About
Who we are and what we do
Moray Local Action Group is an unincorporated voluntary association.
This group of volunteer board members was originally established to support the delivery of European LEADER Funding in Moray.
Although this funding has now ceased and has been successfully delivered, Moray Local Action Group is very much alive, currently funded by a grant from the Scottish Government.
The Moray Local Action Group’s approach to community change and engagement is based on the community led local development (CLLD) model associated with LEADER programmes: a bottom-up approach to rural development which aims to improve the quality of life, sustainability and prosperity in rural communities through locally driven development initiatives and projects.
Moray Local Action Group exists to encourage community innovation and support CLLD. And there is much work to do.
We all know our communities, and our planet, are facing serious issues and can no longer accept the status quo. We know, for example, the effects of the climate emergency won’t be stopped or mitigated by doing just one thing. We also know that rising social and economic inequality, deepened by the Covid-19 pandemic, is impacting all of us.
These challenges are complex and tightly interconnected. They are not solvable with one action, one institution, one group.
What we do know is that in order to respond to these challenges, to make positive change and to find solutions, we need multi-layered approaches that are unique to individual communities and led by communities. And that includes all of us.
Community led local development is not a new approach - but its time has come.
Key People
Chair
Alastair Kennedy, Chair, Community, Chair of Elgin Community Council, Chair of Joint Community Councils of Moray, Director of Community Energy Moray, member of Money for Moray.
Deputy Chairs
Michelle Good, Deputy Chair, Community, Community Development Officer, Portgordon Community Trust.
Viktoria Eriksson, Deputy Chair, Community, formerly community development leader of Dufftown and District Community Association, currently on sabbatical while she settles into a new national role.
Members
Elle Adams, Member, Community, Director, Living Alive, Scotland CAN B.
Segun Adebayo, Member, Community, Manager, REAP.
Erica (Rikky) Beck, Member, Community, Member of T-Exchange, Treasurer of Long-Distance Walkers Association, North of Scotland.
Aileen Buchanan, Member, Community, Senior Agricultural Consultant/Area Manager, Scotland's Rural College.
Shannon Creswell, Member, Public Sector, Community Wealth Building Officer, Moray Council.
George McIntyre, Member, Community, Trustee, Gordon & Ena Baxter Foundation.
Sarah Medcraf, Member, Community, Chief Executive, Moray Chamber of Commerce.
Lisa Nairn, Member, Community, Foundation Manager, Adam Family Foundation.
Fiona Robb, Member, Public Sector, Head of Strengthening Communities, Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Scott Sliter, Member, Community, former Chair of Portgordon Community Trust and other community groups.
Fabio Villani, Member and Accountable Body representative, Community, Leadership Team, tsiMORAY, Director of Community Energy Moray.
Alex Walker, Member, Community, Director of Ekopia, Community Energy Moray, Development Trust Association Scotland.