Community knowledge must be placed at the heart of policymaking - report

This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 13th May 2026

Policymakers, funders, and research institutions must better recognise, resource, and support the knowledge already held within communities, a new report has urged.

Published by the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Community Development Lens, the report is based on an event held last year which brought together the experiences of community groups, researchers, policymakers, funders, artists, and public bodies.

It outlines the importance of community-rooted research being properly valued in policy-making and why there needs to be more recognition of the deep knowledge repositories that are held in communities and their central role in designing adequate policy.

The report features examples from rural and island communities in Scotland where local people have led on research into the issues affecting them. They developed knowledge and solutions around important issues, such as community research on active travel in Bute that has been ongoing for 15 years.

SCDC’s Director, Susan Paxton, presented at the event, including on our work supporting eight community organisations through community-led action research as part of Creating Hope Together, Scotland’s suicide prevention strategy.