Rural Community Gateway

The research was carried out by Dr Sarah Skerratt and you can find her final report in our documents library. The aim of the evaluation is to inform the next steps in the Gateway’s development.

The main findings expressed in the Research Findings are:

• Scotland’s Rural Community Gateway has become a rural resource which is valued by its users as a one-stop shop information source and, for a growing number, as an online community.
• Two thirds of current users stated that the Gateway was the first online site they go to for rural information and/or contacts, due to its combination of unique filtering of rural information, and the pulling together of people and ideas across rural Scotland.
• Possible improvements suggested by infrequent as well as frequent users included clarifying the mission of the Gateway, improving its marketing to increase number of users, and developing the value of becoming a member.
• Concerns were raised about who was not reached by the Rural Community Gateway, for example micro-enterprises, farmers and foresters, and whether it had an agency, rather than individual user-base and focus.
• The consensus from users was that SEERAD should continue funding the Rural Community Gateway as a valuable resource which engaged people in rural Scotland.
• These findings were supported in the wider literature on best practice in online community development.

• Privacy
• Help
• Contact Us
• Disclaimer