Community Wealth Building

The Centre for Economic Strategies (CLES) states that community wealth building is based on five key principles:

• Plural ownership of the economy
• Making financial power work for local places
• Fair employment and just labour markets
• Socially productive use of land and property
• Progressive procurement of goods and services

The Scottish Model of Procurement - procurement that is business friendly and socially responsible - aligns well with these principles and is already at the core of procurement practices across the Scottish public sector.

Scotland Excel's community wealth building service takes its lead from both of these concepts. Beginning with an analysis of spend and supplier data specific to the local area, the service is built around the delivery of workshops which involve key stakeholders from across the council. 

The first workshop brings together council officers, including service delivery specialists, economic development professionals, employability officers and procurement practitioners, to develop a shared understanding of local procurement and identify opportunities to leverage council spend to boost economic wellbeing in their area.  

The second workshop for elected members covers many of the same themes and examines the ways in which councillors can support their local authority's community wealth building plans. 

Both workshop seek to be informative whilst providing a positive challenge to all stakeholders, and delivers outputs that councils can use to inform their community wealth building plans. Scotland Excel can provide further consultancy services to assist with these plans including deeper analysis of local spending and an engagement programme for local suppliers.