Community Land in Europe

About the Project

This PhD will play a key role in the Community Land in Europe project, funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Leadership Award. Comprising a project lead, postdoctoral researcher and doctoral student, the aim of the project is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the range and nature of community land ownership across Europe and how it affects sustainable development outcomes in rural areas

The ways land is used has major implications for local, national and global outcomes. With the spectres of war, climate change and soil exhaustion remaining a permanent threat, there has never been more emphasis placed on the effective use and governance of European land. One of the ten shared goals in the European Union’s Rural Vision involves ‘multi-level and place-based governance, developing integrated strategies using collaborative and participatory approaches’, with a specific focus on control over land. These targets reflect efforts to better integrate local people into decision-making around land, including through devolving total control over land governance to the surrounding community.

The focus of this research is instances where a ‘community of place’ acquires the title to a land asset and governs it through broadly consensual, accountable and democratic means, for the benefit of local people. Approaches to place-based community governance have long been the focus of Nobel Prize-winner Elinor Ostrom, most notably through her Common Pool Resources (CPR) theory. CPR focuses on how communities can effectively manage shared resources, like land, through self-governance and community-based rules, rather than relying solely on private ownership or government control. While these concepts have largely been applied to collective action around rural ‘commons’, it is unclear how they apply to privately-owned assets in this way.

A complementary concept, with direct relevance to community land ownership, is Social Innovation (SI), referring to new ideas or approaches to reconfiguring social and institutional practices in addressing a social problem. Recent research has focused on social innovations in local land governance across Europe, with considerable focus on community forest ownership. Together, CPR and SI converge on the crucial role of people and communities in creating new approaches to managing shared assets for the collective social good. This study will utilise, synthesise and build upon these theories through considering their application to promoting sustainable rural development through the community ownership of land across Europe.

The PhD

The PhD will comprise multiple empirical methods to develop an in-depth understanding of international examples of community land ownership. A target of three case studies in different European nations will consider approaches to, and experiences of, community land ownership across a range of geographic, historical and socio-political variables.

The methodology will be developed by the successful candidate, but the following approach would likely be favoured due to its convergence with the broader research design:

• A conceptual investigation of the convergences between CPR, SI and the intricacies of sustainable rural development, within the context of modern community landownership.
• Qualitative data collection to develop a deeper understanding of examples of community land ownership in case study countries.
• Q Methodology to capture and interpret local perspectives towards community land ownership and the extent to which these differ across borders and contexts.

The successful candidate will work closely with the postdoctoral researcher and project lead in informing other aspects of the research project. The team will adopt an enhanced ethical approach to the research throughout, seeking ways in which community groups and local residents can benefit from the presence, conduct and findings of the researchers.

The Research Environment

The PhD will be based at the Centre for Mountain Studies (CMS) at the Perth campus of the University of the Highlands and Islands. CMS is an interdisciplinary research centre which, since its establishment in 2000, has been a leading light in the fields of land reform and community landownership. The small team conduct a wide range of research and collaborative knowledge exchange activities relating to mountain studies, ecology, rural and island development, and cultural heritage, both within Scotland and internationally. As well as contributing to the wider Community Land in Europe project, the successful candidate will have other opportunities to contribute to live research and teaching within the Centre.

CMS is an established part of the wider research environment at the University of the Highlands and Islands. The distinctive partnership of independent colleges and research centres across the Highlands and Islands region is both rooted in communities and internationally significant.

Nearly three quarters of the research submitted for assessment to the UK-wide 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) achieved the two top grades: world leading (4*) and internationally excellent (3*) and situated UHI as one of the UK’s leading modern universities. UHI consistently comes top of the rankings for postgraduate student satisfaction and PhD students have regular opportunities to interact and collaborate across the network.

Eligibility

Applicants would normally be expected to have:

• A Masters or Honours degree in a relevant area, or requisite research experience;
• A demonstrated interest in, and enthusiasm for, the subject area;
• Strong qualitative research skills and experience of conducting community-based research;
• Good level of written and oral communication;
• Excellent collaborative and team-working skills;
• Commitment to participatory and interdisciplinary research;
• Ability to spend periods of fieldwork abroad;
• Willingness and ability to contribute to the wider activities and ethos of the Centre for Mountain Studies.

A full driving licence would be beneficial, but not essential.

The Centre for Mountain Studies operates a hybrid working policy, but it is expected that the successful candidate will spend at least three days per week in the office on the UHI Perth campus.

How to apply

Please send a CV and Cover Letter (outlining your motivation for applying and how you feel your background, skills and experience would contribute to the project) to Dr Bobby Macaulay (Bobby.macaulay.perth@uhi.ac.uk).

The deadline for applications is 23.55 on Sunday 17th of May 2026. Interviews will take place on the 1st/2nd of June 2026 at UHI Perth. In person attendance if preferable, but there will be an online option if necessary.

For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Bobby Macaulay (Bobby.macaulay.perth@uhi.ac.uk).

Funding Notes

The studentship will commence in October 2026 and is funded for 3.5 years, covering home fees and a stipend paid at standard UKRI rates (£21,805 from October 2026).

Funding is available for students worldwide, however non-UK students will be liable for the difference between home and international fees.

A generous budget is available for training, fieldwork, translation and dissemination.