Community Wealth Building (CWB) is a people-centred approach to local economic development, which redirects wealth back into the local economy, and places control and benefits into the hands of local people.
As a part of this Community Wealth Building case study, we present the results of four reports on different aspects of Community Wealth Building, ranging from the Evolution of Policy and Practice to a range of international examples that utilised this approach. Our reports explored the history of Community Wealth Building approaches and their adoption in Scotland, as well as designated pilot areas and several international examples in both urban and rural settings. We also discuss the Community Wealth Building consultation and the ongoing development of related legislation.
Robin’s Boat ice cream kiosk, Calgary Bay, Isle of Mull (Credit: Ana Vuin)
Stage
Work in ProgressDirectory of Expertise
Purpose
Since the EU-exit there has been a lot of uncertainty over the funding budgets and priorities, particularly regarding replacements for EU support mechanisms that many rural economies, communities and particularly farms and crofts were relying on. There is an increased need to further develop our approach to rural and island economies and explore options for measuring the resilience and challenges these communities face. Providing evidence on business support and infrastructure gaps and opportunities can help both the Scottish and UK Governments better target future support to stimulate infrastructure investment, foster innovation and improve economic resilience in rural and island economies and communities, particularly in the context of a Just Transition and the Scottish Government’s climate change ambitions.
Through a series of four reports we have presented a comprehensive overview of the Community Wealth Building from different perspectives. These were designed to showcase how rural and island communities might be empowered to influence local decisions (both in Scotland and internationally), shape rural and island services, and directly address poverty through the encouragement of local economic development.
Report 1: Community Wealth Building: Approaches relevant to rural and island communities
Report 2: Community Wealth Building in Scotland: The Evolution of Policy and Practice: Policy Spotlight
Report 3: Community Wealth Building: Learning from International Experiences
Report 4: Community Wealth Building: Pilots and Pioneer Case Studies
Our last report (report 4) delves into the five pilot case studies in Scotland and shares insights into the development and implementation of the action plans based on the Community Wealth Building approach.
The reports, presented in this case study, are a part of the ‘Novel Insights on Scotland’s Rural and Island Economies (NISRIE)’ project, and aim to highlight particular opportunities and challenges for rural businesses and communities.
Results
While there has been increased focus on Community Wealth Building in recent years, this 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. This activity reflects a shift in thinking around how economic development and wealth generation can take place in Scotland’s communities - providing the foundations towards greater local community empowerment and fostering economic resilience.
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Evolution of Community Wealth Building in Scottish Policy and Practice (authors)
Thus, Report 1 and Report 2 focus on the ‘Evolution of policy and practice of the Community Wealth Building in Scotland’, as well as ‘Relevant approaches and applicability of the Community Wealth Building models in rural and island settings’.
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Report 1 (left) and Report 2 (right) (authors)
Furthermore, Report 3 confirmed that the ethos of Community Wealth Building has been long present in other countries and cultures (including Scotland), developing local economies within its culture and capacity, and very often not operating under a specific banner such as the ‘Community Wealth Building’. From this report it is apparent that locally developed and led initiatives are often shaped by unique histories and contexts, such as the informal seed exchange initiatives in Sonoran Desert or social cooperatives in Italy and Spain.
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Report 3 (authors)
Similar to other international examples, the Scottish Community Wealth Building pilots report (Report4) offered different approaches. The report discussed five pilot sites that participated in Scottish Government’s 2020/21 Programme for Government committed pilot funding, to develop Community Wealth Building action plans, inspired by the pioneering work of North Ayrshire Council and the Ayrshire Regional Growth Deal’s fund for community wealth building. We saw that some communities are pursuing more comprehensive approach and integration of the Community Wealth Building (Fife, Clackmannanshire, and the Western Isles), and others (Glasgow City Region and the South of Scotland) focussing on targeted priorities such as the sustainable procurement and retrofitting of the social housing.
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Report 4 (authors)
The common theme across all reports and case studies was that the success of the Community Wealth Building approaches depended on several factors:
- including supportive policy and legislation,
- the recognition of the bottom up approaches and utilisation of the local strengths that are already present and embedded in the landscape (such as social enterprises),
- efficient and strong leadership from the anchor institutions and relevant stakeholders,
- collaboration across different sectors and levels,
- empowerment of the local communities,
- flexibility of the model,
- development of the evaluation and monitoring frameworks prior implementation of the action plans and initiatives.
In addition, our reports highlighted existing challenges to the development and implementation of Community Wealth Building initiatives, including limited capacity, access, resources, and human capital, particularly in rural and island areas. However, these limitations may not be as detrimental to communities that are already self-reliant, resilient, and aware of these challenges. They can serve as a foundation for leveraging existing rural strengths, such as robust social enterprises, to craft a uniquely Scottish model of rural and island Community Wealth Building.
Drawing on a combination of international and Scottish experiences, it is clear that successful initiatives require localised approaches underpinned by strong policies, collaboration, and leadership. For Scotland, and particularly its rural and island communities, building on these strengths while addressing key challenges offers an opportunity to position Community Wealth Building as a promising strategy for inclusive and sustainable economic development.
Benefits
In this report series, we explored different perspectives on the Community Wealth Building and ensured that the presented information was accessible and suitable for different audiences. These reports can cater for a range of different stakeholders, providing in-depth information on a) relevance, b) developing policy and practice, c) learnings from other communities and places and d) the experiences of stakeholders involved in the development of the Pilot sites in Scotland.
Based on both local and international examples, it is clear that Community Wealth Building approaches can address a range of socio-economic challenges, in both urban and rural settings. These include job creation and workforce integration of vulnerable populations, implementation of Community Wealth Building principles across different sectors in support of the affordable housing, poverty reduction and improved wellbeing of targeted populations.
Community Wealth Building approach offers Scotland an opportunity to deepen its commitment to inclusive, locally driven economic development. By addressing challenges while building on existing strengths, Community Wealth Building can serve as a transformative tool, particularly for rural and island communities, promoting sustainable growth and resilience across diverse settings.
These outputs can be used to inform other Community Wealth Building projects and create a common monitoring framework for all the involved stakeholders to use in the future to ensure their projects are suitable to the rural and island places in which they are located. In the next two years, NISRIE team will:
- develop a monitoring framework to assess the impacts of Community Wealth Building on rural and island economies in Scotland,
- continue collaborating with selected communities to enable ongoing learning and improved understanding of the Community Wealth Building in different contexts, and
- develop policy recommendations for integration of the Community Wealth Building model in rural and island communities.
Location
DefaultProject Partners
SRUC
Documents
- Community Wealth Building: Approaches relevant to rural and island communities
- Community Wealth Building: Case Studies of Scotland Pilots
- Community Wealth Building: Learning from International Experiences
- Community Wealth Building: The Evolution of Policy and Practice.