"The goal was to promote the use of economic experiments in interdisciplinary research on land and resource use in rural Scotland" By Peter Cock, James Gurd, Laure Kuhfuss and Simone Piras read more ..read more

"This change in human-nature relationships is a shift from passive enjoyment of the outdoors to becoming embedded in nature" By Laura MacLean, Phoebe Somervail, Hannah Hasler, Anna Conniff and Kate Irvine read more ..read more

Vicky Stonebridge is an artist & potter; this is her representation of the community relationship with the environment. (Image: Carla Barlagne) By Carla Barlagne and Richard J. Hewitt Social innovation is a phenomenon that manifests itself in new social relationships and collaborations. It seeks to promote the development and uptake of new services and new fields of activity, such as social entrepreneurship and social enterprises that improve the quality of life of individuals and communities, particularly in rural areas. Yet the evidence base of the impacts on the sustainable development ..read more

'Paying attention' from Eabhal - Uibhist a Tuath by Scott Herrett Deliberation is the long and careful consideration of a subject. - In this house nothing is there by chance: it is always the result of great deliberation. Collins Dictionary Have you heard of the 'deliberative wave' sweeping around the globe? This describes the increase interest and practice in forms of deliberative democracy to tackle politically difficult issues, such as abortion and the climate and ecological crisis. Scotland’s Climate Citizen Assembly has just concluded and I’ve been observing the assem ..read more

Quebec City By Alice Hague, Christina Noble, Nazli Koseoglu, Kathryn Colley, Liz Dinnie, Tony Craig. Academic conferences are an important part of an academic career, as key places for sharing ideas and engaging with others. With the global impacts of Covid-19 many conferences have been cancelled or moved online to become virtual conferences. But what is it like to attend a virtual conference? The authors of this blog, all social researchers at the James Hutton Institute, recently attended the International Association of People-Environment Studies (IAPS). The organisers took the bold decisio ..read more

Access to digital technology can support ongoing communication between people in rural communities and embed the value of virtual tools in the longer-term 3. Addressing the Challenges from Coronavirus: Insights from recent research With contributions from: Dominic Duckett, Mags Currie, Carla Barlagne, Claire Hardy, Leanne Townsend, Sharon Flanigan, Ruth Wilson, Jon Hopkins, and Annabel Pinker. During this period of global crisis, many of us are concerned about the impact of the Cov ..read more

Peer-to-peer learning opportunities for Scottish agriculture support individuals and businesses to innovate and overcome economic challenges 2. The impact on agriculture With contributions from: Dominic Duckett, Mags Currie, Carla Barlagne, Claire Hardy, Leanne Townsend, Sharon Flanigan, Ruth Wilson, Jon Hopkins, and Annabel Pinker. During this period of global crisis, many of us are concerned about the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on rural Scotland. In this second in a series o ..read more

Research shows that positive social capital and social innovation supports community resilience in periods of crisis and change. 1. Community resilience and social innovation With contributions from: Dominic Duckett, Mags Currie, Carla Barlagne, Claire Hardy, Leanne Townsend, Sharon Flanigan, Ruth Wilson, Jon Hopkins, Annabel Pinker. As a group, we spend much of our time undertaking social research in rural communities and with land managers across Scotland, and internationally. We ..read more

An image (taken 14 years ago) of the first commercial wind turbines to be erected on the Isle of Lewis, near Griomsidar. There are now more turbines in this area. Photo © Stephen Branley (cc-by-sa/2.0) It is widely accepted that we are in the midst of an energy revolution, transitioning from carbon-based fuels to renewable and increasingly decentralised forms of energy production. But does this entail a new politics as well? How do new renewable energy schemes reconfigure existing arra ..read more

"ScottishForest" by www.rubenholthuijsen.nl is licensed under CC BY 2.0 The natural capital concept is gaining traction in political and economic discourses in Scotland. For instance, Scotland’s Economic Strategy deems natural capital enhancement and ensuring sustainability as fundamental to a healthy and resilient economy. Some months ago, the Scottish Government published a regional set of natural capital accounts. These accounts intend to reflect the contribution of nature to relevant economic sectors and industries in Scotland, such a ..read more