This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Small awards fund for rural services
27/09/2005
A new fund providing small grants for rural community projects has been launched today.
The Rural Development Small Awards Fund has an annual budget of £500,000 which will provide grants in support of activities encouraging community involvement.
Rural Development Minister Ross Finnie announced the fund at the annual Rural Services Conference in Inverurie. He said:
"The Scottish Executive has many successes to report across all Ministerial portfolios in relation to rural services. These include us meeting targets on broadband, investing record levels in rural housing, spending almost £40 million on rural transport improvement and the introduction of Land Management Contracts.
"However, we are not complacent and some issues remain to be tackled. We want rural communities to benefit from enterprise and services and a key aspect of our rural policy delivery is about sharing information and best practice. We need evidence of experiences on the ground in order to ensure support is targeted where most needed.
"The Rural Development Small Awards Fund is an example of this type of thinking. Communities across Scotland will be able to receive support to acquire material for which they have identified a need".
Mr Finnie also launched a new publications series on 'Improving Rural Services'. Reports in this series will be published in stages over the coming months and are designed to help improve understanding of rural service delivery and the challenges involved.
The Rural Services conference is the fifth in a series organised by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO). It is part-funded by the Executive, SCVO and local authority partners. The aim is to involve all those with an interest in delivering services to rural communities - local authorities, enterprise companies, voluntary organisations, local rural partnerships, community planning partnerships, health services, community councils and local businesses. The specific focus for this year's conference is funding and support for rural services.
The Small Awards Fund will offer a maximum of £5,000 - as 100 per cent funding - to assist with activities or small capital purchases. The application must demonstrate a clear need and that the purchase will make a real contribution towards consultation, needs assessment or project planning activities within the community. The Small Awards Fund will be operated as a rolling programme over the next two years. Community groups can apply when they are ready to do so.
The new 'Improving Rural Services' Reports will include research studies to broaden understanding of service delivery across rural Scotland. The first of this series, 'Service Priority, Accessibility and Quality in Rural Scotland' will be available next month. This report explores rural community views on local service provision, and will help us, and our Community Planning partners, develop local service delivery targets.