Perth College

Their core work

Perth College is a higher education institution in Perth, Scotland, operating within the University of the Highlands and Islands network, with research expertise in rural and highland community development. Their EU-funded work centres on understanding social innovation in marginalised rural areas — studying how communities self-organise to address gaps in public services, economic exclusion, and environmental pressures. They contribute ground-level knowledge of Scottish highland conditions to transdisciplinary research consortia, bridging local community realities with European policy and comparative scientific frameworks. Their approach emphasises integrating end-users — farmers, land managers, rural residents — directly into research design and knowledge-sharing processes.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (SIMRA, 2016–2020), Perth College's work was grounded in empirical social innovation mapping across marginalised rural areas — a descriptive phase focused on understanding how rural communities respond to institutional failures. Their second project (HIGHLANDS.3, 2020–2025) marks a clear methodological shift toward transdisciplinary co-production, end-user integration, and platform-based knowledge sharing — moving from studying rural challenges to helping build tools communities can actively use. The trajectory runs from research-as-observation toward research-as-enablement.

Perth College is moving toward participatory, platform-based research that embeds highland communities in co-designing solutions — making them a natural fit for applied rural development projects that need credible local anchoring in northern European upland contexts.

How they like to work

Perth College has not led any H2020 project, joining both as a consortium participant. Despite only two projects, they accumulated 69 unique partners across 33 countries — an unusually wide network for a small college — indicating they are embedded in large, well-connected consortia rather than holding peripheral roles. Their value to partners appears to be a specific regional asset: direct access to Scottish highland communities and the socio-economic realities of post-industrial rural Scotland.

With 69 unique partners across 33 countries from just 2 projects, Perth College operates inside large, internationally diverse consortia that extend well beyond Europe. Their reach suggests partners value them for the specificity of their Scottish highland context within a broader global comparative frame.

What sets them apart

Perth College offers something few European research partners can replicate: embedded access to Scottish highland communities and direct experience with one of Europe's most geographically and economically distinct rural contexts. Their location is not incidental — it is their primary research asset, granting standing in any consortium studying upland sustainability, rural depopulation, or community-led development. For consortium builders needing a credible northern European rural case study site, Perth College fills a gap that no urban university can.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SIMRA
  Perth College's highest-funded project (EUR 252,125), mapping social innovation in marginalised rural areas across multiple countries — the project that defines their core research identity in EU science.
• HIGHLANDS.3
  An MSCA-RISE international mobility project (2020–2025) explicitly focused on highland sustainable development, confirming external recognition of Perth College's upland community expertise and enabling staff exchange with global partners.