Community Wealth Building in Scotland: The Evolution of Policy and Practice. Policy Spotlight (August 2024)
This Policy Spotlight reviews the evolution of Community Wealth Building policy and practice in Scotland over the last few years, with reflections on what this means for rural and island communities. This report is the second in a series of three reports produced through the ‘Novel Insights on Scotland’s Rural and Island Economies (NISRIE)’ project, which is part of the Scottish Government’s Strategic Research Programme 2022-27. The first report explored how Community Wealth Building can be applied in a rural and island context and the third report will explore international experiences of adopting this approach.
Researchers undertook a desk-based review of the evolution of Community Wealth Building policy and practice in Scotland. We reviewed the history of Community Wealth Building approaches and their adoption in Scotland, initially through the designated pilot areas and then more widely, and then discuss the Community Wealth Building consultation and the legislation which is currently being developed.
The Community Wealth Building approach in Scotland was inspired by its adoption elsewhere internationally, with the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government in 2020-21 recognising the need to rethink local economies and communities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Funding was announced for pilot areas and a commitment was made to develop a Community Wealth Building Bill through the Bute House Agreement. The Scottish Government ran a consultation on this in early 2023, in which many respondents argued the need for an approach which requires public bodies to embed Community Wealth Building into their work and to produce collaborative and place-based Community Wealth Building strategies and action plans, combined with ‘bottom-up’ activities by communities, would be most favourable. Various organisations have worked to inform the adoption of a Community Wealth Building approach in Scotland, including the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, the Economic Development Association Scotland and Scottish Rural Action, with the latter focusing on its adoption in a rural and island context.
Whilst there has been increased Scottish focus on Community Wealth Building in recent years, the approach is not new. Since its emergence in the United States twenty years ago, the approach has evolved and perspectives on its applicability in a UK and Scottish have developed recently, becoming increasingly evident in Scottish policy discourse. A summary of key timelines regarding Community Wealth Building in Scottish policy and practice is given below.
Adopting Community Wealth Building principles can help to empower communities and tackle inequalities. It is important to understand how the principles might apply differently in a rural and island context and how policy and practice may need to reflect that. For example, taking a broad perspective on which organisations may play the role of anchor institutions is important, as is understanding how these organisations network together to support wealth generation locally (and how these networks can be enhanced), and how they work in genuine, equitable partnership arrangements with external organisations.
Understanding how Community Wealth Building principles may align with other Scottish Government priorities, including land reform, community empowerment and achieving a wellbeing economy, is also important, not least to inform how different policy interventions may be shaped to address all these priorities.
Sharing learning across Community Wealth Building projects and initiatives is important, as is acknowledging and enhancing the long history of these types of approaches in many (though not all) rural and island communities in Scotland through a variety of different activities, including crofting and the role of small and micro private, social and third sector organisations.
