REC/S5/19/IP/9

RURAL ECONOMY AND CONNECTIVITY COMMITTEE

PROPOSED NATIONAL ISLANDS PLAN

SUBMISSION FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS

Do you think the 13 Strategic Objectives in the proposed National Islands Plan are the right ones to meet the needs of island communities? In general the 13 strategic objectives do meet the needs of the island communities. They reference all of the sectors that are required for the future sustainability of island communities, and they are also iterate closely with other developments, notably the developing Islands’ Deal and the work we are progressing within the University of the Highlands and Islands as we seek to strengthen our work in the Islands. Are there any issues which have been overlooked in the Strategic Objectives? The University of the Highlands and Islands, as the anchor academic institution in the Islands, recognises its public responsibility to contribute significantly to the delivery of the Islands Plan, and it is appropriate that the University has high visibility in the document, notably at strategic objectives 2 and 12. The plan focuses most closely on educational provision. However we feel that the University’s potential in terms of impactful research and knowledge exchange is underplayed and is yet critically important to the delivery of sustainable communities throughout the islands. Examples of this include research carried out by the University of the Highlands and Islands Institutes of Northern Studies, Archaeology and Agronomy based in UHI, the Centre for Rural Creativity based at College UHI, the NAFC Marine Centre in Shetland and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig UHI, the national centre for Gaelic language and culture. We acknowledge that the latter is given profile, but the specific research contribution would benefit from being strengthened. There is also significant research activity which will be of direct benefit to the implementation of the Islands Plan that is being undertaken elsewhere in the University of the Highlands and Islands, for example our work in the delivery of remote and rural healthcare based in Inverness and also our work in ‘blue’ and ‘green’ environmental science based at the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Oban, the Rivers and Lochs Institute at UHI and the Environmental Research Institute at UHI in Thurso. These Centres are in addition to the work of the NAFC Marine Centre UHI in Shetland. Are there any Strategic Objectives that should be given a higher level of priority within the proposed Plan? It is good that objective 12 ‘education’, strongly and specifically mentions the University of the Highlands and Islands, but we would contend that education at all levels is absolutely critical to the delivery of the Islands Plan because this is the pathway to the workforce which will deliver the other strategic objectives. In particular we wonder whether ‘skills’ should be given a higher priority and interwoven more explicitly through most of the other objectives. It may be helpful for there to be REC/S5/19/IP/9 some cross referencing to the Islands’ Deal where education, and specifically ‘skills’ are deemed to be paramount in delivering the core objectives. We would also urge that the University of the Highlands and Islands is explicitly mentioned in the high-level actions under strategic objective 11, ‘Arts, Culture and Language’. The University’s academic partners, especially Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and College UHI have a potentially significant role in play in supporting the development of Gaelic in Islands’ communities where appropriate. In addition, the University’s Centre for Rural Creativity, based in UHI, has an important role in supporting the development of Arts in partnership with the creative sector across the Islands. Do you think the proposed Plan sets out both a clear strategic direction and practical approaches to delivery of the Strategic Objectives? The plan sets out a clear strategic direction and all of the objectives are purposeful in this regard. We feel that there is more work to do regard to defining “practical approaches” to the strategic objectives. The objectives and associated actions are understandably at a very high level and the implementation section rightly commits to the development of a detailed implementation strategy. This piece of work will be essential to ensure that the plan is effectively delivered. Do you have any comments on the actions outlined to support effective implementation of the proposed Plan? The implementation section helpfully outlines a series of key actions which will support the delivery of the Islands’ plan. It is right that the first one focuses on the development of a detailed implementation plan and that this will be followed by defining a range of key indicators. The ongoing involvement of key stakeholders is critical to the delivery of the plan and this is strongly referenced in the implementation section. Do you think the proposed Plan adheres effectively to its stated principles that it is “fair, integrated, green and inclusive”? If not, how might its adherence to any or all of these principles be improved? We consider that the proposed plan adheres to these stated principles. The Islands () Act 2018 sets out longer term timescales for Scottish Ministers to report on and review the Plan. Does the proposed Plan have sufficiently clear targets and measurable indicators by which to measure its performance? At this stage the proposed plan does not sufficiently set out clear targets and measurable indicators. However it is noted that this will be progressed within the implementation phase of the plan. It may be helpful prior to finalisation for some critical performance indicators to be explicitly stated, prior to the development of performance measures for each strategic objective.

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Does the proposed Plan align with the Scottish Government’s renewed focus on climate change issues, following its announcement of a climate change emergency? It is right that there is a specific strategic objective which reflects the focus on climate change issues. However, we feel that there is more work to do to integrate the focus on climate change with other strategic objectives, notably strategic objective 2 ‘to improve and promote sustainable economic development’. We would recommend that the issue of climate change is more visible within the action points under the strategic objective. Does the proposed Plan deliver against the Scottish Government’s own National Performance Framework, and the underpinning Sustainable Development Goals? The Plan is clearly aligned with the National Performance Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals.