Lead Partner: Forum for the Future
Description
Rural regeneration programmes often seem to use negative language such as “needs assessment”, “rural disadvantage” and “deprivation”. Forum for The Future’s scoping study looks at the reverse of this. FftF have investigated how rural communities identify all of their assets. They have aimed to find out what is working and how to use and develop local assets to secure greater success for more sustainable rural areas.
For the purposes of this study they have defined “assets” very broadly as any type of resource that is of value to the (local) area and its community/ies, e.g. physical (natural and man-made), cultural, social and spiritual assets. Their partner in this study, the International Association for Community Development (IACD), is developing best practice case studies from around the world to give a wider context to the UK work.
FtfF interviewed a sample of local authority officers, rural enablers and field workers to gather evidence of good practice in community-led planning and regeneration in the UK and Ireland. They have looked for initiatives that have achieved effective and sustainable rural outcomes, i.e. delivering integrated social, economic and environmental benefits for the local community. They have also recorded what people consider constraints and barriers to rural sustainability.
This study report (2006) makes recommendations on how community-led planning and regeneration can help to achieve rural sustainability. This report also suggests how resource-based tools and approaches could be adapted and rolled out for wider use amongst rural communities and delivery agencies across the UK and Ireland.
A copy of this report can be downloaded from our publications area.
Contact Details
Website: www.forumforthefuture.org.uk