Neil McInroy, Chair of the Economic Development Association Scotland, and Mia Duncan, Community Wealth Building Project Officer at the IS, explore the role of council officers in transforming local economies.
Scotland’s councils are under pressure. The demands of service delivery are relentless, resources are tight, and expectations placed on local government continue to grow. Senior officers are navigating a complex and fast-moving landscape, with the ever-present need to reform and transform how councils operate, collaborate, and deliver outcomes. In this context, Community Wealth Building (CWB) could sometimes be seen as a distraction - another initiative in an already crowded field. But that view misses the mark. CWB is not peripheral or just another thing. It is central to the kind of transformation that public service reform demands.
CWB is a system change approach. It reimagines how councils use their economic power - through procurement, employment, land, and finance - to build fairer, more democratic, and more resilient local economies. It’s not a siloed economic or community development programme, nor a short-term project. It’s a whole-council and place strategy that aligns with the core purpose of public service: improving lives, empowering communities, and stewarding place. Crucially, CWB is about economic democracy - shifting power over wealth and resources into the hands of local people, and making councils more responsive to the communities and businesses they serve. Far from being a distraction, CWB offers a coherent framework for doing things differently - and doing them better.
And now, with the Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill currently progressing through Parliament, this agenda is moving from aspiration to statutory duty. If passed, the Bill will require local authorities to work with public bodies to produce and implement Community Wealth Building Action Plans. It will also require Scottish Ministers to publish a CWB Statement and, crucially, statutory guidance. That guidance will be pivotal. It must be bold, practical, and enabling. It must support councils to embed CWB across their systems, and empower officers to lead with confidence and clarity.
But, legislation alone isn’t enough - CWB doesn’t operate in isolation. Its success depends on a range of enabling factors: strong political leadership, committed senior officers, a supportive policy environment, skilled staff, and meaningful engagement with communities and anchor institutions. It requires alignment with corporate strategies, integration across departments, and a willingness to challenge traditional ways of working. These conditions are not always easy to achieve, but with the right leadership and support they can be further developed and strengthened.
Elected members set the political direction, but it is officers who lead the organisation, shape culture, and drive delivery. Their leadership is essential in embedding CWB across departments, aligning it with corporate plans, and ensuring it becomes part of the council’s DNA and wider partnerships. And the relationship between senior officers and political leadership is critical. Through joint and collaborative leadership CWB can flourish. CWB is not only a policy agenda but also a practical approach to reshaping how councils work, its transformative potential depends on genuine alignment between political vision and organisational leadership.
This is a demanding time. Officers are dealing with immediate pressures, operational demands, and the complexity of change. But this is also the right time. The scale of the challenges we face - economic inequality, climate breakdown, and democratic deficit - demands more than tweaks to existing systems. CWB offers a values-led, practical response to these challenges. It is a way to deliver public service reform with purpose and impact.
Even so, championing CWB is not straightforward. In a landscape of competing crises and stretched resources, we need the right tools and support to embed it effectively. Insights from IS’s mapping of CWB activity across Scotland show this clearly. To meet this need, we are bringing together officers from across the country to share knowledge and experience on what works - particularly how to engage senior leaders with the transformative potential of CWB. Alongside this, we are developing a dedicated bank of resources for elected members, supported by awareness-raising activity to build momentum. These initiatives are just the start of a wider effort to build the tools and supports that will help local authorities embed CWB in a lasting way.
Senior officers have a unique opportunity to lead this shift. By embedding CWB into the fabric of the organisation, by working closely with elected members, and by being bold in how they use the council’s economic levers, they can transform outcomes for communities. This is ambitious work, calling for courage and creativity with a willingness to embrace change. But the rewards are profound. CWB offers a pathway to more inclusive, democratic, and sustainable local economies. It is a chance for senior officers to lead with purpose, to shape the future of public service, and to leave a legacy of transformation.
We can’t wait for the perfect moment. Let’s lead the change now.