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'Devon Rural Voice' newsletters
The Devon Rural Network (DRN) was launched in 2003 by Lord Haskins. It was set up to implement the Devon Rural Strategy, produced by the Devon Strategic Partnership's Rural Task Group, which was launched in parallel with the network.
The Network was set up in the wake of the Foot & Mouth outbreak in 2001, which had a huge economic and social cost in Devon. The outbreak highlighted the underlying rural crisis that preceded it and the dependance of all rural sector upon each other. The Rural Strategy was developed to address both the problems and the opportunities of rurality by proposing projects and providing a delivery framework.
The DRN is a partnership of voluntary, statutory and private sector organisations, from grass roots level through to regional level, that have joined forces because they all have a stake in rural Devon. A single voice is often louder. The network is presided by Professor Michael Winter OBE of the University of Exeter and chaired by Rev Philip Wagstaff. Membership currently includes over 300 partners.
The DRN's guiding document is the Devon Rural Strategy, which aims to provide a detailed deliverable route to economic, social and environmental well being for rural Devon. It focuses on 5 priority headings: 
- Accessibility
- Rural Housing
- Community Self-Confidence
- Environment and Climate Change
- Rural Business and Productivity
More information can be found on DRN, its Action Groups, and the Rural Strategy can be found within these pages, along with more general information, under the following headings:
About Us - DRN Structure, Terms of Reference, Guiding Documents, Policy Steering Group, DRN Staff, and Membership to the network
Our Work - give an Action Group Overview, along with more specific information about each of the Action Groups
Information and Advice - includes Newsletters, Good Practice Toolkits, a Jargon Buster to help you decipher policy documents, Market Town information, and Useful Documents
Links - provides links to external websites that you may find useful
Contacts - find contact details for the DRN here
