Our Scottish partners
We work with a growing number of organisations to support projects, collaborate and add an island perspective. In Scotland this inlcudes:
Scottish Islands Team
SIF is funded by the Scottish Government and we work closely with the Islands Team.
Scottish Rural Action : https://www.sra.scot
Scottish Rural Action is a charity that seeks to make the voice of rural Scotland heard, by bringing people together to discuss issues that affect them and by.
CoDeL:http://codel.scot
Shining a lens on islands and rural communities in Scotland. Supporting young people in reviving remote communities.
SRUC: https://ww1.sruc.ac.uk
Scottish Community Alliance: https://scottishcommunityalliance.org.uk
SCA has two main functions – to promote the work of local people in their communities and to influence national policy in order to reflect the best interests of the sector.
Community Energy Scotland: https://www.communityenergyscotland.org.uk
Community Energy Scotland is a registered charity that provides practical help for communities on green energy development and energy conservation.
James Hutton Institute: https://www.hutton.ac.uk
The James Hutton Institute was formed to create a world leading research institute for land, crops, water and the environment.
Coastal Communities Network: https://www.communitiesforseas.scot
The Coastal Communities Network (CCN) is a collaboration of locally-focused community groups (communities-of-place), guided by the belief that coastal communities across Scotland are well placed to harness long-term solutions to ensure healthy, well-managed seas.
UHI – PERICLES Maritime Cultural Heritage: https://www.pericles-heritage.eu
PERICLES is a project preserving and sustainably governing cultural heritage and landscapes in European Coastal and Maritime Regions.
Calmac Community Board: https://www.calmac.co.uk/calmac-community-board
The Board was set up in 2017 to act as the voice of the communities CalMac supports on strategic ferry issues. Since then it has worked on a number of initiatives including service improvements and infrastructure development with a focus on economic sustainability.
Our international partners
European Small Islands Federation: https://europeansmallislands.com
The European Small Islands Federation (ESIN) started as a network in 2000 and was formalised into a federation in 2005. It now represents 11 island federations in Åland, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Sweden. ESIN is reaching out to 450 000 islanders on 1500 small islands throughout Europe.
SIF held the ESIN chair for 3 years until 2019 and remains active within its Energy and policy working groups.
CPRM Island Commission: https://cpmr-islands.org
The island Commission of the Confederation of Peripheral and Maritime Regions (CPMR) is a powerful EU lobbying group representing island regions, bringing in the smaller islands dimension. The Island Commission is very active on Cohesion and state aid, maritime affairs, accessibility and connectivity, as well as energy and climate. See CPRM I analysis on Brexit impact on islands!
FEDARENE: https://www.fedarene.org
Through ESIN, SIF is a member of FEDARENE ‘s island college.
FEDARENE serves as a platform not only to its members but to all stakeholders striving for the energy transition: public authorities, non-governmental organisations, citizens, small and medium-sized enterprises and financial institutions amongst others.
See the presentations and the webinar from the Irish and Scottish experience as part of Covenant of Mayors event organised by DAFNI, a member of FEDARENE, in June 2020.
European Rural Parliament: https://europeanruralparliament.com/
The European Rural Parliament is a long-term campaign to express the voice of rural people in Europe; and to promote self-help and action by the rural people, in partnership with civil society and governments.
SIF chair made a presentation about Scottish Islands at the last ERP which took place in Candas, on the Spanish Asturais coast. See S.I.F. at the European Rural Parliament 2019
The ERP invites representation from outwith the European Union and welcomes a continuous presence from Scotland post Brexit.
Comdhail Oilean na Heireann – Irish islands federation: http://oileain.net
As member of ESIN and a geographical neighbour, COE has enjoyed a close collaboration with SIF. Recent activities have been the two LEADER funded projects based on the concept of SMART ISLANDS: see our project page for more details.
Island innovation: https://www.islandinnovation.co/summit/
Every year, Island Innovations organised a Virtual Island Summit, a free and entirely online event designed to connect global islands to share their common experiences through a digital platform. The year, SIF was actively involved as one of three Scottish Island Ambassadors.
Greening The Islands: http://www.greeningtheislands.net
GTI is an innovative organization that supports self-sufficiency and sustainability of islands worldwide. They match needs and solutions enabling cooperation between local authorities, business, citizens and academia.
Islands can join the GTI observatory for free and be part of this global movement!