Small Community Grants Analysis for Highlands & Islands Enterprise

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is the development agency for the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Unlike many other development agencies in the United Kingdom, social development is an integral part of its remit. To facilitate this it distributes grants to community initiatives. Over the 3 years to 2006/07 £42 million was allocated. Despite the amount of funds being spent HIE has undertaken little analysis of their impact or distribution. We were commissioned to undertake an analysis that, amongst other things, looked at:-

  • The size of grants allocated and their geographical distribution;
  • The activities that the grants were supporting and any geographical differences; and
  • The impact that the grants had. This is being assessed by undertaking a survey of grant recipients to explore such issues as deadweight, additionality and the impact of the grant on any move to sustainability for the organisation or initiative.

The research has found a number of interesting patterns in grant distribution and the use to which grants were put. For example, some areas receive proportionally far more resources than their share of the HIE area population would seem to justify. The work will be used by HIE to inform the development of their strategy towards community grant support.

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