Elected Members Briefing Series

The Improvement Service (IS) has developed an Elected Members Briefing Series to help elected members keep pace with key issues affecting local government. Some briefing notes will be directly produced by IS staff but we will also make available material from as wide a range of public bodies, commentators and observers of public services as possible.

We will use the IS website and elected member e-bulletin to publicise and provide access to the briefing notes. All briefing notes in the series can be accessed here

About this briefing note

This information is gathered from a range of Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) documents and informed by discussion via a Scottish Local Authorities Economic Development (SLAED) working group.

Community wealth building is part of a placed-based approach which is gaining traction across the UK with a number of local authorities. Like all place-based approaches it seeks to reduce inequality, specifically seeking to take a proactive approach to supporting local inclusive economies. It is built upon the concept of creating a fairer, more socially just economy and has been advanced through a blend of five principles:

1. Plural ownership of the economy: seeking to develop a more diverse blend of ownership models.

2. Making financial power work for local places: seeking to increase flows of investment within local economies

3. Fair employment and just labour markets: positively impacting on the prospects and incomes of local people

4. Progressive procurement of goods and services: developing dense local supply chains
Socially productive use of land and property: deepening the function and

5. Socially productive use of land and property: deepening the function and ownership of assets to ensure that any financial gain is harnessed by citizens

This briefing note sets out the key concepts and strategies for community wealth building, and points to other useful sources of information.