“How can these women pay back their loans when they lie on their mats all day?”

Bobby Macaulay is a former researcher at the Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health and an expert in social business and community development. In this piece he discusses, through reference to Mozambique, whether miocrofinance can or should alter societal values or practices and queries its ability to foster real societal change

Considering social enterprise involvement in the commissioning of health services in Shetland

Social enterprises are increasingly becoming involved in the commissioning of health services as the National Health Service in Scotland seeks more efficient and effective ways to care for an ageing population in a period of austerity. This development is of particular importance in rural areas where health services are being disproportionately affected due to funding cuts and health outcomes are suffering as a result. A geographic area of interest in terms of the inclusion of social enterprise in health strategies is Shetland. As a remote island group, different solutions to the provision of health services are required due to often inaccessible, ill-equipped and expensive statutory services. A history of available funding and ample volunteers has created a strong third sector that is able and willing to provide health services and which is increasingly adopting trading practices to ensure sustainability as non-traded income becomes scarcer. This research investigated the role currently played by social enterprises in the co-governance and co-management of health services in Shetland, what factors influence that involvement and how successful the commissioning process is seen to be. The findings shed light on the current role that social enterprises play in designing, delivering and managing health services in Shetland with implications for other rural and remote communities in Scotland. </jats:p

Public perspectives on health improvement within a remote-rural island community

Abstract Background Rural health outcomes are often worse than their urban counterparts. While rural health theory recognizes the importance of the social determinants of health, there is a lack of insight into public perspectives for improving rural health beyond the provision of health‐care services. Gaining insight into perceived solutions, that include and go beyond health‐ care, can help to inform resource allocation decisions to improve rural health. Objective To identify and describe shared perspectives within a remote‐rural community on how to improve rural health. Method Using Q methodology, a set of 40 statements were developed representing different perceptions of how to improve rural health. Residents of one remote‐rural island community ranked this statement set according to their level of agreement. Card‐sorts were analysed using factor analysis to identify shared points of view and interpreted alongside post‐sort qualitative interviews. Results Sixty‐two respondents participated in the study. Four shared perspectives were identified, labelled: Local economic activity; Protect and care for the community; Redistribution of resources; and Investing in people. Factors converged on the need to relieve poverty and ensure access to amenities and services. Discussion and conclusions Factors represent different elements of a multifaceted theory of rural health, indicating that ‘lay’ respondents are capable of comprehending various approaches to health improvement and perspectives are not homogenous within rural communities. Respondents diverged on the role of individuals, the public sector and ‘empowered’ community‐based organizations in delivering these solutions, with implications for policy and practice. Public Contribution Members of the public were involved in the development and piloting of the statement set

Towards a circular economy and just transition to net-zero in rural Scotland:Resident perspectives on policy and practice

The circular economy and just transition are key dimensions of the sustainability challenges of the 21st century. These concepts are ambiguous and meanings differ among actors, sectors and contexts. This paper examines the circular economy and a just transition to net-zero in the Scottish context, where both are prominent in national policy discourses and central to the work of Zero Waste Scotland. It is based on qualitative research, co-designed with Zero Waste Scotland, to explore how rural residents in Scotland understand the circular economy and just transition, in their everyday lives and communities. This is an under-researched area and our findings add new knowledge useful for implementing sustainability policies in a rural context. Focus groups were carried out in three rural areas, engaging with a range of residents in a deliberative setting. The findings support the need for a more collaborative, whole systems approach that moves beyond siloed thinking and which focuses on local capacity and knowledge building for transitions to more sustainable rural communities.</p

Towards an ethical tourism recovery in Northern peripheries

Unsustainable tourism growth prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and disruption of tourism caused by its outbreak, together with the global environmental crisis and different global and local injustices, have raised debates on what tourism should be like in the future. A more ethical tourism sector post-recovery has become a topical issue for strategy making in post-pandemic tourism. In this research note, we tie together local stakeholder views on ethical tourism recovery in northern peripheries, a review of current tourism strategies in the area and relevant literature to add to the debate regarding ethical tourism recovery in the region. Our findings show that the local stakeholders participating in our research saw need for more inclusive and participatory community-centred tourism planning and development than most of the reviewed tourism strategies, which were mainly following neoliberal utilitarian ethics. Ethics should be explicitly referenced and discussed in tourism planning and policy making and form an integral part of tourism strategies, and further research is needed to support this transition