Sustainable Futures provides strategic consulting and research into rural futures, landscape and development.
We help partnerships, businesses, communities and projects create sustainable rural futures. Our work involves delivering complex sustainability programmes across a wide range of fields including tourism, transport, land management strategies, economic and community development.
“…when the work you want done requires an ability to grasp difficult ideas, to get good sense out of a disparate range of stakeholders and to find creative ways of presenting challenging material, you might be inclined to give up in advance. Our solution was Sustainable Futures, who made light of the complexity and did a first class job. Most impressive of all, they are always willing to go the extra mile; once engaged in what they can see is a worthwhile activity, they find ways through difficulties because they share a desire for the end product. In our experience, they are leaders in their field.”
Paul Gomperz - Director Devon Wildlife Trust
Over the years we have contributed to major reviews of best practice in consultation, community engagement and learning processes. A number of our projects and methods have been incorporated into government guidance.
We use a range of approaches and methods, these include:
- Exhibitions
- Strategic Planning Events
- Partnership and Capacity Building Events
- Planning for Real workshops
- Interactive digital media
- Action Learning Sets
- Community Planning Events
- Review and Evaluation Workshops
Working with rural communities since 1993
Sustainable Futures has been working with rural towns and villages since 1993. In 1994 we helped to establish the South West region’s first community led market town regeneration project in Torrington. We have continued this involvement through the Market and Coastal Towns Initiative working with rural and coastal communities across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Gloucestershire.
Over the years we have worked extensively in the New Forest, rural Oxfordshire, rural Surrey and rural areas of the North East.
River Catchment Planning and Flood Management
We designed and facilitated best practice approaches to stakeholder engagement in River Catchment Planning; this has included co-writing best practice guidance for the Environment Agency.
Our involvement in river catchment planning has also included research for the Environment Agency on stakeholder engagement in Catchment Flood Management Plans and a case study about the floods that engulfed Stockbridge, Keighley in West Yorkshire in 2000. please see our Publications Page and our paper entitled ‘Flooding at Stockbridge, Keighley October 30th 2000: A case Study of Response and Recovery’
Land Management Strategies
We Worked with Terrafirma and Centre for Rural Research Exeter University, on a Land Management Strategy for the Culm Countryside Character Area. This led to improved collaboration and mutual support amongst land-based agencies, initiatives and communities in north Devon and north east Cornwall – the Culm Landscape Character Area. The published reports can be found on our publication page.
Tackling worklessness and increasing people’s income in rural areas
We have recently completed a published report reviewing the effectiveness of the Northern Rock Foundation’s Jobs and Money programme; tackling worklessness and increasing people’s income in rural areas of the North East. This assessment was based on the work of nine community-based organisations in the North East and the Foundation’s grant assistance to them. It addressed three key questions about the impact of the Foundation’s funding in this sector. Are poorer people better off? What is the value added (that is not provided by statutory organisations)? And what is the proper role of a charitable foundation in this arena? Please see our Publications Page to see a copy of this report.