RDT - The People

RDT’s Managing Director, Gordon Muir, is a well respected local businessman and is well connected and experienced with a range of organisations including:

• Director of Routes to Work South the employment and training organisation for South Lanarkshire
• Chairman of Liber8 the alcohol diversionary project for South Lanarkshire as well as being the holding company of Streetbase, a youth street work project
• Former Chairman of Healthy Valleys the healthy living initiative for the Douglas and Nethan Valleys
• Former Director of Lanarkshire Chamber of Commerce
• Various private businesses largely in the transport and travel sector

Chris Parkin is RDT’s Director of Rural Programmes. Chris has recently joined the company following many years delivering business development support, managing the LEADER+ Programme and developing innovative projects in rural South Lanarkshire. Chris is also used in an advisory capacity by both the Scottish Government and Scottish Agricultural College. His main role with RDT is to deliver our contract to manage, administer, promote and animate the South Lanarkshire Rural Partnership LEADER Programme from 2008-11. This includes the development of a new electronic application and approval system, the management of umbrella schemes and funds [including community capacity building, development trust establishment and support and tourism development] and external fundraising.

RDT also has a broad range of experience and skills available on the Board and this has proven to be invaluable to the growth and success of RDT. The Board are encouraged to take a hands- on approach when projects are being developed which can make use of their skills. Skills include agriculture, forestry and land management, social and youth development, business management and health and well-being.

In addition to the Board of Directors we also have a portfolio of specialist associates who are engaged on various projects as required for RDT, our associates include:

· Paul Lamarra is an award winning journalist who has worked for The Sunday Times and Times Education Supplement. He also writes highly successful outdoor books that RDT publish under the name of Tinto Press [wholly owned by RDT]. In addition Paul organised and managed the Clydesdale Outdoor Festival. Paul has also produced podcasts of local walks and these have been made available to download from the festival website www.outdoor-clydesdale.com. Paul has also recently written features on Lanarkshire for Country Walking magazine and Walk magazine as well as broadcasting on BBC Radio 4.

· Rose Clarkson has over 20 years experience of working with rural communities on natural resource management projects. For many years she worked in various African countries working and living alongside rural communities on livelihood, community forestry and horticulture projects. More recently she has worked nearer to home, and the last few years she has been engaged on contract to Scottish Natural Heritage in South Lanarkshire as Manager of the Clyde Valley Woodlands Project. In 2006 Rose was commissioned to research and investigate the potential for developing a LEADER Transnational project with groups based in Sicily. This scoped the nature of potential activity focusing on sustainable local agricultural production and eco-tourism. Rose has also prepared two successful bids on behalf of the Forestry Commission Scotland for EU funding (Objective 1&2 ERDF) – Wood-fuel Development Project & Community Self Build Scotland Project