Award of RESAS/008/20 - Scottish Land Fund 2016-21 - Evaluation

Tender description

Introduction 1. This research is being undertaken by the Scottish Government, specifically the Community Land policy team within RESAS. We are seeking an evaluation of the last five years of the Scottish Land Fund. Background & Context 2. Since 2012, the Scottish Government has provided a land fund, that provides community groups with the capital necessary to undertake land purchases to further community ownership objectives. 3. We are conducting an evaluation of the Scottish Land Fund 2016-21. The purpose of this evaluation to look at how the operational dimensions of the fund, investigate how effective current arrangements are and make recommendations for procedural improvements going forward. 4. Funds can be awarded at Stage one (development funding) and Stage two (full funding). Since 2016, there have been 206 (180 successful) Stage two applications and 484 (377 successful) Stage one applications to the Scottish Land Fund. This makes for 690 applications in total, relative to a whole programme budget of approximately £37m. As applicants may receive Stage two funding without completing Stage one and vice versa, determining the precise number of unique applicants in the report will proceed on the basis of the management information available.