NRN Self-Assessment Profiles
UK - Scotland
The UK has taken a unique approach to structuring its national rural network (NRN) in accordance with the requirements of the EU Rural Development Regulation. A two tier system has been implemented which consists of four regional rural networks which operate in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales under the umbrella of the UK National Rural Network. This set-up is aimed at enhancing the understanding of rural development issues among rural stakeholders at both national and regional level. Therefore, the Scottish National Rural Network (SNRN) has a vision to contribute to enabling rural development, principally through establishing connections between rural stakeholders and by providing a means of communications.
There are three main fields of activity of the SNRN, namely:
- An annual programme of regional networking events;
- An annual national rural networking event; and,
- A rural networking website.
Monitoring and Reporting Procedures
The SNRN has not adopted a formal structure in assessing its activities; however, it does compile website usage statistics, together with completing and analysing participants’ event registration, attendance and feedback forms. Furthermore, a number of online surveys through the SNRN website have been undertaken, while the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO, subcontractors to the SNRN) delivers annual reports on the regional coordination service.
Website Statistics
Website statistics are collected on an on-going basis and reported in a spreadsheet that is updated every month. Information is collected on the following data sets:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interestingly, among the countries most frequently visiting the SNRN website, the USA, Canada, India and Australia feature in the top ten, whereas visits from other EU Member States represent a relatively small proportion. Consequently, there is a scope to further networking with other Member States.
Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
The annual reports on the regional coordination service written by the SCVO comprise both a narrative overview and statistical data regarding KPIs. Such indicators include:
|
|
|
|
|
|
According to the evaluators, the cost of £230,000 of operation in the first year appeared low when considering the complexity of the tasks involved, the number and scale of the events concerned and the level of networking activity and engagement that had been achieved.
For more detailed analysis and results, please see the publication below.
-
Assessment Report for the Scottish National Rural Network – Annex to the 2010 Mid-Term Evaluation Report on the Scottish RDP [PDF
]
