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David Reid, Paradigm Futures Ltd We have so much to learn from history and it is interesting in how many ways things have gone ‘full circle’. A great example is the advent of the national supermarkets many of whom now have a range of express or local shops – effectively

Brendan Turvey, Scottish Natural Heritage We all know that a dose of fresh air can help lift our spirits. For me, it’s running outdoors that keeps me refreshed – and every time I put my running shoes on, nature gives me another gift. A dawn, a sunset, a fleeting glimpse

Inclusive growth has been a feature of the Scottish Government’s Economic Strategy for the past five years, with governments across the globe agreeing that it can help tackle some of society’s most pressing challenges. But what does it mean at a practical level? Scotland Excel has chosen inclusive growth as

Laura Brady, CITB Scotland It’s no secret that the Scottish construction industry needs more workers. Employers, however, need support to allow them to take on more apprentices and staff – particularly in the face of Brexit-related uncertainty. A key part of my work at CITB is to help employers find

Neil McInroy, Centre for Local Economic Strategies(CLES) Inclusive economic growth is a key aspiration and is set out in Scotland’s Economic Strategy. Scotland aims to grow a sustainable and successful economy whilst tackling inequalities. To realise these aspirations, the fast moving Community Wealth Building (CWB) movement offers a practical, common

Steve Dunlop, CEO Scottish Enterprise The definition of economic success is changing. Successful nations no longer seek only to create wealth; they distribute wealth so that success and happiness is shared by everyone – this is the very definition of inclusive growth. Currently in Scotland, less than 70% of working

Wendy Pring, CEng MICE, Co-founder and CEO of KCP Material Transfer Business I have found that being inclusive doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing to the same people and probably won’t feel like the same thing from organisation to organisation. To me what it is, is simply feeling included and

Hamish Trench, Chief Executive, Scottish Land Commission The Scottish Land Commission’s recent conference on ‘Scotland’s Land and Economy’ underscored why the way we own and use land is central to big public policy challenges including climate action, productivity, and a fair economy. Land is a national and a local asset.

Chris Oswald, Equality and Investment Policy Manager, Scottish Government Promoting Inclusive Growth and creating opportunity through a fair and inclusive jobs market and regional cohesion is one of the 4 priorities of the Scottish Government’s Economic Strategy. This focus on employment as a means of advancing equality and reducing poverty

Julie McLachlan, North Ayrshire Council A recent report by the Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP) identified North Ayrshire as having the lowest inclusive growth score in Scotland. It is no secret that Ayrshire contains some of the most challenging economic conditions in Scotland. Given this, there is a need to

The role of business in supporting the delivery of inclusive growth was the focus for the second meeting of the Regional Inclusive Growth Research Network Event (RIGRN). The meeting brought together academics from across Scotland including: Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian, Edinburgh and Stirling University. The guest speakers were Ziga Zarnic, Inclusive

Kevin Rush, Director of Regional Economic Growth, Glasgow City Region City Deal outlines progress being made and how the City Deal is stimulating further growth and investment. Glasgow City Region is one of the largest in the UK, with a population of 1.8 million. Our economy generates over £40 billion

Mark Hepworth, Director of Research and Policy, The Good Economy The Scottish Government wants businesses to play a central role in delivering its inclusive growth policies at the national, regional and local levels. It recognises that engaging constructively with businesses is contingent on a deep understanding of the links between

Richard Holt, Oxford Economics With Regional Economic Partnerships across Scotland, Scottish Futures Trust recently commissioned Oxford Economics to examine the extent to which regional economic arrangements are used alongside local and national interventions to deliver inclusive growth. Our conclusion from the several case studies that we undertook is that there

Professor Stephen Sinclair, Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit Inclusive growth is at the top of not only the Scottish Government’s agenda, but that of countries across the developed world. This interest is relatively new and welcome. Recent Economic orthodoxy is summarized by Robert Lucas, the 2004 Nobel Prize winner,

Professor Alan McGregor, University of Glasgow The £250m Ayrshire Growth Deal (AGD) will provide much-needed momentum to help propel forward economic growth across the area, although this will need to be supported fully by mainstream public sector expenditure and private sector investment if the gap between the Ayrshire economy and

Dr Linda Christie, Policy Scotland Policy Scotland, a research and knowledge exchange centre at the University of Glasgow, is facilitating a new regional inclusive growth research network with support from the Scottish Centre for Regional Inclusive Growth. The network is being coordinated by Dr Linda Christie, to help bring together

Professor Murray Pittock, University of Glasgow A study of Robert Burns and the Scottish Economy, funded by the Scottish Government (Economic Development directorate) in 2018-19, will assess how much the worldwide fascination with Scotland’s national bard is supporting Scottish business and jobs. Led by Professor Murray Pittock at the University

Robert Pollack, Chair of Economic Development Association of Scotland Recognising the limitations of the possible is a fact of life for economic development professionals. We operate in a complex web of multi-scalar interdependencies and relations which are economic, political, technological, social and, increasingly, environmental. By way of example, the UK’s

Jamie Hepburn MSP, Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills The Scottish Government wants to work with local authorities, businesses, and others to grow a network of Regional Economic Partnerships. the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work, Derek Mackay set out the argument for developing strong regional economies

Dr Lesley Sawers, Scotland Commissioner for Equalities & Human Rights The Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is the statutory regulator for equality in Scotland but our role is about much more than just holding people and organisations to account. We also play a key leadership role in helping to

Ross Martin, Regional Economic Advisor, Scottish Government. Scotland’s Economy is a reflection of its people – increasingly diverse, with strong and proud roots in this place where we choose to live, work and play. Looked at through the lens of our most prominent people, e.g. our current crop of world

It has been around a month since the launch of SCRIG and we have been busy despite it being the summer. We have made a number of improvements to the IG dashboard and are now up to version 1.11. The main changes have been to add extra equalities data and

Derek Mackay, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work. A common feature of successful economies in Europe and across the world is a strong regional distribution of economic activity and positive social impact. This approach demands more than just an acceptance of difference in relation to the roles which