Cairngorms 2030 Communities Fund
Million pound pot for Cairngorms communities
The new Cairngorms 2030 Communities Fund is an investment in communities – with a twist. In 2026, communities won’t just have the opportunity to apply for money, they will design the whole process to hand out £1 million from start to finish as part of the Cairngorms 2030 programme, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
People coming together to make a difference is a familiar story in the National Park, whether that is log banks being set up for neighbours struggling to heat their homes, or community garden projects that create peaceful hideouts for people and wildlife alike. This initiative aims to build on that work and take it to a whole new level.
In March 2026, 18 people reflecting diverse communities who live in and love the Cairngorms National Park will come together to form a paid panel. This panel will make a range of important choices about the fund, from eligibility criteria to maximum award amounts and how the money is distributed. There will be big decisions to be made, thoughtful conversations, and the chance to make a real impact on the future of the National Park and its communities.
The fund will build on the core themes of the Cairngorms 2030 programme, aiming to:
- Empower communities to share the future of their local area.
- Transform the way land is managed and used to benefit nature.
- Make getting around the Cairngorms easier, safer and greener.
- Foster healthier, happier communities with wellbeing at their heart.
This is different from our usual approach; the Park Authority will not make decisions about what the fund looks like, or where the money is spent. Instead, we’re handing power over to communities to make decisions about the things that matter most to them. We’re excited to learn from this process along the way.
Panellists will be paid for their time, at a rate of £20.17 per hour, and reimbursed for their travel. They must be available to attend panel meetings on the below dates:
- Wednesday 25 March, 6 to 8.30pm (online)
- Saturday 28 March, 9.30am to 5pm (in-person at a location in the National Park)
- Saturday 25 April, 9.30am to 5pm (in-person at a location in the National Park)
- Wednesday 6 May, 6 to 8.30pm (online)
- Wednesday 13 May, 6 to 8.30pm (online)
- Wednesday 20 May, 6 to 8.30pm (online)
- Saturday 30 May, 9.30am to 5pm (in-person at a location in the National Park)
- Wednesday 17 June, 6 to 8.30pm (online)
For Involve – the independent charity helping guide the process – finding ways to move beyond traditional funding approaches, and strengthen the involvement of people in local decision-making, is their bread and butter. Having worked on everything from Scotland’s Climate Assembly to Bristol City Council’s £4m Community Resilience Fund, Involve will be working directly with the panel to give them all of the support and guidance they need to engage in the process.
Interested in participating? You can express your interest in joining the panel below, until 22 February. Anyone who lives in or loves the Cairngorms National Park and wants to play a part in shaping the future of their community is encouraged to get involved.
After 22 February, Independent charity Involve will review all expressions of interest and ensure a reflective group of people are selected, ensuring that a wide range of ages, backgrounds, experiences and views will be part of the panel.
Frequently asked questions
The panel is a group of up to 18 people who will work together to decide the overall approach to a new £1 million fund, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The panel will receive training to support them in making crucial decisions: everything from what kind of groups should be able to apply to how much they should be able to apply for.
Working together will be key to the process, and the panel will learn from similar projects elsewhere in Scotland, the UK and further afield. In particular, they will explore different examples of participatory funding (ie involving people in funding decisions) and deliberative dialogue (facilitated discussions where the focus is exploring complex issues, rather than winning arguments) to inform their approach.
The panel will be made up of 18 members of the public who reflect a mixture of different experiences and backgrounds. All panel members will live in or have a close connection to the Cairngorms. Our aim is to cover the full geography of the National Park, as well as six key audiences of community groups and residents, farmers and land managers, interest groups, local businesses, under-represented groups and young people.
You can become a member of the panel by registering your interest between Wednesday 7 January and Sunday 22 February 2026. In late February, we’ll work with our partners – the UK’s leading public participation charity Involve – to review all expressions of interest and ensure a reflective group of people are selected. This is intended to cover the full geography of the National Park, as well as six key audiences of community groups and residents, farmers and land managers, interest groups, local businesses, under-represented groups and young people.
If you are selected, someone from Involve will be in touch via email to confirm your place on the panel. This will be followed up by a phone call, where you will have a chance to ask any questions and tell us if you need any additional support to attend the sessions.
Yes, there are some restrictions. Panel members must be 16 or over and cannot work for the Park Authority or The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Immediate family of employees and board members of these organisations (spouses, parents or children) are excluded. Those with politically restricted roles – such as Members of Scottish or UK Parliament, councillors and similar – are also excluded.
As it is a panel of 18 people, your attendance at every session really matters for the group conversation and collective decisions about the fund. If you are unable to commit to attend the majority of the sessions, we will need to free up the opportunity for someone who can.
The dates of the panel meetings are listed below. We anticipate panellists will be required to commit a total of 35 hours to these meetings, which includes some time for preparation and reading in advance of the meetings.
In recognition of the time and effort that panel members are committing to the process, the Park Authority will pay an hourly rate of £20.17. We will also cover all reasonable expenses that enable you to participate, such as travel, dependent care or any adjustments required to participate. Panel members will be able to choose whether payment is received either by bank transfer or in vouchers, and this will be paid after attendance at meetings.
The Park Authority is aware that payment such as this may impact benefits received. Should you be selected and have concerns this may impact you, please contact Eilidh Todd on 01479 873 535 or [email protected].
After the deadline for expressions of interest on Sunday 22 February, we’ll work with our partners – Involve, the UK’s leading public participation charity – to review all expressions of interest and ensure a reflective group of people are selected. The process will include eligibility checks, sorting expressions of interest into target groups, random selection and human review / balancing.
Our aim is to cover the full geography of the National Park, as well as six key audiences of community groups and residents, farmers and land managers, interest groups, local businesses, under-represented groups and young people.
Involve are the UK’s leading public participation charity. Since 2003, they have been working with governments, charities, universities and members of the public to create, advocate for and deliver activities that makes a real difference: improving decision-making and enabling people to shape the decisions that affect their lives.
The team working on this project have significant experience in this area, including Scotland’s Climate Assembly, which brought together 106 adults from across Scotland to answer the question: ‘How should Scotland change to tackle the climate emergency in an effective and fair way?’
They also led the development of the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland, Dunfermline’s New City Assembly, and helped design a £4 million community resilience fund with Bristol City Council and a group of voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations.
Involve will oversee the panel selection process and will organise and facilitate the panel sessions.
Alongside our partners Involve, the Park Authority will be supporting and facilitating the Cairngorms 2030 Communities Fund panel.
The Park Authority will also act as accountable body for the fund, ensuring that public money is being used and managed appropriately. We will handle payment of grants made through the Cairngorms 2030 Communities Fund and support the fund’s administration.
The Park Authority is responsible for all payments made to panellists for their time. There is no employment relationship between the Park Authority and members of the panel. This means panel members do not work for or have contracts with us. The payments made by the Park Authority reflect the time and effort contributed to the process.
The panel will complete their discussions on the design of the fund in June 2026 and then the Park Authority will help put their plans into action. The aim is to open the fund in summer 2026, with initial grants awarded throughout summer and autumn 2026. Exact timescales and details of the application process will be confirmed by the panel.
Wednesday 7 January – expression of interest opens
Friday 22 February – expression of interest closes
End February to early March – panel members are selected and contacted by Involve
March to June – eight panel sessions take place:
- Wednesday 25 March, 6 to 8.30pm (online)
- Saturday 28 March, 9.30am to 5pm (in-person at a location in the National Park)
- Saturday 25 April, 9.30am to 5pm (in-person at a location in the National Park)
- Wednesday 6 May, 6 to 8.30pm (online)
- Wednesday 13 May, 6 to 8.30pm (online)
- Wednesday 20 May, 6 to 8.30pm (online)
- Saturday 30 May, 9.30am to 5pm (in-person at a location in the National Park)
- Wednesday 17 June, 6 to 8.30pm (online)
Yes, panel members can also claim reasonable expenses that enable you to participate, including:
- Travel to and from in-person meetings
- Contributions towards dependent care, eg childcare
- If you have any questions about what other support is available, please get in touch with Eilidh Todd on 01479 873 535 or [email protected]
The Park Authority’s intention is to give the panel as much control as possible over where the money is spent. There will be some practical restrictions from our funders The National Lottery Heritage Fund and due to our status as a public body; these will be made clear to the panel from the beginning of the process.
This is a new approach to grant making in the Cairngorms National Park, and we’re looking forward to learning more as the process unfolds.
Interested in participating?
Register your interest below to be considered for a position on the panel.
More information
If you have any questions or require further support, please contact Eilidh Todd on 01479 873 535 or [email protected].
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Date
July 2021 - December 2028
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Value
£1,000,000
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Location
National Park-wide
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Partnership plan objectives
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Partners
