New study to uncover what helps or hinders Scottish rural life
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A team of researchers led by The James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen is hunting for volunteers to help them investigate what helps or hinders rural life in Scotland.
Through a series of surveys, they want to look at issues including rural transport and local food supplies, to see how these impact rural life, as well as preferences for moving to or between rural areas, including from cities.
The surveys are being funded by the Scottish Government and may inform future policies and the rural economy.
“Rural areas cover 98 per cent of Scotland and they are hugely important to the country’s life and identity, supporting sectors from farming and forestry to tourism and energy production,” says Simone Piras, a researcher at the Hutton, who is working on the project.
“While the Covid pandemic saw more people move into rural areas, we don’t think that pattern has been sustained long term, especially in more sparsely populated regions.
"So we’re keen to learn what the barriers and opportunities are around movement to and between Scotland’s rural areas, but also around affordable and sustainable transport and developing local resilient food systems in these areas.”
People aged over 18 can take part and participants will be able to enter a prize draw for £50 gift cards.
While most of the surveys are meant for rural dwellers, which includes those living in towns with a population under 10,000, one will also look at movement between rural areas or from urban to rural areas, so those in larger towns or cities can also take part.
Volunteers can find the surveys here: https://www.hutton.ac.uk/research/projects/rural-surveys-2023.
The research is part of the project “Informing a socially and spatially just future for the Scottish rural economy: pinpointing opportunities, assets and support needs,” which is funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural & Environmental Science & Analytical Services Division (RESAS).
The project aims to use mixed methods to create an advanced, holistic understanding of the Scottish rural economy and the diversity of rural Scotland, and provide insights into how place-based assets could support economic development and greater wellbeing.
The project investigates such topics as people’s movement to and between rural areas, housing, digital connectivity, local food systems, opportunities and challenges for rural enterprises, and the generation of community wellbeing.
The project lasts for five years, from April 2022 to March 2027.
