CWB: The Conference

As we head towards the possibility of further economic turmoil and the challenges faced when providing opportunity within society, there is a need to reflect on the concept of choice. The purpose of Community Wealth Building (CWB) is to provide choice within communities; empowering them when it comes to prioritising their resource and where they can drive forward economic development which addresses their needs. Following Scotland's first CWB conference, I wanted to spend some time capturing key points from across the sessions and place some of these within the wider debate for change.

The opening session began with an introduction by Craig Hatton speaking to the importance of CWB for North Ayrshire and highlighting the value in bringing community assets back to life. Recognising the venue (Saltcoats Town Hall) as an example, he spoke to the multiple roles this place provided for residents across the local authority and the need for more investment of this nature. Marie Burns followed this point with a recognition of the transformational nature of CWB locally, yet also the role the Council now played in furthering this approach beyond local boundaries. She introduced a short video exploring the life of a young person in the area and how CWB could ensure opportunities to improve their outcomes. Bringing together the different pillars, it was clear how the Council could demonstrate the impact of this approach for their residents and businesses.

We were joined on the day by Tom Arthur (Minister for Community Wealth) who highlighted the need to move beyond simply managing decline and providing solutions for the future. He emphasised the link to the wellbeing economy objectives prioritised by the Government (People, Place and Planet) and offering security against the next crisis we face. Recognising Ayrshire as a trail blazer, there was consideration of the role CWB would play in the new economic strategy being developed. Reflecting on his recent visit to the region, there was direct lived experience of the practicalities of these policies locally. Moving beyond the region, he spoke to the pilot areas established across Scotland who were seeing the benefits of transformation. There was the question of how we move beyond traditional economic measures and avoid the failures of trickle down pursuits. Alongside the upcoming CWB legislation, he recognised the role of the Community Empowerment Act and moves to address Vacant and Derelict Land use nationally. Placing CWB as a fundamental rewiring of the economy, he spoke to Scotland as a world leader in this space.

This point was reiterated by Ted Howard from the Democracy Collaborative who visited Scotland over the summer and experienced the realities of the work underway. In his video contribution he highlighted the shared challenges facing society such as inflation and fuel poverty, with these issues compounded by an extractive system. Having created CWB, he noted its role as an independent economic system; not rebadging existing models but rewiring how we address the role of the economy in society. Following his journey across Scotland, he shared his thoughts on where our nation had been capable of truly embracing this model of change and building clear connections between local need and national priorities.

Moving on to the first plenary session, Russell McCutcheon spoke to the realities of embracing CWB and the implication of adopting this approach across a range of delivery priorities. He recognised the challenges of moving from strategy to action and the creation of measurable outcomes, alongside operating in advance of suitable legislative guidance. This session looked to consider the changes apparent across the key pillars and where this had created real opportunities across the Local Authority.

The video above acted to introduce the financial power concept, capturing the need to invest directly in change and helping to empower communities to look for ways to direct finance to meet their needs. Leveraging other pillars such as procurement, it becomes possible to harness and recirculate existing finance to ensure benefits are shared across communities e.g. working with Mossgiel to provide local milk provision across schools. Lisa Burns spoke to the opportunities surrounding the Quick Quotes process to ensure more work went directly to local business. The Council have committed resource to directly increasing the number of companies registered on Public Contracts Scotland and for contracts under certain values, can directly reach out to a number of local firms, with 58% of contracts now delivered by North Ayrshire businesses. David Hammond spoke to role for Land and Assets as a facilitator for real change, offering the development of new solar farms as a practical example. Through bringing derelict land back in to use, they are looking at being able to fulfil Council energy needs with additional capacity generating further income to deliver community benefit projects. This project will be the first publicly owned site of its kind and will put "power" back in the hands of its people. Michael Breen (Ayrshire College) highlighted the work underway in driving fair employment with prioritisation of inclusive recruitment, apprenticeships and the role of the voluntary sector as a facilitator for real experience. Working across anchor institutes, there is a clear desire to work collaboratively and drive forward change across several of the key employers in the area. Finally we heard from Stewart McGregor (CDS) speaking to the role of inclusive business models with consideration of cooperatives and employee owned structures. In creating an economy which addresses democratic needs, Ayrshire has provided several examples of firms which are on the journey to embracing local voices.

The second morning session considered the role of CWB in addressing local economic needs. Sarah Deas (Wellbeing Economy Scotland) flagged where North Ayrshire was the first council to become a member of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, driven by their desire for pre-distribution and creating a stake for society in the economy. Sarah McKinley (Democracy Collaborative) provided more details on the roots of CWB as a means to transform local economies and control assets through democratic processes. She emphasised that CWB is economic development and while there is a global movement for change, it requires communities to own the process and be connected to each other. Caitriona McCauley (NAC) spoke to the momentum behind CWB within the area, flagging historic engagement in areas such as the Inclusive Growth Diagnostic. Recognising the key challenges facing the area, CWB was identified as the mechanism to address these, however creating the right structures to deliver was integral to success. Alongside the creation of an expert panel to share their experiences, there has been financial commitment with a number of new posts to work with business and funds to help implement these principles. Finishing this session, Stuart MacDonald (CLES) spoke to the role CWB would play in the creation of the Ayrshire Regional Economic strategy. Looking to generate "good lives rather than GVA", there was consideration of the vision that would set the region apart and where each pillar contributed to the needs expressed across both industry and society.

Following a break for lunch, our next session considering the role for CWB in rural and island communities. Emma McMullen (NAC) set the scene from an Ayrshire context, recognising the two islands which exist both as part of the Council, yet also link directly to organisations such as HIE in driving change. The first panel speaker was Calum Iain Maciver from Western Isles Councils who spoke to some of the unique challenges and the scale of other issues (such as fuel poverty) which faced island communities. With ongoing issues surrounding repopulation, there was a desire to use CWB as a mechanism to ensure appropriate opportunities for residents. The Islands Growth Deal has provided a platform to explore where intervention is necessary with specific focus on areas such as energy ownership and how the supply chain can further enhance these. Artemis Pana (Scottish Rural Action) considered the wider role for the rural and island economy, covering 97% of Scotland's landmass, 12% of its population, yet 28% of the countries economic output. There was a chance to consider the dense network of people that helped stimulate innovation to both address market failure and create new products. In addition, a challenge to look beyond the public sector definition for CWB and where the focus could truly embrace community. Sarah Baird (NAC - Islands Lead) concluded with a focus on the recovery and renewal pilot across Arran and Great Cumbrae. Both islands are driven by a focus on progressive growth, yet also recognise the frameworks which exist to help empower their communities. The Islands locality partnership has helped focus the desire to address specific place based issues while putting islanders at the heart of the plan for wellbeing.

The final afternoon session was introduced by Audrey Sutton and very much asked the audience to consider how we put the "Community" in CWB. The challenge to the audience was recognising the community as an anchor and the value of social networks (similar to key messages from Artemis). There was a question as to how we ensure capital exists beyond the economic, recognising both the human and social capital and the confines of natural capital; similar to the principles outlined through Doughnut Economics. There was some practical examples provided of where specific interventions within the North Ayrshire economy had benefited from interventions such as the Community Investment Fund. Audrey was joined on stage by Justin James (introduced in the video above) speaking to the role of youth in CWB and John Deans who flagged the transformation of Saltcoats Railway Station as a community asset. This session concluded with a presentation from Elaine Young (NHS) looking at the introduction of community benefits within a national organisation. Building a bespoke platform, they sought to ensure that local spend resulted in benefits within the local community and that these benefits were defined within the area. In many areas, this has considered alignment with existing community wishlists, recognising their role as an anchor in specific geographies. Work to fully realise the potential of this is ongoing, with a recognition of the need to raise awareness of the mechanism, however it is a clear indication of where other bodies could take their lead.

Neil McInroy provided closing remarks on the day, with a number of specific observations on where CWB is positioned:

• Oikonomos - returning to the roots of the phrase economy, we recognise the social roots of this concept and the value of placing humanity at the centre of its outcomes.
• Wealth - CWB poses the question of where is wealth generated, who has it and where does it go?
• Tension - Recognising the desire to introduce system change through national mechanisms while ensuring the change can be driven locally.
• Momentum - There is clear political will, a collective community commitment and a desire among anchors to understand their role within their respective regions.
• Joined up - Alongside creating clear connections across the pillars, there is also a need to create clear ties between policy and practice.
• People - CWB relies on being able to harness the democratic will of people to take control of the economy and ensure that it addresses their needs.

In terms of my own reflections, I recognise the significant difference CWB plays in furthering economic opportunity. There is a need to ensure language meets the needs of a wider range of audiences and we tailor our conversations appropriately. If we hope to properly engage the private sector, the concept of "community" is one which remains problematic as business is often driven far beyond the confines of a specific region. However framing the conversation around issues such as procurement, land and assets or fair work makes this far easier to connect with their realities. There are still challenges regarding the role for national organisations who straddle Scotland wide priorities, yet who often exist as an anchor in a number of specific geographies. The NHS example was an encouraging one to showcase where different thinking is possible. In terms of the event, I feel that there is potential to showcase a larger range of projects underway across the country and demonstrate the seeds that have been planted through the early Ayrshire activity. As we look to the future, understanding how things have changed across Scotland's regions and the connections made as a consequence of this conference would be beneficial. In the spirit of considering the event in a unique way, I have summarised my thoughts in the poem below with a specific Ayrshire consideration.

The conference

A chance to Cumnock on the door of a different way to deliver

To hear about how CWB can strive towards Fairlie delivered economic growth

Pillars which impact on the Dailly lives of Ayrshire residents

Going Alloway towards supporting local needs and empowering communities

Where rural and island communities Loans us their expertise in driving real change

Our communities acting as our most important anchor, Barr none

This chance to Ayr our thoughts and recognise the lessons learned

Coming together a Crosshouse and home to put people as our priority

The case for change as we climb each Stair towards something more progressive

Our Maidens journey now complete, time to share this story and move Straiton to delivery