Derek Rankine – Head of Policy & Strategy

Derek previously worked for SURF – Scotland’s Regeneration Forum, a charity and membership network, with which he developed 20 years of experience in place-based regeneration.

As SURF’s Policy Manager, Derek was tasked with improving the lives of people in Scotland’s poorer communities by promoting a coordinated approach to regeneration policy and practice. This involved facilitating engagement with members, undertaking research and analysis, establishing an active policy influencing function in the organisation, and effectively presenting information to policy-makers. Derek represented the interests of more than 300 cross-sector SURF member bodies in diverse public policy areas including community empowerment, planning and urban design, culture and heritage, housing, economic development, and town centre regeneration.

In his career to date, Derek has participated in a wide range of regeneration-related partnership projects, governmental advisory groups, funding panels and research initiatives. He has regularly promoted place-based policy trends and issues in national conferences, academic journals, blogs and other channels. In 2019, he founded the Place-Based Exchange Group, a collective of 15 Scotland-wide national bodies that promote place in their work.

Derek joined SURF in 2005 after graduating from the University of Glasgow with an MA in Politics. He has been a Board Member of Community Development Alliance Scotland since 2022, and from 2016-24 was a Trustee of Regional Screen Scotland, the national agency for the development of cinema experiences in communities that presently lack access.

Derek is motivated by evolving relationships between politics and place, and the scope for making positive, practical changes in Scotland’s urban and rural communities. He lives in south Glasgow and is a regular volunteer and participant in Queens Park Parkrun and Queens Park Chess Club.

Email: derekr@befs.org.uk

BACK