The Rural Services Network encompasses a wide range of partners and organisations who all work together to help provide a voice for rural communities. Over 20,000 members belong to the network.

We represent over 500 organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors including leading national bodies, local authorities, utility companies, health trusts, housing associations, grass root community organisations and more.

The Rural Services Network is a membership organisation and includes different types of membership depending on the kind of organisation you belong to.

Sparse Membership – This is for the most sparsely populated local authorities and is the most comprehensive of our membership levels.  The RSN campaigns on behalf of these authorities for fairer funding for public services in rural areas.  This membership package provides a wide range of targeted analysis of rural data and statistics and the work of the RSN dedicated fair funding campaign, along with access to our free dedicated seminar programme and discounted access to National Rural Conference. 

Rural Assembly Membership – This membership is for local authorities with rural areas and provides a number of basic services, and access to the free dedicated seminar programme and discounted access to the National Rural Conference. 

Rural Services Partnership (RSP) Membership – This membership is for non local authority organisations wishing to join the RSN.  There is a different pricing structure depending on the type of organisation, for example a small charity would pay a different level to a national organisation. 

Rural Health and Care Alliance (RHCA) Membership – The RHCA is a is a membership organisation dedicated to providing news, information, innovation and best practice to those delivering and interested in rural health and care. The RHCA has been established through a partnership between the National Centre for Rural Health and Care and the RSN and members are affiliated to both the National Centre and the RSN.

Rural Market Town Group (RMTG) Membership – This type of membership is relatively new and is a basic form of membership, enabling rural market towns and larger parish councils to share best practice and enable some rural networking to take place.

Rural Village Services Group (RVSG) Membership – There are over 6,000 rural villages across England and .over 4,500 of those have a population below 5,000. The RSN has created the Rural Services Village Group to ensure that our rural villages can have a voice to share their experiences and good practice.

If you are an individual wanting to find out more, please do not hesitate to contact nadine.trout@sparse.gov.uk

To view the members of the below groups click on the groupings name: