What makes a successful rural regeneration partnership? The views of successful partners and the importance of ethos for the community development professional

Abstract

This case study of a rural regeneration project, known as the Mearns Area Project in the North of Scotland, explores how partners of the project define success. Drawing on interviews with the partners, I discuss how they define success and explore their perception of the underpinning causes of a successful project. I conclude that whilst outcomes as expected by funders and government authorities are important, ethos is an important contributing factor to the success of the project. Ethos, it is proposed, can be facilitated by community development professionals and should be an important part of their role in supporting similar rural regeneration partnerships.

Keywords:

• community development
• ethos
• rural regeneration