Economic Development matters: Building a successful Scottish economy
With a new Scottish First Minister and Cabinet team, the economy has come into renewed focus. Economic Development (ED) is and will remain crucial to Scotland’s Economic Future.
ED is where economic stewardship and policy becomes real, as it is a core part of how we implement economic policy and how we make change. ED is multifaceted and deeply practical: working with and offering support to businesses and enterprises, developing labour market and skills and creating fertile contexts for local investment and development opportunities. Furthermore, because the big monetary and fiscal economic policy levers remain reserved to the UK parliament, economic development is a relatively large part of national and local economic stewardship. Economic development matters. And it especially matters in Scotland.
As we look toward an even more economically successful Scotland, it is important to place that aim within the context of climate crisis and wider global economic trends. In my other role (aside from Chair of EDAS, I work for an USA based think tank as a global Lead), I work with businesses, economic development policy people and practitioners from across the world. I recently attended 2 economic development events in North Carolina, USA and in Vancouver, Canada. What is increasingly apparent is the importance of ED in the light of climate crisis and ever concentrations of wealth. We are in a moment of great transition and ED is central to it. This is a transition in which the dominant economic model – that is currently overly predicated on fossil fuels and unsustainable material resource, with growing wealth inequality – is transitioning to an economic model which is greener and more universally generous as regards wealth distribution.
The transition is hard and there is no time to waste. Each country across the world is grappling with this transition and every jurisdiction has its own policy debate over priorities and pace of change. For Scotland, we have made strides with clear points of direction. However, whilst the new is not yet fully born and the pathway is not smooth, we do know that economic development and community wealth building is and will be increasingly key. Vision, policy and political will are pre-requisites for this transition, but of equal importance is the everyday practical implementation with a restless exploration of transformative actionable solutions.
The practical realities are grounded in the repositioning of key economic development activities. Patterns of investment are changing. Investment for investments sake was never viable for sustainable economic growth. Therefore, in an increasingly financialised global economy we need to ensure that public investment is used as an active influencer of private investment and finance, so we achieve the growth of clean, green, and job rich enterprises. To accelerate the economic change required we need to grow the economy so that it more deeply relates to place, employees and community. The growth of community wealth building and especially the growth of inclusive business models associated with employee ownership, cooperatives and social enterprises etc will play an even greater role.
The economic change happening in light of the worsening climate crisis, will see a transformation of business and industrial sectors and a growth of new technology. In Scotland we are blessed with global leading energy renewable possibilities including wind. This decarbonised energy source, comes with significant investment and new business opportunities, where there is and will increasingly be the growth of ancillary and green electricity related industry and jobs. Furthermore, with an avowed and necessary policy commitment to a Just Transition, this growth will come with a deep recognition of the need to ameliorate economic dislocation or negative change prompted by the energy transition.
In planning and place design we will continue to see the necessary growth in cycling, walking, with more public and shared transport. It is essential that we reduce material and resource use, and that this is seen as a central part of economic change, including the with growth of new standards. As ever, investment in human skills and capabilities will be a prerequisite for business growth and the Scottish Fair work agenda is central to achieving greater business and wider economic productivity.
In heralding and making this new future possible we must look to the work of our core public agencies and our enterprise agencies and local authorities. They are at the front line of supporting business, growing inclusive business models, building skills, attracting investment and innovating. They have strategies, and actions and in partnership are coming up with ideas and projects and crucially delivering them. These organisations have an intimate relationship to the Scottish economy, as they know what business and enterprise needs in the short term, are aware of what public services and policy can (and can’t do), whilst ever savvy to the wider economic transition required. Furthermore, trade unions and social sector players, add significant granularity, relevance and cutting edge voice and know how. Partnerships across sectors and with business are vital and at all scales: be it national, regional, island or local. Economic development stands as a key glue to a shared national agenda for change.
As the new First Minister and cabinet renew their focus on the economy, economic development stands ready to do the practical work. It is in the DNA of Scotland’s Economic Development and its practitioners to put vision into implementation, policy into practice, words into action.
Economic development matters.
By Neil McInroy, EDAS Chair