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Scottish Islands Federation survey
To complete this form, either download the file or print it and return by post or email
The Scottish Islands Network is undergoing important changes in order to develop and become a more representative body, on a par with other European islands organisations. To mark these changes, it is changing its name to the “Scottish Islands Federation” (SIF). SIF aims to develop a broad and inclusive membership from all Scottish Islands, and is working towards securing core funding to deliver its objectives,
To help SIF make these changes, and to ensure that the organisation meets your needs and expectations, we would like to ask you for your feedback through a questionnaire. If you know anyone else who you think would like to comment, please pass the questionnaire on.
1/The Scottish Islands Network’s purpose has been primarily to share good practice, and to facilitate information exchange and networking amongst Scottish islanders. SIF will continue and expand upon this work
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The Scottish Islands Federation’s mission statement should be :
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agree
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don’t know
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disagree
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Bring together all 90 inhabited Scottish islands, give them a common voice on issues that matter to them and ensure this voice is heard.
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2/ The recent ESIN (European Small Islands Network) conference in Islay showed the benefit of islands speaking with one voice and engaging with politicians and statutory bodies. The Scottish Islands Federation aims to have a greater lobbying role in the future based on the following policy objectives, which were discussed at the conference.
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The Scottish Islands Federation’s key objectives should be:
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agree
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don’t know
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disagree
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- A minister or ministers with responsibility for islands in the Scottish Executive
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- A new islands committee established by the Scottish Parliament
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- A commitment at national and regional level for island ferry and air travel to be considered an extension of the national roads network.
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- Recognition that islanders are central to the sustainability of their environment, and that this must reflected in environmental and planning policies
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- A Statutory requirement for Local Authorities to produce a strategic/development plan for the individual islands in their control, which will closely involve the islands concerned.
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- Implementation of HIE’s ‘New Deal’ for the Scottish Islands, which calls for "equivalence" between islands and the mainland in terms of living costs and access to services.
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- Other objectives (please add your suggestions)
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3/ The Scottish Islands Federation’s key activities should be:
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agree
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don’t know
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disagree
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- To ensure islands community and voluntary groups have a voice and are well represented within the federation
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- To work with councils, agencies and the Scottish Executive to ensure that islands needs are well understood
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- To represent the interests of all Scottish islands at regional, national and European levels
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- To share good practices and facilitate information exchange amongst Scottish islanders.
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- To encourage networking on and between islands throughout Scotland and Europe
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- To acquire, disseminate and utilise knowledge resources through the Internet.
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4/ How can the Scottish Islands Federation best canvas islands views?
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agree
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don’t know
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disagree
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1. annual conference with themed workshops
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2. quarterly meetings of SIF committee on each of the four main islands groups
( eg Shetland, Orkney, Western Isles, Southern Isles) to ensure geographical spread
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3. use of internet for polls, discussion and exchange
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4. other means ( please add your suggestion )
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5/How can the Scottish Islands Federation best represent islands views?
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agree
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don’t know
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disagree
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1. SIF members’ presence in new Council ward forum/Community Action Partnership
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2. SIF presence on governmental Islands working groups
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3. SIF’s involvement in ESIN (European Small Islands Network)
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4. SIF’s involvement in the CRPM’s (Confederation of the Peripheral Maritime Regions) islands commission
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5. SIF’s lobbying in the Scottish Parliament
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5. other means ( please add your suggestion )
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6/The SIN’s newsletter was extremely popular. SIF intends to continue delivering a free newsletter by email
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In your opinion,
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agree
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don’t know
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disagree
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1. The SIF newsletter should be delivered monthly
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2. The SIF newsletter should be delivered every other month.
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3. The SIF newsletter should have the same format as before
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4. The SIF newsletter should be shorter
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7/SIF plans to rename and continue using the former SIN website in a way which will benefit SIF members as well as the general public.
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What should the websites main benefits be?
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agree
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don’t know
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disagree
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- The website should include the current newsletter and a newsletter archive
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- The newsletter archive should only be available to SIF members
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- The website should have links to community websites for all Scottish Islands
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- The website should display relevant information updated on a regular basis which can be accessed by everyone
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- The website should have an islands projects database
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- Details of the projects database should be only available to SIF membership
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7.The website should be used to canvas islanders’ opinions
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- The website should have a closed discussion forum reserved for SIF members.
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- The website should be used for information about statutory bodies’ island policies.
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- The website should be used to advertise island social enterprises
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- The website should be used to advertise island businesses
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- Any other suggestions?
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8/SIF plans to have a two tier membership: full membership with voting rights for fully constituted islands organisations, and associate membership for unconstituted bodies, individuals, businesses, agencies and government bodies. These memberships will incur a membership fee which will contribute to maintaining the federation.
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How should the membership representation work?
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agree
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don’t know
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disagree
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- Full membership should only be available to island community/development trusts, and representative community organisations (ie, community councils, residents associations) on any Scottish island which has a permanent resident population.
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- Full membership should be available to the above, plus island voluntary organisations.
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- The SIF executive/management board should be made up of representatives elected by full members.
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- In the interest of equality, there should be no more than one representative on the board from each island group/region.
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- Positions on the executive/management board should be rotated between islands
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- The SIF management board should include a category of ‘co-opted director’ to allow the recruitment of specialist skills when needed
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- Associate membership should be in two categories: a/ individuals and businesses b/ statutory bodies
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- Statutory bodies can sit on the SIF management board as co-opted directors
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- Associate membership should be in two categories levied at different rates: a/ individuals and businesses b/ statutory bodies
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- Any other suggestions?
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9/SIF hopes to become a self-sustaining organisation through membership fees and match- funding support.
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SIF needs to know how much members would be prepared to pay in order to join: please tick the answer of your choice
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Full membership , per annum
£20 £25 £30
More ? How much?
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Associate membership: Individuals & businesses per annum
£10 £15 £20
More? How much?
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Associate membership, Statutory bodies per annum
£ 50 £ 100 £ 150
More? How much?
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10/ SIF will be holding a major Scottish Islands Conference in autumn 2007 to raise the profile of island issues and officially launch the Federation.
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Would you be interested in attending the conference?
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Yes
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No
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11/ About you.
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Name
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Address
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Email
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Telephone
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Name of the organisation you represent (if any)
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Your position
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Thank you for returning this questionnaire to survey@scottishislandsnetwork.org
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