Redesigning Rural Final Report - April 2022

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REDESIGNING RURAL

FINAL REPORT

DELIVERED BY SCOTTISH ENTERPRISE ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL TRANSITION TRAINING FUND

Scotland's Rural Leaders Scotland’s Rural Leaders are a growing community of over 670 rural business leaders who have taken part in the Scottish Enterprise Rural Leadership programme over the past 16 years. One of Scottish Enterprise’s flagship rural projects is the Rural Leadership Programme (RLP) which has supported rural business leaders from a wide range of sectors including food and drink, agriculture, tourism, renewable energy and rural services.

Building on the successful pilot earlier in 2021, the Scottish Enterprise Rural Team were successful in securing National Transitional Training Funding to deliver Redesigning Rural Year 2. It showed a huge faith in the talent and ambition of the alumni of the Scottish Enterprise Rural Leadership Programme. Redesigning Rural was a bespoke offering for the alumni to both build on the opportunities for their own business but to also contribute to the wider recovery of the Scottish economy in this post pandemic phase.

REDESIGNING RURAL 2022

46 projects 51 placements

Redesigning Rural - April 2022 During the last week in March 2022 Redesigning Rural hosted 2 online zoom events allowing Scotland’s Rural Leaders to collectively share experiences of the Redesigning Rural fund. Over nearly 2 hours it was a privilege to listen to leader after leader share stories of creating opportunities and innovation not only within their own business but for individuals who they had had the opportunity to work with as placements.

Redesigning Rural has once again created long lasting benefit to both individuals negatively impacted by the Covid pandemic and Brexit and also to businesses of Scotland’s Rural Leaders looking to create new opportunities and test new markets in the post pandemic and Brexit environment.

Redesigning Rural - the challenges Life within rural communities can be challenging under ‘normal’ circumstances but added into the mix 4 major storms and a highly infectious covid variant between November 2021 and January 2022 the resilience shown by Scotland’s Rural Leaders has been outstanding.

In November 2022 Storm Arwen was the first of 4 major storms in Scotland and these created considerable challenges on the delivery of Redesigning Rural. Many rural businesses were negatively impacted with power cuts which lasted for days and the breakdown of telephone and broadband connectivity. In addition a new covid variant at the end of 2021 also created unforeseen challenges for the recruitment and delivery of Redesigning Rural. With individuals and family members struck down by the virus it delayed and in some occasions cancelled the fund opportunity.

Redesigning Rural - the legacy Throughout all of the foreseen and unforeseen challenges of late 2021 and early 2022, Scotland’s Rural Leaders showed impressive resilience and a commitment to work in a practical and determined manner. The Rural Redesigning project team offered continuous support through the project including offering a WhatsApp helpline facility throughout the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

Some of best ideas business innovations come from the smallest of ideas and some of the most long lasting career opportunities come from being in the right place at the right time and being given even the smallest of chances. Scotland's Rural Leaders have shown once again that when an opportunity presents itself they are both able to innovate within their own business but also show support and empathy to an individual looking for a chance.

Redesigning Rural - the legacy Throughout all of the foreseen and unforeseen challenges of late 2021 and early 2022, Scotland’s Rural Leaders showed impressive resilience and a commitment to work in a practical and determined manner. The Rural Redesigning project team offered continuous support through the project including offering a WhatsApp helpline facility throughout the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

Some of best ideas business innovations come from the smallest of ideas and some of the most long lasting career opportunities come from being in the right place at the right time and being given even the smallest of chances. Scotland's Rural Leaders have shown once again that when an opportunity presents itself they are both able to innovate within their own business but also show support and empathy to an individual looking for a chance.

Delivery

46 51 Projects

Placements

The fund benefited businesses across Scotland, with a total of 46 projects supporting 51 individuals. The Rural Leaders were given license to select their placement to support their business or project, in return for their leadership insights and business expertise.

The placements are an opportunity for individuals to retrain into a new industry, especially one that has an aging workforce. Many placements built in professional training and the chance to gain work related qualifications.

67% of Rural Leaders are going to continue working with their placement

Rural Sectors Involved Agricultural Supplier

Agritourism

Architecture

Consultancy

Contractor

Farm Visitor Attraction

Holiday Provider

Butchers

Charity

Community Interest Group

Distillery

Estate Management

Farming

Marketing

Photography

Pub & Restaurant

Placement Data Two of the employed placements stated having disabilities: Specific Learning, and Neurological.

Ethnicity 85% of placements consider

Rather not say 25%

themselves White British/Scottish The remaining ethnicities are as follows...

Italian 12.5%

21% of placements are female

8% of placements are male

76% of placements would rather not declare their sexual orientation.

Of the remaining placements, 22% are heterosexual and 2% are homosexual.

Mixed Race 12.5%

Black British 12.5%

Five of the placements have care experience, and five are current carers.

71% of placements stated they would 'rather not say' their gender.

Indian 25%

Roman Catholic 11.9%

Eco Christian 5.9%

Greek 12.5%

Religion 63% stated they were not religious

Agnostic 5.9%

Those who did state a religion were a branch of Christianity.

Christian 76.2%

Age Range 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 0

5

10

15

20

Placement Data Occupation before placement Other 19.6%

Training & Qualifications

Education 2.2%

Many of the placements received training in their new sector. Four new qualifications/courses were gained

Part-time work 6.5%

during the 10 week period...

Online and social media marketing Carer 4.3%

Unemployed 52.2%

course Digital Marketing Diploma Photography course

Selfemployed 15.2%

Leadership Development Programme

CASE STUDIES

Victoria Ballantyne Manager, MC & JC Ballantyne Rural Placement

Teresa Ross

Victoria applied for this funding to gain help for her farm, specifically planting hedges. The support she gained was invaluable in helping to deliver this project, that otherwise would have been difficult to execute alone. Victoria now hopes that they can stay in touch with their placement, and employ her again in the future.

Through employing this placement, it has created a connection between Victoria and her business and an enthusiastic local who Victoria is keen to continue working with. Discussions have already been made for Teresa to return and help with the lambing and calving season.

Victoria enjoyed implementing her leadership skills learned on the Rural Leadership Programme, teaching someone the theory of practical learning and seeing them implement it. This has allowed her to gain confidence in her ability to transfer knowledge, seeing someone benefit from her expertise.

"The support was really useful in helping us to deliver a project that would have otherwise been difficult & probably fairly demoralising by myself."

- Victoria Ballantyne, Rural Leader

Karen Baird Owner, J J & I Baird t/a Potterland Smokery Rural Placement

Ruby Todd

Karen applied for the Redesigning Rural fund as she needed assistance with administration to grow the business. She has enjoyed aligning Ruby's skills to the role she landed in, alongside developing her skillset within a new business environment and teaching the different pressures of a diversified rural business. However, Karen found it difficult to do all of this working remotely.

This has taught her the value of personal contact, and has forced her to dramatically improve her remote communication skills to help Ruby work well. Despite this, it has been a great support in her business organisation and in enhancing customer interaction. Following this placement, Karen will offer Ruby more seasonal work when the lamb smoking season comes back around.

"I'm inspired by the new experiences my placement has provided.

It has encouraged me and filled me with confidence about gaining further employment. " - Ruby Todd, Rural Placement

Anna Black Manager, Lindores - Stay Ride Relax Rural Placement

Elizabeth Jeffrey

Employing Elizabeth as a placement demonstrated to Anna the value of additional resources and teamwork to her business. This project was a huge confidence boost for Anna, giving her the confidence to employ more people within the business.

Through Elizabeth's help, Anna has realised how beneficial additional resources are to grow a robust business.

Partaking in this project has allowed Anna to put into practice the skills she learnt on the Rural Leadership Programme. Having people of the correct skillset surrounding her has allowed Anna to delegate more, proving to her the benefits of employing an additional staff member greatly outweighs the costs to her.

The placement allowed Elizabeth to grow in confidence, through various training helping update her skillset. She will now continue to work with Lindores on a project basis.

"The placement has taught us that the business could be structured better in order to meet all the demands and growth opportunities. Due to the programme experience we are also going to take on a more junior person."

- Anna Black, Rural Leader

Marian Bruce Director, Highland Boundary Ltd. Rural Placement

Kirsty Hickman

Gaining Kirsty as a placement was vital to Marian and her business, helping them get new products to market in time. Working alongside Marian also helped Kirsty develop a number of skills through being given the chance to assist on a variety of projects. Kirsty has enjoyed this opportunity to work with another rural business whos values align with her own.

"This has been a great experience, with fantastic support to enable me to develop skills on the job.

For Marian, taking on a new employee gave her confidence in her leadership skills, and confidence in the values and direction of her business. Under the support of Marian, Kirsty was given additional training support and software support to enhance the project.

Without Redesigning Rural, I don't believe I would have had this opportunity."

- Kirsty Hickman,

Following this placement, Kirsty hopes to secure work on projects for other rural businesses, supporting them with her design and marketing skill set. She hopes her career can now take turn focus to businesses with connections to the natural world.

Rural Placement

Trudi Cueto Managing Partner, G Gibson & Sons Rural Placement

Emma Bouglet

Trudi is currently expanding her business, launching a new farm shop and they required extra support to set up this new venture. The funding was

"The skills developed during

crucial in providing assistance to employing someone with the correct

the Rural Leadership

skillset to help develop and progress the farm shop which has been in the

Programme were relatively

works for years but unable get off the ground.

easy to apply using the many tools acquired from

Employing Emma as a placement has pushed Trudi to focus her attention more on working 'on the business' rather than 'in the business.' With focus on developing stakeholder management, while assessing challenges and opportunities. Trudi has been very happy with the progress of the

the programme, which eased the delivery of this project."

placement, with the foundations put in place for their farm shop. Following

- Trudi Cueto,

this work, Trudi and Emma will continue working together throughout the

Rural Leader

running of the shop.

We referred to the placement as a radical collaboration, to open up your eyes and see opportunities where you wouldn’t be looking for them.

– Emma Sedgwick Rural Communications Ltd.

Ailsa Currie Partner, D & A Currie, Bellevue Farm Rural Placements

Helen Nelson & Fiona Graham

Participating in the Redesigning Rural Fund gave Ailsa the opportunity to move her business forward more quickly by bringing in a placement with new skills who could contribute time and energy into improving their marketing. The benefit of this work will be seen through increased visitor numbers in the year ahead.

This experience has taught Ailsa to have a clear plan going into a project like this and not to be afraid to delegate work to get quicker results. She has loved seeing everyone work as a team to achieve good results over time. Their fund was split over employing 2 placements who brought different skills to the business. Ailsa wants to continue her relationship with both of these placements and hopefully work with them again in the future.

"I have loved the opportunity to work with local businesses, and form business relationships that I will continue once the fund scheme is finished ."

- Helen Nelson, Rural Placement

Andrew Donaldson Managing Director, Comrie Croft Rural Placement

Jonathan Proctor

For Comrie Croft, this fund enabled them to make progress on sustainability initiatives, with the aim to improve their carbon footprint report, develop new tools to help Comrie Croft Weddings lead the sustainable weddings revolution, and implement staff training on climate literacy and sustainability. Employing Jonathan as a placement was successful in achieving this, with Andrew shocked how much

"The Redesigning Rural

could be achieved in such a short time from a standing start. The end goal of this

Programme has provided

work is identifying cost saving opportunities within the business which will then

us with fantastic flexible

contribute to further funding for sustainability initiatives.

funding."

Jonathan enjoyed joining the team at Comrie Croft, where he feels he was

- Andrew Donaldson, Rural

welcomed by a like minded group of people who share his values. He was

Leader

encouraged to get on with his own role, and support Andrew when required.

Following the work he did to develop action plans and training materials for the business, Jonathan will now continue to work with Andrew and the team to further grow their sustainability initiatives.

Lindsey Evans Owner, Evans Rural Architecture Rural Placement

Amye-Louise Sara Lloyd

Since becoming self-employed 10 years ago, this was the first time Lindsey employed someone else in her business. This opportunity has allowed her to learn a lot about herself and her business, drawing focus to areas of the business she has tended to neglect in the past.

Working on her own for so long created challenges for Lindsey as she discovered it was difficult to delegate tasks, being so used to doing everything herself. This new opportunity allowed her to grow as a leader and develop new skills not usually used working on her own.

Amye-Louise was working for Lindsey developing her website and social media presence. Having got this set up, she is going to continue working with Lindsey for another month, with the hope that it gets to a stage where it is manageable for Lindsey to sustain over time.

"Extremely useful, and much appreciated. It has allowed me to focus energy and resources to improve areas of my business."

- Lindsey Evans, Rural Leader

Isla French Co-Owner/Manager, G & I French Rural Placement

Izak Verster

Isla applied for the funding to gain some help to allow the business to catch up with practical work, and allow her to take a step back and focus on the management and direction of the business. She was also excited to give someone an opportunity to learn and upskill through working with their business.

Prior to this placement, Isla had no one working full time on the farm so many jobs built up . There has been a remarkable boost in this area, with Izak's additional help with the practical work seeing a real improvement.

This experience has shown Isla that she has the ability to work well with people and listen to their needs to better the quality of their work. Isla is open to keeping Izak on for further employment, but he is planning relocating so this will not be on a long term basis.

"I have learned new, useful skills that can be used in the workplace, and my confidence has been boosted through the realisation that I am capable of doing more than I previously realised. " - Izak Verster, Rural Placement

Julie Anne Griffith Director of Business Development, Equi-Scotia CIC Rural Placement

Kaytlin Scott

Kaytlin was taken on as a placement to improve the digital impact of Equi-Scotia, through developing their social media channels, creating virtual advertisements and creating a redesign template for their website. Julie Anne was very grateful to have gained a young person to help set up new systems, as she also helped develop her personal tech skills.

Despite not staying on at Equi-Scotia, Kaytlin has been able to secure another role in a similar position and has set up a communications plan, projecting the next year to allow the great work she has done to continue.

The fund helped Julie Anne at a stage when she couldn't commit as much time as she would like to the business. Through Kaytlin's work, Equi-Scotia now have an active Instagram presence and Facebook posts are at their highest ever. They are now awaiting a digital boost grant to help automate some of their delivery.

"The Redesigning Rural Fund has enabled me to get back into the work place and develop existing and new skills. Because of this placement I have managed to secure future work."

- Kaytlin Scott, Rural Placement

The fund has allowed us to leverage a really valuable resource to get the show on the road basically too get all the its and pieces in place. Our placement has basically brought the whole project together.

– Jock Gibson Farmstrong Scotland

Jock Gibson Steering Group Member, Farmstrong Scotland Rural Placement

Emma Koubayssi

Being able to take on Emma as a placement has enabled the Farmstrong Wellbeing Initiative to really kick off, and put it in a place where it should become a reality this year. Jock believes that through the help of Redesigning Rural, this initiative has the potential to benefit thousands of Scottish farmers, and as a result, the rural economy. Farmers engaging with Farmstrong will become more resilient and outward looking to help rural areas thrive.

Having a placement has allowed Farmstrong to move on at a pace which could not have been achieved otherwise. To continue this rate of growth, Jock hopes to keep Emma on for as long as possible, dependent on the funding they receive to complete the project.

Emma has enjoyed her time so far working with Jock, as she was given the opportunity to make big contributions through the work she was given. The team she was integrated into helped her grow as a professional, learning from the talented people implementing the initiative.

"I wanted to express our thanks for the opportunity that this has presented.

Farmstrong Scotland Wellbeing Initiative is not yet without its challenges to get launched, but there is no doubt that the Redesigning Rural Funding has been a significant help in making it a reality this year. " - Jock Gibson, Rural Leader

Kathleen Hallquist Director, Range Studio Rural Placement

Beverley Iredia

Kathleen is currently in the process of establishing her business, with the help of the Rural Leadership Programme, and saw this funding as an opportunity to help the business grow. Another motive for her application was to provide training and mentorship to a person who recently moved to Scotland.

As a new business owner, this experience was very valuable to Kathleen in learning about the recruitment process within a small company. This was a great trial run for further recruitment opportunities as she has learnt what she wants from an employee and what time she has to offer her employees alongside her work within the business.

Following this placement, Beverley has secured a full time position in an architecture firm in Glasgow with the help of her new skills developed working alongside Kathleen. However, the pair will stay in touch and hope to work together again in the future.

"This has been very useful for me to be involved in especially during the early stages of setting up my company. It has enabled me to take on more work than I would otherwise have been able to undertake during the early months of being established. " - Kathleen Hallquist, Rural Leader

Gemma Hopkinson Director, Angus Limestores Ltd Rural Placement

Tim Roads

Gaining Tim as a placement within her business has been invaluable help to Gemma. It has enabled the business to progress a project that had little time and focus previously committed to it. By developing expertise in this project, it has helped the business move forward and adapt to the ever changing economic climate.

This was a new experience for Gemma, operating a project with employees solely working from home. She was surprised how smoothly this ran, impressed by how successful a project can work over zoom communications.

Tim enjoyed the opportunity to work on a new project and help a business assess its carbon footprint. He found this opportunity to be very interesting and rewarding, teaching him new knowledge and skills.

"The fund gave me the opportunity to do something new and interesting, learn new skills and support myself whilst I was job seeking. " - Tim Roads, Rural Placement

Sheena Horner Owner, Food from Farming Rural Placement

Angharad Burney

Sheena has been thinking about expanding the business for a while but wasn't sure if it was the correct time. The Redesigning Rural fund provided her with the support to go for this opportunity, giving her the confidence to explore her business expansion.

Angharad valued the mentoring Sheena provided him, leading to many new skills being learnt. He also enjoyed using his existing skillset and experiences in a way that he hasn't before. In the long term, this placement has opened up a new aspect of his career, that does not rely on tourism as his job has in the past.

Following this placement, Sheena and Angharad have plans to continue working together, to continue this relationship.

"This experience has been absolutely brilliant, I have learnt so much and really enjoyed working alongside Sheena."

- Angharad Burney, Rural Placement

Jasmine Jackson Jacksons at Jedburgh Rural Placement

Sara Best

Through employing Sara, Jasmine has learned that she loves the challenge of mentoring someone, and is keen to continue to develop their relationship. Gaining an set of extra hands allowed Jasmine to develop sides of her business that used to be neglected. As a result of this work she feels the business is better equipped for future project planning.

Sara herself is an aspiring rural business owner, so working alongside Jasmine has been invaluable experience for her. She feels she has learnt many good ideas for own business in marking and organisational strategies.

Sara is grateful for this opportunity as it gave her work in a time of need, but also a sense of community after Covid made her week very solitary. Following this placement, Sara will continue to work with Jasmine while also developing her own rural business, hopefully with the continued support and mentoring from Jasmine.

"The Redesigning Rural Fund has brought some joy into my week, working within a team again. it has been so positive to do so, and has also supported me in my new ventures. I leave feeling worthwhile and values for the work I am doing. " - Sara Best, Rural Placement

The ability to pull this project together and collaborate with lots of farmers, is definitely something I could not have done prior to the Rural Leadership Programme.

It's given me the courage and ability to talk to different people.

– Debbie McGowan Messrs Finlay McGowan

Benji Leggate Manager, Greenlawdean Farm Rural Placement

John Graham

After a huge storm ripping through his farm, this funding came at ideal timing for Benji, , with lots of extra work needing done. Greenlawdean Farm is also currently diversifying their land, woodland and livestock management to be more organic.

John was invaluable in assisting with this work, providing results as well as bringing new inspirations to the farm.

Benji has enjoyed using this funding as an opportunity to develop his skills learnt in the Rural Leadership Programme. This has taught him to communicate and delegate tasks more effectively.

"John has been a pleasure to work with, we have all learnt

John has currently been kept on in employment for a further 2 months, with the hope that this can be maintained to a full time position. Johns commitment, enthusiasm to learn and growth over the past 10 weeks has made him a very valuable part of the team.

and grown together and we look forward to continued employment for him."

- Benji Leggate, Rural Leader

Ann Letham General Partner, The Homestead Café and Farm Shop Rural Placement

Yvonne Rodgerson

Employing Yvonne as a placement opened many opportunities to Ann and her team, creating realistic expansion opportunities for the business. Gaining an additional set of hands greatly benefited Ann, allowing her operation to run smoothly.

Yvonne was excited for this new start, joining a great team, and will now continue to work with The Homestead Café and Farm Shop on a part time basis. After being

"This experience has taught

unemployed, Yvonne was grateful for this opportunity to have a purpose again as a

me to have more confidence

valuable member of a successful team.

in myself - I got a good gut

The simple application process encouraged Ann to take this step to employ a placement, as there was little risk involved for her and her business. The funding allowed her to help someone local while also benefiting her business.

feeling about the placement and it has proved to be right" - Ann Letham, Rural Leader

Kate MacDonald Co-Founder, North Uist Distillery Co Rural Placement

Rhona Skivington

Kate took on her placement to try out a new role within the business, with the aim of increasing sales. Rhona became a trainee in bottling and packaging production, with scope to try different areas of the business also. This has been a great success, helping their business grow faster, and as a result Rhona has now been offered a long term position.

Taking part in this fund has also helped Kate develop as a leader, teaching her to have more confidence.

After being made redundant 5 months before, Rhona has enjoyed getting back into full time employment.

The fund came at a perfect time for North Uist Distillery, as the Christmas period is a very busy time of year for them. This was therefore a good time to trial a new role when the business was feeling stretched.

"The placement allowed us to take on a new employee earlier than we thought we could but has shown us that by taking proactive steps for the long term good of the business you can grow faster. We are now creating a long term position for our placement."

- Kate MacDonald, Rural Leader

This project has given us the confidence to delegate more and allowed us to see the value in people and not always try to do everything ourselves.

– Anna Black Stay Ride Relax

Megan Macdonald Director, Sandwick Bay Candles Ltd Rural Placement

Findlay Maciver

Megan employed Findlay to help develop the look and feel of the website to reflect the business better, and hopefully improve website sales. With people shopping online more and more nowadays, Megan wanted to offer their candles sales online

"The placement allowed

to align with this. With the expertise from a new employee, Megan has learnt more

me to spend time learning

about the behind the scenes work that is required for the website. She is now

new skills and the

continuing to update the website more regularly to keep it looking fresh to encourage customers return and repeat purchase.

opportunity to put these skills to use in a live

Working with Findlay has pushed Megan to get a clearer view of what she wants

business environment."

from the project, to communicate effectively the outcomes she wanted to achieve.

- Findlay Maciver,

The pair set goals at the start of the placement, which changed priority over the course of the work but was useful keeping them on course. Following this placement, Findlay has managed to secure work with a new client based on the work he did with Megan.

Rural Placement

Bruce MacAngus Owner, Little Glencoe Rural Placement

Joe Sudron

Bruce employed Joe to create a new website for his business to encourage more interaction online with the rural community. Through this work, Joe is hoping it will have opened doors to work with more rural businesses.

Joe is now planning to continue his work as a freelance website designer, while maintaining the connections he built during the placement. He will continue to support Little Glencoe's website as the business develops.

"I now have the confidence to lead by example, and am full of

As a website designer Joe has been involved in many businesses, and has enjoyed learning about the operation of Little Glencoe and has been inspired by the way they work.

Following this, he hopes to get the opportunity to get involved with other local businesses.

faith that what I am doing is heading in the right direction by being able to add value to others as well as myself."

- Bruce MacAngus, Rural Leader

Helene Mauchlen National Manager, The British Horse Society Scotland Rural Placement

Melina Custer

The opportunity to take on this placement was very timely for Helene and The British Horse Society Scotland, as they were in the process of setting up an operational hub for their rural charity at the Stirling Rural Centre. This allowed them to greatly benefit from a new person joining the team, changing the dynamics in a very positive way.

Initially, Helene was scared to take on a new member of staff at such a busy time, but she has been taken aback by how much work has been done in the 10 week period.

To complete the project she was assisting with, Melina was kept on for an extra 2 weeks as part of her placement. Her role was to set up the new physical hub from start to end, while also creating and maintaining a marketing plan and social media presence.

"This shows you what can be achieved in 10 weeks. We were very impressed with our placements ability to pick things up quickly and fit into our small team. Covid provided challenges during the transition time from lockdown to being able to deliver blended learning from our hub."

- Helene Mauchlen, Rural Leader

Without Redesigning Rural we definitely would not have had the resource to put our feasibility study together. Hopefully as a result our project will be implemented in the next year.

– Virginia Sumsion Ardkinglas Estate

Kylie McConnell Partner, Messrs A W McConnell Rural Placement

Jemma McNeill

This fund came at the perfect time for Kylie and her business, as they were looking into developing a new project for their business. The initial focus for this project was to develop leather sales as a new product for them, but due to the complexity and cost of this industry the focus shifted to local meat sales, which is now proving successful. This side of the business required attention in order to grow, and is now a profitable addition to their business model.

Kylie has felt the placement has been very successful, through being able to work well together with Jemma. They quickly learnt each others strengths and weaknesses, and have the confidence to challenge each other, leading to a successful partnership.

Jemma has enjoyed her experience with Kylie, as she has been able to see the benefits of the changes implemented through her work. It is rewarding to be able to see the increased sales coming through after weeks of hard work building the brand awareness.

" It has helped me to learn new skills, dust off old ones and given me confidence in the new era of online marketing. I am excited to use the skills that I have developed to take my own family business forward."

- Jemma McNeill, Rural Placement

Debbie McGowan Partner, Messers Finlay McGowan Rural Placement

Jenny Baird

Jenny's placement involved her conducting a wide scale soil assessment on local farms, with farmers working together to become net zero by analysing the sequestering capability of the soils. The outcome of this has been useful to all farms involved, revealing the numbers were very different to projected values. This allowed them to highlight which fields can be worked on to sequester more carbon.

Having Jenny come on board has helped Debbie pull this project together, coordinating various people.

The pair have enjoyed working together and will now continue this as they begin on a tourism project.

Jenny enjoyed seeing some of her previous skills able to be transferrable into agricultural work, and she feels these new experiences have helped her gain confidence in herself. For Jenny, her next step is to set up her own business, after enjoying being back in the working environment.

"Without this fund and the ease in which the fund is administered we would not have been able to deliver this project which has benefited not only our business but another 6 Scottish farms."

- Debbie McGowan, Rural Leader

Rebecca McKenzie HR Advisor, Davidson and Robertson Ltd Rural Placement

Andrew Hamilton

Davidson and Robertson saw this scheme as an opportunity to help someone in the local community who had suffered as a result of the pandemic. Through helping to develop and expand Andrew's skills, they have received a great deal of hard work back from him. Rebecca reflected on how she has learnt a lot through this scheme, encouraged by seeing how businesses can continue to support various people within their community.

Rebecca and Andrew will continue to work together after the conclusion of his placement, with Andrew keen to start a career within this line of work.

Before his placement, Andrew was a farmer, so he has enjoyed the opportunity to to see another side to the rural economy. The excitement of new challenges has been very engaging for Andrew, and he feels he has learnt lots through adapting to change.

"The support has been very beneficial from the Redesigning Rural fund during the project. The funding itself has enabled us to provide support to a deserving Placement. Furthermore, the Redesigning Rural Team have been there to answer any questions we may have, and are always there to offer any assistance and guidance."

- Rebecca McKenzie, Rural Leader

Mary Miller Rural Placement

Managing Director, Alter Landscapes Ltd

Jonathan Carruthers

Mary applied for this funding to gain another pair of hands to help develop their online presence. Jonathan brought a different set of skills and technical knowledge to progress their website. Mary enjoyed working with Jonathan as he brought enthusiasm to everything he did.

Jonathan was helping with website design and stock control for online sales. The pair have enjoyed working together and hope to maintain this relationship in the future.

Its been so rewarding see my placement's confidence grow, and hear him reflect on how his mental wellbeing has been improved through being employed again.

– Ross Williams R & K Williams

Daniel Muir Founder, Anne Muir Consulting t/a Supply Chain Scotland Rural Placement

Neil Hood

For Daniel, the Redesigning Rural fund has provided an opportunity to investigate a potential new aspect to develop and grow within his business. He wanted to assess the feasibility of creating an extension or new side of the business. Without the help from this funding, he would not have had the time or resources to research this development in detail.

In terms of leadership, taking on a placement has highlighted to Daniel that he can't do everything himself, and that asking for help is okay. He was able to hand over more responsibility than he has in the past, realising that bringing in additional resource is useful.

Following the placement, Daniel now must decide how he is going to develop his idea further and what time he can dedicate to this. If Daniel does go ahead with the business expansion, he hopes t o try and include Neil further in this work. If not, Daniel still values this project and feels it has been a useful beginning to his business relationship with Neil which can be developed in future projects.

"Getting insight and feedback from various businesses was really interesting. And it was great to be back working again and regain some focus in a professional capacity. " - Neil Hood, Rural Placement

Carlyn Paton Director, We hae meat Ltd Rural Placement

Bernice Daly

Carlyn applied to Redesigning Rural to test a potential new role in her business. The funding allowed her to invest in specialist, professional training courses for Bernice in addition to inhouse training which has allowed her to add value to the operation very quickly.

This combination of training Bernice recieved has helped her build confidence in her new role, as she was able to build up a large amount of knowledge in a short period of time. Through gaining employment through this funding scheme, Bernice feels she was given the opportunity to benefit from training far more than other local employment opportunities.

This placement was a perfect opportunity for Bernice, allowing her to get back into employment after being made redundant.

Working locally is also an important benefit to her as she has a young child to support. We hae meat will now continue to employ Bernice on a permanent contract, giving her and her family financial security.

"I think the learnings and insights I have gained through my participation in the SERLP has made me much more confident in my ability to effectively mentor my placement."

- Carlyn Paton, Rural Leader

Wendy Pring Founder & Owner, The Way Forward 2045 Rural Placements

Shiny Rajadurai and Amitava Guha

Wendy applied for the Redesigning Rural Fund to support local engagement in UN17SDGS and to support role development as she grows her startup. Despite initial worries that the placement would be a short period of time to achieve much within her business, the placements grew into the team very quickly. This success has greatly accelerated the trading status of her company, and has given Wendy the courage and knowledge to apply for more competitive funding in the future.

Undertaking this placement helped educate Amitava on how a forward thinking organisation helps UK businesses embark on a journey of sustainability by adding substantial values from UNSDGs to their service and offerings.

Following these placements, Wendy is now looking at funding opportunities to continue supporting their positions on a part time basis.

Following the positive work conducted so far, they are hoping this will allow continued acceleration of their trading status, further allowing them to employ and manage other placements/employment opportunities.

"I always believed I was strong in leadership, but given the diversity within my current team I have been reminded that diversity is a necessary tool to support deeper and more strategic thinking around direction, and that relying on gender diversity alone is definitely not the only way to apply perspective to your organisational goals."

- Wendy Pring, Rural Leader

Robert Ramsay Owner, Holiday Like a Local Rural Placement

Pierluca Barba

This is the second time Robert took part in the Redesigning Rural scheme. The first fund he was awarded in 2020 was very successful, but this year proved more difficult to find a placement. This forced Robert to expand his leadership skills, and be very involved in the project to help Pierluca also develop his skillset.

Pierluca was assisting with digital administration within Holiday Like a Local.

The aim of Robert's business is to facilitate ski holidays to less obvious destinations.

Following this placement, Pierluca has found employment elsewhere. Taking part in this fund put him in a position of strength, being employed in his chosen field.

"The challenge of struggling to find someone with the relevant skills required forced me into a more detailed role. I was happy that I could deliver on that and maintain focus driving the business forward."

- Robert Ramsay, Rural Leader

Lily Reade Manager, Isle of Mull Cheese Rural Placements

Emma Retson & Michelle Devlin

Lily took part in this funding opportunity to try out a new role in her business, to assess the benefits over a set period of time while also helping someone local. Creating this role over the winter period allowed Lily to test a new workload strategy, allowing focus to be on the day to day tasks.

Lily is hopeful to develop this chutney making role into a year long employment, not just seasonal work. However, following their placements Emma and Michelle are both leaving the seasonal work to focus on their own businesses. The flexibility of the short term placement was beneficial to them both to allow time to develop their own projects simultaneously.

"I think it has been a confidence boost for myself. Creating a new role, outwith the ones already in the business, for something which I personally thought would be of value to the business, has been great. It has shown me that if i do think an idea is good, to be more sure of myself and go for it a little more often."

- Lily Reade, Rural Leader

I had been swaying about employing someone for a while, and Redesigning Rural was a fantastic opportunity to just take the plunge and go for it.

– Sheena Horner Food from Farming

Eilidh Robertson Owner, Eilidh Robertson Photography Rural Placement

Clair Brookfield

Eilidh applied for the Redesigning Rural fund to help tackle a huge backlog of work which has come around as a result of Covid. This placement was to trial a new position within her photography business. Having taken part in this programme 2 years now, Eilidh is very appreciative of the funding and acknowledges it is a great great project which makes a huge impact on small businesses.

Clair has enjoyed her experience working with Eilidh, having the opportunity to build on her existing skills as well as develop new ones.

Before the placement, Clair was unemployed so gaining this employment has really helped grow her confidence, and given her some relevant work experience to hopefully return to full time employment.

Following this placement, Clair will continue to work with Eilidh on a self employed basis. This professional relationship will also continue with Eilidh providing further training.

"The fund is invaluable, especially being able to employ someone without having to pay their salary directly, to see if they are the right person for the job before committing long term. " - Eilidh Robertson, Rural Leader

Lindsay Robertson Partner, Long Islands Retreats & Larder Rural Placement

Jennifer McEwan

This funding was invaluable to Lindsay Robertson in the launch of her business, she would not have been able to support a member of staff without this help. Gaining Jennifer as a placement allowed Lindsay to focus more time into business development, in which time she managed to secure more funding for her company.

Lindsay found her experiences from the Rural Leadership Programme to be really valuable throughout this experience, from adapting to a last minute withdrawal from her original candidate, to managing her placement remotely. Taking on a placement has made her look closely at how she gives constructive feedback to achieve her objectives, while encouraging the member of staff to learn and grow at the same time.

Lindsay and Jennifer are going to continue to work together now the placement is over, with Jennifer continuing to support the marketing and press/influencer visits across the year.

" It has given me a great opportunity to look at how I would work with clients going forwards and also helped me promote my business with the work that I am doing with them. To have a secure contract to take the leap into self-employment was really important to me. " - Jennifer McEwan, Rural Placement

Emma Sedgwick Director, Rural Communications Ltd Rural Placement

Charlotte Chevalier

Gaining an additional team member has been a massive support to Emma, allowing her to focus on the business rather than working in the business. She took on a placement who perhaps did not have the experience for this job, but this allowed Emma to support Charlotte's skills development. Teaching someone else helped her learn a lot about her motivations and strategies by going through it with someone with a different perspective.

Emma learnt quickly that Charlotte and herself have a very different set of skills and experience, but this encouraged fluent communication between the pair. Although Emma felt this was a challenge at first, the project helped her develop her leadership and management skills to work closely with someone very different to herself.

Charlotte will not continue in employment with Rural Communications, but she has since received instructions from new clients so is now planning on taking her new experiences with her to pursue starting her own business.

"It really helped us to focus on our business efficiency, visibility, strategy and how we are developing for ourselves, our future employees, our clients and our community."

- Emma Sedgwick, Rural Leader

Alice Silverwood Owner & General Manager, The Old Mill, Killearn Rural Placement

Colin McGowan

Alice initially applied for this funding to help someone within the local community, as well as develop the business' future plans.

Through Colin's help, they have progressed with applications for a new project to a point where they are hoping to open further premises in the next month. Following this, Alice has further projects lined up, where she would be keen to work with Colin again.

Taking part in this scheme helped Alice realise how beneficial it can be having skilled individuals surrounding her. Through employing a placement, she was able to learn her limitations and realised finding others to help the business can help it to progress much more quickly than trying to do everything herself.

Before this placement, Colin was trying to set up on his own, so this work has helped provide him a stronger financial footing to get these plans off the ground. He has loved helping Alice develop her business ideas, and is now excited to work towards setting up a functioning business of his own, hopefully by the end of the year.

"I realised how much I had learned on the Rural Leadership Programme around coaching and it was great to be able to put this into practice."

- Alice Silverwood, Rural Leader

Helen Smith Events Manager, Byres Farm Rural Placement

Katie Morrison

Helen applied for the Redesigning Rural Programme to help her grow the business and allow her to take a step back from the day to day running of the farm to implement new ideas. This has been very successful, with Katie not only taking the strain off Helen, but also bringing forward her own ideas, some of which have been implemented.

This fund gave Helen the courage to employ someone of a high caliber, which allowed them to build a new office and check in area. Without this extra help, they would have just employed younger girls part time on the weekend, which would not have had the same impact.

Before this placement, Katie was unemployed, so she has loved the opportunity to get back into a work environment. She is now looking forward to continue working with Helen at Byres Farm part time on a permanent basis.

"The project has shown me how much we needed an extra pair of hands and I am delighted Katie is staying on as a member of staff. Having Katie has allowed me time and energy to grow the businesses, not just run it."

- Helen Smith, Rural Leader

When you're running a small business it's tempting to do everything yourself, this has taught me to relinquish some control and trust in others to do good work also.

– Daniel Muir Supply Chain Scotland

Deirdre Stewart Estate Manager, Dalhousie Estates t/a Burghill Farm Rural Placement

Stephanie Grantham

Deirdre applied for the Redesigning Rural funding to help progress Dalhousie Estates' mapping and GIS systems. The work Stephanie has done for this has been essential to the business, putting in fundamental building blocks for future work, and the tools to manage tasks and operations more effectively.

Following this placement, Deirdre knows she will require ongoing support so wants to keep Stephanie employed to take this work forward. Deirdre feels this opportunity has helped both involved grow in confidence greatly, and she is now excited for the new opportunities that are emerging for both individuals.

"This has been absolutely key support at a time when not only does our business have to be adaptive and forward thinking, but also because I have pioneering projects afoot, and the Redesigning Rural placement has boosted my ability to take those challenges head on."

- Deirdre Stewart, Rural Leader

Virginia Sumsion Estate Manager, Ardkinglas Estate Rural Placements

Andrea Mickel & Grant Anderson

Virginia applied for this funding to get started on a project which has been on their 'to-do list' for a long time, to create a light show within their Woodland Garden as a seasonal event. Through the support of their placements, they have been able to put a fully researched plan in place. The project has injected enthusiasm into their full team, encouraging new ideas to be brought forward as they can see a new idea being taken seriously.

With these plans now in place, the next step for Virginia's project will be to assess the funding situation and decide whether the light show can go ahead. If the project does end up going ahead, Virginia would want to make use of Andrea and Grant's experience and knowledge, and re-employ them to execute the show.

Grant has especially enjoyed engaging with the community during his placement, and having freedom to explore the estate.

"The project helped me to put into practice several of the elements we had been working on during the Leadership programme and see their value while working on a real project - in particular involving stakeholders, communicating with teams, being ambitious, widening horizons, listening and allowing innovation to flourish."

- Virginia Sumsion, Rural Leader

Ross Williams Partner, R & K Williams Rural Placement

Stuart Tillbrook

Without the funding from Redesigning Rural, Ross and his business would have been stuck. They have recently taken over a new farm unit to expand their business, and needed some extra help to get this off the ground. The fund allowed them to have someone on the unit looking after the livestock while they moved, allowing the move to happen much quicker, while still generating income from their B&B pigs.

In terms of leadership, employing this placement helped Ross develop his patience and gratitude for those working around him.

With the placement being so successful, Ross kept Stuart working full time longer than the original placement, and he is now continuing to help the business on a self employed basis.

"It has been fantastic to support and mentor someone. This opportunity has been very rewarding, seeing the change in our placement and seeing his confidence grow has been great." - Ross Williams, Rural Leader

Jean Wilson HR Coordinator, Fullwoodhead Dairy Supplies Ltd Rural Placement

David Thomson

The support from this funding opportunity allowed Jean to take on an employee in a new role with peace of mind that it was not a huge leap. David was assisting with sales and marketing in a new area of the business, covering Dumfries and Galloway for sales of calf feeding, slurry systems and lighting facilities for cows.

The funding gained has directly been used to invest in training for David, to allow him to grow in the position he is in. Following this training, David has excelled in his position, and will now be kept on in employment at Fullwoodhead Dairy Supplies.

David is grateful for this opportunity, as it has allowed him to work in a sector he has always had interest in. He is now excited to see what direction this new career path will take him.

"It has been a great support and peace of mind that it was not such a huge leap to take a new role of this type on."

- Jean Wilson, Rural Leader

My placements have given me building blocks to stand on to build my vision and my new venture and helped stop me getting bogged down in other factors.

– Wendy Pring The Way Forward 2045

Additional placements not covered in case studies...

Fiona Scott, Owner of J Scott & Partners, employed Lisa Ross as her placement to help explore a farm shop/event space as an addition to her business.

James Hunt, Director of Bothanna Cabins, employed Andy Bradshaw to research ways to expand their product offerings.

James Young, Managing Director of Woodlands Glencoe, employed Brian Sharp to help their family business develop new services and improve revenue.

John Sinclair, Managing Director of Craigies Farm, employed Angela McEwan to build and develop their management team.

Jon McCosh, Managing Director of Kingsbeck Ltd, employed two placements, Jenni Dodds and Katie Hobbs, to help diversify his business and enable it to grow.

Rebecca Dawes and Jane Craigie, two rural leaders from the Rural Youth Project, employed Kieran Sinclair to explore a new role and look into developing some research to support the planning and evolotuion of a new project.

Lessons Learnt The rural economy will continue to be negatively impacted by the pandemic and brexit fallout for many years to come. There is no quick fix solution but projects like Redesigning Rural allow for forward thinking business leaders from within the Scotland's Rural Leader alumni to play their part.

Business innovation is in the DNA of Scotland's Rural Leaders and whilst Redesigning Rural has clearly contributed to the increase in innovation market testing the impact on the individual placements is perhaps even more powerful.

Time and time again Redesigning Rural placements have highlighted the value the placement had to give them a chance to explore work opportunities after mental health and unexpected career breaks. Over a 10 week period they have gained new work skills and gained in confidence after spending time with a Rural Leaders who sees the value in them and the talent they can bring to the wider Scottish economy.