in policy and decision-making, with the driving force for this direction coming from both rural communities and wider stakeholders. 

We are consistently being told that policy does not translate to a rural context, and our rural communities feel disempowered and disconnected from decision-making processes and the opportunities to change that.  Our rural communities are being asked to deliver more, and given greater powers to do so. Some of our communities have risen to this challenge and are at the helm of transformation for their community.  Other communities are getting further and further left behind and facing serious challenges including poverty, depopulation and declining services.

The wider context of political change is having an impact on rural Scotland too, with greater powers devolved to the Scottish Government and our likely exit from the European Union, providing both opportunities and challenges for rural Scotland.  Where legislation and policy are being written or re-written, we need to ensure that
they meet the needs of rural communities. 

Our Action Plan crystalises our shift in focus to being a powerful voice for the people of rural Scotland. We have had a number of successes over the past few years, but we need to see a step-change in our ability to influence and to better evidence our success in order to meet the needs of rural communities.

We have therefore prioritised policy areas, and actions within those policy areas, with input from a wide number of stakeholders, to identify those that we feel will have the greatest impact.  Whilst we fully intend to deliver all aspects of this Action Plan, it will remain a work in progress as we continue to respond to the changing world around us.  We are therefore very pleased to present you with our final Action Plan for 2017-19 and welcome your input as we begin to deliver on these commitments.

Download a pdf of the full Action Plan