Shetland Partnership Network Tuesday 9th December 2025

The session featured a presentation on Shetland population data, a recap on the Network in 2025, and a group discussion reflecting on the Partnership’s activities this year and looking ahead to 2026.

The Shetland Partnership Network aims to help partners create a sense of shared ownership of community planning and to create a safe environment for open and honest conversations around the challenges and opportunities to tackle inequalities in Shetland.  The Network brings together representatives of all community planning partners in Shetland and offers opportunities for information sharing, idea development, and relationship building.

Session Highlights

The session was led by Mark Ratter (Community Planning & Development, Shetland Islands Council).

The opening presentation provided an in-depth look at the most recent population data for Shetland, including Population Data, Components of Population Change, Migration Data, Population Projections (at a Shetland level), and Sub Council Level Data. A discussion then considered what these findings mean for Shetland and the partnership over the longer term, including how the recent Key Workers Study and Empty Homes Study align with and inform the population trends.

Following this was a recap on the Shetland Partnership Network for 2025, through the lens of some of the main development areas of the Supporting Framework. The Supporting Framework underpins the Shetland Partnership Plan and provides partners with the evidence, relationships and systems needed to deliver the actions in the Delivery Plan. The presentation focused on the themes of Trusted Relationships, Community Participation, the Evidence Base and the Communications Strategy & Plan.

The second half of the session centred on group discussions, reflecting on the year and identifying areas for improvement in 2026. These discussions drew on the supporting framework. There was excellent engagement from those in attendance, with conversations providing valuable detail and insight to inform both reflection and planning for 2026.

Engagement and Next Steps

Representatives of 7 partners took part.  Feedback from participants highlighted the group discussions as a key positive, as well as the benefit of a smaller audience, which allowed more space for conversation alongside the presentations.  

The next Shetland Partnership Network session will take place on Thursday 26th February 2026.