Rural Communities Survey

Rural Communities Survey

This survey is a response to a number of face to face meetings we have held with rural groups between April and August 2024. Through this survey we want to further explore the issues raised in those conversations, enabling RCN to more fully represent the interests, concerns and needs of rural community organisations to those who are making decisions on policy and service delivery in NI. We would be grateful for your support in completing the survey which will take approximately 10-15 mins. The closing date to complete the survey is Friday 15th November 2024 at 5.00pm.
1. Profile of your organisation:
Other
2. Geographical area served (you can select more than one)
2. Geographical area served (you can select more than one)
GOVERNANCE
4. Running Costs: refers to the essential costs required to ensure your organisation can continue to provide (at the very least) the most basic services to your community and / or to continue to exist as a group. It’s vital to understand what is most important to you so we have a picture of how we might reflect these needs among funders and policy makers. Please rate on a scale of importance 1 (Low) – 10 (High) how essential it is to have funding for the following to continue your work as an organisation.
Insurance

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Heat & Light

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Resources and Materials

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Equipment

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Repairs and Maintenance

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Travel Expenses (staff and volunteers)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Transport Costs (activities, events, etc)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Volunteer Expenses

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Room Hire

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Staffing

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Events and Programming

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Management Fee

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Childcare Costs

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Audit Fees

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1 is Low, 10 is High
Other
5. Priorities: From the above please select the three that you consider as the most essential to the continued existence of your organisation, i.e., without which you would have to close.
1.
2
3
6. Succession Planning: refers to having a plan in place where those currently involved can rely on others coming behind them to pick up the baton and continue the work of the organisation into the future - with confidence - after you have moved on from the organisation. This might not be tomorrow or even next year but in due course.

Rows	Yes	NO
When you hear the term Succession Plan does it mean anything to you?
Do you have a Succession Plan in place?
Have you thought about setting out to organise a Succession Plan?
If you were to organise a plan, would you be confident it could be implemented?

Rows	No	Unsure	Possibly	Probably	Definitely
If you and / or your colleagues were to ‘walk away’ from your group / organisation tomorrow would ‘everything stop’?

Rows	Strongly Agree	Agree	Unsure	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
You / your colleagues are at least concerned about who might lead your group / organisation in the future

In your view what are the barriers to other people becoming involved in your organisation? (You can select any or all of the options below).

Rows	Very Reliant	Reliant	Unsure	Not Reliant	Not sure they'd miss us if we were gone
How reliant on your organisation is your community or your communities of interest?

Rows	Would make little or no difference	Services could be accessed elsewhere	Would genuinely be a big loss
How do you imagine your community / community of interest would cope / manage if you were to announce that you were closing your organisation tomorrow?

Rows	No reaction	There might be some reaction	Lots of reaction but resignation	There would be an active campaign to protest the closure
What would be the reaction of your community / community of interest to the news that you were closing your organisation tomorrow?

7. ‘Our Offer’: refers to the activities that you can provide to your community or communities of interest.

Rows	In-person	On-line	Both
'Our offer' is delivered in the following way:

Rows	Strongly Agree	Agree	Unsure	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
Our offer is entirely dependent on the involvement or input of other organisations
Our offer is a mixture of input and involvement by other organisations and our own activities that we organise
Our offer is solely made up of activities that we decide
Our offer is determined by the needs of our community / communities of interests
Our offer is well received by users
We get regular feedback on our offer
Our offer has to be or has to appear to be better than others to survive
Our offer changes regularly

Rows	Strongly Agree	Agree	Unsure	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
The numbers of participants are more important to funders than qualitative outcomes
Competition for funding creates tension between neighbouring communities
There is a need for funders to make their funding appropriate to rural communities
Funding is determined by trends rather than by real need

8. Volunteering capacity: refers to organisations being reliant on unpaid staff to deliver services or activities in their communities or on to their communities of interest

Rows	Strongly Agree	Agree	Unsure	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
We have only a small pool of people to draw from
Our volunteers only have a limited number of hours to give per month
It is not possible for us to do what we do without volunteers
We have a core of reliable volunteers
Our activities are always led by the same volunteers
Our volunteer base is made up mainly of older / elderly residents
Our volunteer base is made up of people drawn from the same backgrounds
Our volunteer base is made up of people drawn from the same gender
Our volunteers are motivated because they want to give back to their communities
Our volunteers do not possess the skills or knowledge base that is often expected by funders
Our volunteers do not feel confident to take on major responsibilities
People in our community are reluctant to volunteer for different reasons* N.B. if you have any comments about this please add below
There is an over-acceptance by funders that rural volunteers will deliver services irrespective of funding
Our community expects our organisation to arrange activities but are not willing to volunteer their time
If we didn’t volunteer our time community activities would not happen
We regularly try to recruit volunteers to support our work
We are unsure as to how best to recruit volunteers to support our work
There is a history of volunteering in our community
There is no history of volunteering in our community
I am tired of always having to initiate or lead on activities
We – those in our group – are tired of always having to lead on activities
Our volunteers are feeling ‘burnt out’** N.B. if you have any comments about this please add below

* People in our community are reluctant to volunteer for different reasons
** Our volunteers are feeling ‘burnt out’
9. Available Budget: refers to the constraints or parameters that you have to work within to deliver essential services and activities to local communities or communities of interest. Our available budget is determined solely by (tick all that apply):
Other - please use the space below to add anything

Rows	Strongly Agree	Agree	Unsure	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
Available budget means that the range of activities we can offer is limited
We possess the ability to increase our budget by our own fundraising efforts
Bigger budget(s) means that the range of activities we offer can be enhanced
We have no desire to secure and manage a larger budget
We are content with the budget we currently manage
We have the skills and experience to manage a larger budget(s)

NETWORKING
10. Isolation of practitioners: refers to how it is for you to work rurally and how much you feel connected or disconnected to colleagues, peers, other practitioners and your wider community.
Are you...
How would you best describe working in the rural community sector at the moment? (You can select any or all of the options below)

Other
Other - please use the space below to anything you think we should know

Rows	Never	Occasionally	Regularly	Always
Do you feel connected to your peers and colleagues, i.e., those also doing similar work to you?
Do you believe there are opportunities for networking and connection in the sector?

Rows	None	Some	As much as is necessary	Lots	They're always there
What level of support do you feel you have among peers and colleagues?

Rows	Not Important	Somewhat Important	Important	Very Important	Essential
How important is it to you that there are opportunities for networking and connection?

Rows	None	A Little	Plenty	Depends on event / activity
How much time do you think you can afford realistically to give to networking and connection?

11. Isolation of communities: refers to the sense that communities in rural areas have been forgotten about or have been left behind, be that by politicians who do not appear to engage, statutory agencies that do not consult, businesses that relocated or closed but have not been replaced, or young people that have moved away not to return.

Rows	Strongly Agree	Agree	Unsure	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
Among the wider public there doesn’t seem to be much concern about life in rural communities
The variety and range of services available to rural communities has in general changed for the worse
Transport services were much better in times gone by
The media normally takes very little interest in rural affairs
There is a lack of funding and investment in my rural area
It is difficult to get government departments to deal with or respond to identified issues
There are no public meetings about issues that affect us unless we organise them
Unless we organise our community to address an issue no-one outside takes an interest or invites us to offer our thoughts
Our community or communities of interest feel a greater level of disconnect with one another than at any time my colleagues or I have known
My community is changing but not for the better
The focus on urban communities is to the detriment to rural communities
I hear residents express concern for the future of our community or communities of interest
I fear my community might become invisible or might not exist or might be all but gone in the next 20-30 years

12. Opportunities for engagement: refers to finding time and space where groups can meet and share experience, knowledge, ideas, and practice, be that self-organised or co-ordinated by other groups.

Rows	Strongly Agree	Agree	Unsure	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
We view engagement with others as important
Engagement with others helps inform our practice
Engagement with others inspires to achieve more
Engagement with others gives us confidence to tackle issues in our own community / communities of interest
Engagement with others helps us raise standards and quality
Engagement with others helps us to stay motivated
Without engagement with others, we’d be less equipped to do what we do
We have limited time to meet with others
We find it difficult to engage with others due to distance or location of events
We find it difficult to engage with others due to costs
Our decisions to engage with others depends on who is leading / organising
We find it difficult to engage with different communities
We find it difficult to engage with newcomers

ADVOCACY & POLICY WORK
13. Access to politicians or people of influence: refers to the sense that you are or you well connected to, engaging with or have access to those in positions of authority that can support your efforts in your community or with your communities of interest.

Rows	Strongly Agree	Agree	Unsure	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
I have the impression that politicians / policy makers understand rural affairs
I believe that politicians / policy makers are interested in rural affairs
I have a sense that even if politicians / policy makers understood rural affairs it would make a meaningful difference
I’m unsure as to how to how I can get access to politicians and / or policy makers
I find it is difficult in any case to get access to politicians / policy makers
I believe politicians / policy makers could become more active in finding out about rural affairs
I believe rural affairs get the same level of attention from politicians / policy makers as urban affairs
The number of politicians / policy makers advocating or lobbying on rural affairs is equal to those advocating or lobbying on urban affairs
The number of independent councillors means rural issues / affairs receive adequate representation
My perception is that there are very few politicians / policy makers living in rural areas

LEARNING & GROUP SUPPORT
14. ‘What Next?’: refers to that moment when services are delivered by external providers for a period before ending and then you are left with questions of ‘What Next?’ Expectation has increased and people are engaged but then you are unable to follow this up either through a lack of funding, a lack of capacity or you don’t possess the skills, experience or the resources the external provider has.

Rows	Strongly Agree	Agree	Unsure	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
‘What Next?’ feels like organisations that ‘parachute’ in and leave again
‘What Next?’ is preferable to not having anything to provide to our community / communities of interest
‘What Next?’ is frustrating as it ultimately leads to disappointment among our community / communities of interest
‘What Next?’ inspires us to further develop services and build upon activities provided
‘What Next?’ is a reality check for us as we don’t have the skills to reach the same level of provision as external providers
‘What Next?’ is a reality check for us as we don’t have the capacity to reach the same level of provision as external providers
‘What Next?’ challenges us to ‘raise our game’ and aim higher
‘What Next?’ gives us lots of ideas about what is possible

15. Recognition: refers to the feeling that the efforts of your organisation to improve your community or communities of interest should not go unnoticed and is at least acknowledged in some way, if not regularly, at least occasionally.

Rows	Strongly Agree	Agree	Unsure	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
Regular recognition is essential to our being motivated
We are reliant on recognition as a form of affirmation
We receive little or no recognition from our community or communities ofinterest
Recognition is good for the health of the sector
Just being part of recognition events helps to provide a sense ofsolidarity among groups
Recognition serves to inspire other groups
Recognition can be the difference between groups continuing and deciding to continue their work

16. Training: refers to the opportunities to improve capacity within your organisation, your community and / or communities of interest with a view to improving life in rural areas.

Rows	Strongly Agree	Agree	Unsure	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
We find it difficult to access cost-effective training for our group
We find it difficult to assess what training our group needs
We would be interested in tailored training for our group
We don’t know what skills are available in our own community
We need investment in future leaders to enable rural communities to thrive
Recognition serves to inspire other groups
We need more opportunities for younger generations that include apprenticeships, bursaries and scholarships in community development

PEACEBUILDING
17. Good Relations: refers to the status of relationship between all the various communities in Northern Ireland including (historically) the two main traditions, those outside of the two main traditions but living in your community or area for a longer period, or those from overseas that have arrived in more recent times.

Rows	Occasionally	Regularly	Unsure	Not that I'm aware of	We are not active in this area
My group delivers good relations / community relations / peace building programmes
My community is actively involved in good relations / community relations / peace building programmes

Rows	Very Positive	Positive	Reasonable	Could be better	Poor
Good relations in my community are...

Rows	Yes	No	Unsure
I would like to be involved in good relations / community relations / peace building programmes

Rows	Yes	No	Unsure
I am aware that RCN has a Good Relations Practitioners ('Beyond Belfast') Forum

Rows	Yes	No	Unsure
I would be interested in finding out more about the ‘Beyond Belfast’ Forum

Is there anything you would like to add or share with us about your training needs?
18. Any other comments or questions: please use this space to make about any of the themes raised or any other comments you would like to make please comment below.
19. Is your group a member of the Rural Community Network?
Thank you for taking the time to complete our survey. We really appreciate it. This survey will help shape the content, events, training and support we provide rural communities in due coure. If you have any queries you can reach us at: info@ruralcommunitynetwork.org. For more information go to:

here https://www.ruralcommunitynetwork.org/
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