South West ACRE Network (SWAN)

Action with Communities in Rural England

ACRE’s rural vision

Our vision is that rural communities will increasingly take a leading role in ensuring the social, environmental and economic well-being of all their residents. They will do this in a way that provides for the present generation and also plans for future needs and future challenges. RCAN members will be there to stimulate their thinking, support their work and help turn their aspirations into reality.

SWAN - the South West ACRE Network

RCCs in the South West have been working together since 1986. In 1998, SWAN was registered as an independent charity and became an Incorporated Charity on 1 October 2007. SWAN’s Board includes chief executives and chairs of all seven Rural Community Action Network members in the South West. SWAN aims to:

Influence regional policies, strategies and outcomes for rural communities in the South West
Promote and represent the rural voluntary and community sector and rural communities in the South West
Facilitate performance improvement across the network to optimise the impact of RCAN work in a huge regional rural constituency
Enable collaboration between RCAN members across a range of functions and services
Increase evidence of rural needs.