Recruitment: Vacant & Derelict Land Project Manager at DTAS

Vacant & Derelict Land Project Manager

£35k + pension (11.5% employer contribution)

This exciting 2 year post is the result of a partnership between the Scottish Land Commission and the Development Trusts Association Scotland which seeks to address the challenging problem of vacant and derelict land. In particular the post will focus on the smaller derelict sites, which often cause the most harm to local communities, but can equally be well suited to community-led regeneration. Working alongside development trusts or other community organisations, the post-holder will develop practical and innovative approaches to bringing different types of these small and persistently problematic sites back into productive use, in a way that could support and scale-up community led regeneration across Scotland.

The post-holder will be based within DTAS, the national membership organisation for development trusts, and will require to have good experience of delivering community-led regeneration. This is a unique post which will also require good negotiating and communication skills, knowledge of financing projects of this nature, a creative and solutions-focussed approach and the ability to capture and report on the learning from the project.

For more information and how to apply please email aileen@dtascot.org.uk

The closing date for applications is Friday 24th April at 5pm.


DTA Scotland is committed to a policy of equality & diversity.
Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) No: SC034231
We take the collection and use of your data seriously, please see link to the DTAS Recruitment Privacy Statement


Funded by the Scottish Land Commission: 

Update: Chair Liz McEntee's Statement and EDAS COVID-19 response

Dear colleague, I hope this email finds you well as you navigate the uncertainties and responses to the current COVID-19 pandemic.  Last week, I commenced my first term as the new Chair of EDAS (the Economic Development Association Scotland). I take on this role at a time like no other. When I was appointed in December, I could not have imagined the changes that would take place to our working lives and personal freedoms in just a few short months, let alone the terrible human cost this pandemic is bringing.  The current COVID-19 crisis is a game changer. While UK and Scottish Government responses rightly prioritise public health measures to save lives, this comes at huge cost to our economy. Throughout this unprecedented time, I know that our role in EDAS is to build an understanding of what this means for our economy and of the best way those working in economic development can respond.  In this regard, I am thankful to be chairing a highly skilled board that reflects the diverse interests of the economic development community in Scotland, to Robert Pollock, who has led EDAS so ably throughout the last five years and to the excellent EDAS staff who support and enable all we do.  Our priority in the weeks and months ahead will be to listen to our members, sharing their views and ideas, so we can make the case for a comprehensive economic recovery plan when the time comes – one that focuses on wellbeing and equality as well as growth as we continue to lead debate and dialogue about creating an inclusive economy . In all of this, we will look to new ways to engage, safely, with you as we shape this important agenda and work to promote economic prosperity in every sense for Scotland’s people, businesses and communities in the years to come.    EDAS has prepared the statement below on the new work we will be considering during this time, from looking right now at our resilience and ability to best support the economic development community; to building an understanding of how COVID-19 and its impact here and at global level will affect our economy; and to what will be needed in terms of recovery and restructuring going forward when the world has experienced such a seismic shift. As a Board, we will be meeting virtually every two to six weeks during this time to assess how we can support our members going forward, whilst creating spaces to engage with you in shaping what we do. I very much look forward to working with you during this unprecedented time in all of our lives. I am sure that what we are facing now will forge new relationships and ways of working that will stand us in good stead as we move through the crisis and beyond. It is certainly a reminder of our vulnerability, strength and humanity.   Best wishes, Liz McEntee  Chair, EDAS

EDAS COVID-19 Statement: April 2020  As with all organisations we are trying to understand the implications of the pandemic for our work. We recognise that members will be under intense pressure to cope with the economic development consequences of the current emergency and we will try to organise our contribution accordingly. We currently see three main phases which we will have to respond to, although the nature and timing of these will be very much dependent on how the pandemic and the response of governments evolves: Resilience - what can be done to help the survival of the people and business that form the foundation of the economy – e.g. how can we assist members to share the lessons of experience? (April-June months) Recovery - how can we begin to rebuild as the immediate crisis eases – e.g. what are the lessons from elsewhere? (July-December) Restructure – how can we understand the longer-term opportunities and threats that will emerge from the enormous shock the economy has faced? This may require some significant re-imagining of economic objectives and assets. (September onwards). As Graeme Roy of the Fraser of Allander Institute recently wrote:  “The economy that will emerge from this may look quite different and not just because many businesses may struggle to survive. How individual sectors and businesses will adapt over the next few months – from retail through to universities – may change behaviours forever. The government’s response to the public health crisis is arguably the first step on a new social partnership between the State and business, perhaps unlocking a much broader conversation about inequalities and sharing the proceeds of growth more evenly across society.” We will endeavour to help members keep on top of trends that begin to emerge as the economy undergoes a significant reset. We think our current policy themes will continue to have relevance in this environment, although we will keep them under review. The precise content and nature of our events programme will be adapted as circumstances develop.  With over 3,000 members and a positive approach to collaborative working, we encourage your involvement and welcome your input. About Liz McEntee Liz McEntee is a Director with Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector (GCVS), the main development support agency for the third sector in the city. During her extensive career, she has worked for a range of national and local charities and a major UK social enterprise as well as in further education and local authority economic development.   She brings a wealth of knowledge about people and place-based regeneration as well as expertise in good governance through her work with SCVO, GCVS, and extensive board experience. She is a passionate advocate for economic and social justice in Scotland and valued for her authentic leadership style, strategic thinking, interpersonal skills and collaborative approach to partnership working.  She holds an MSc (Distinction) in Local Economic Development from the University of Glasgow and is a Fellow of the RSA. About EDAS EDAS provides opportunities for: Continuing professional development, through training, events and briefings covering policy and research updates and lessons from practice and other places, Networking with members and other stakeholders in economic development in the public, private and third sectors, Influencing the development of policy from the perspective of having to put it into practice. Membership of EDAS is an investment which will generate returns thorough increased effectiveness and improved outcomes, alongside greater efficiency and higher productivity.

Blog: "COVID-19: There are more questions than answers" - Charlie Woods, SUII

"There are more questions than answers"

Charlie Woods is EDAS's Policy and Practice
sub-group Chair and Director of the
Scottish Universities Insight Institute

So sang Johnny Nash in the early seventies. It seems particularly apt as we think about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. As we scrabble about to make sense of what’s happening, the final line of the chorus also seems to be particularly appropriate - “And the more I find out the less I know”. Hopefully, things will become clearer, but we are only in the foothills of understanding at the moment.

It certainly feels like things will be different. It may well be that some longer-lasting improvements occur, for example, as people learn from what worked well from cooperating and breaking down silos to tackle the crisis – this was certainly the experience of Finland and Ireland in previous emergencies. But we must also recognise there might possibly be some backward moves as people and countries become more defensive and frightened and seek to isolate themselves further.

In the latest Fraser of Allander Commentary, published in late March 2020, Graeme Roy alluded to some of the possibilities:

“The economy that will emerge from this will look quite different and not just because many businesses may struggle to survive. How individual sectors and businesses will adapt over the next few months – from retail through to universities – will change behaviours forever. The government’s response to the public health crisis is arguably the first step on a new social partnership between the State and business, perhaps unlocking a much broader conversation about inequalities and sharing the proceeds of growth more evenly across society.”

Writing in the Guardian around the same time, William Davis was clear on breadth of the pandemic’s impact globally, and the potential long term importance of the current crisis, if not the outcome:

“It will take years or decades for the significance of 2020 to be fully understood. But we can be sure that, as an authentically global crisis, it is also a global turning point. There is a great deal of emotional, physical and financial pain in the immediate future. But a crisis of this scale will never be truly resolved until many of the fundamentals of our social and economic life have been remade.”

John Kay and Mervyn King’s new book ‘Radical Uncertainty’ highlights the important distinction to be made between risk and uncertainty. Risk is something where the parameters of possible outcomes are reasonably well understood and meaningful probabilities can be calculated to aid decision making. Uncertainty, on the other hand, is full of unknowns and any attempt to apply probability analysis is liable to suffer a version of ‘rubbish in, rubbish out’. Decision making in times of uncertainty needs to be concerned with trying to better understand underlying trends, narratives and possible scenarios - as they put it, by asking ‘what’s going on?’ and using this as a guide to decision making. Not easy when many traditional storylines don’t seem to apply any more.

What are some of the questions that might guide our understanding of what’s going on, or could go on, particularly from the perspective of the economic system? Here is a starter for ten as a contribution to the process of beginning to get our heads around a new narrative:

1. What will be some of the longer term changes in consumer behaviour - how will priorities change as people get a fresh insight into what’s really important for wellbeing?
2. How will people feel about travelling in future?
3. How will our understanding of other global emergencies and actions to tackle them evolve?
4. What will be the impact on the growth of online retail and what are the implications for high streets?
5. What will be the spatial and infrastructure implications?
6. How will agglomeration economies be effected?
7. What will be the impact on the design of supply chains?
8. How will political priorities change in relation to the market’s role in the wellbeing of wider society
9. How will the relationship within and between the public, private and third sectors evolve?
10. What have we learned about how our financial system operates and what are the constraints on investment and innovation?

So, many more questions than answers and this is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s only by beginning to frame the questions we might begin to glean some understanding. As Einstein is quoted as saying ‘the important thing is to not stop questioning’.

An online consultation to inform the UK Global Tariff

The UK Government has launched a public consultation on the UK Global Tariff policy. The Government encourages everyone with an interest to take part and provide their views by 5 March 2020.


The consultation offers you the opportunity to provide:

• Views on a potential series of amendments to the Common External Tariff to create a bespoke UK tariff- specifically: simplifying and tailoring the UK Global Tariff policy, removing tariffs on goods imported by UK businesses to manufacture other goods, and where the UK has zero or limited domestic production.

• Specific feedback on specific products or commodity codes of importance to you, including on the corresponding tariff rate.

• Information on your interactions with Most Favoured Nation tariffs and the importance of tariffs to sectors that are important to you.

Respond online here

Read the full consultation description.

Scotland Excel Conference 2020 – Inclusive Growth

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 address some of society’s most pressing challenges.

But what does it mean at a practical level?         

We have chosen inclusive growth as the theme of our 2020 conference to look at growth priorities and what local organisations can do to support this agenda.  In particular, the conference will consider how public procurement can act as key driver of local economic growth.

Delegates will have the opportunity to hear from expert speakers and participate in practice focused workshops.  The conference will aim to bring together local economic development and procurement professionals to unpack strategies and plans, examine best practice and foster collaborative working. 

The conference will take place on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st February at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow.  Further details of our packed agenda can be viewed on the conference website at
https://scot-excelconference.holyrood.com/

How to Book

There are two price points for the conference - £99 + VAT for the two days for delegates from Scotland Excel member and associate member organisations and £129 + VAT for the two days for delegates other public sector organisations.  Bookings can be made online on the conference website.

Parking at the Venue

Discounted parking is available across the road from the hotel at NCP Oswald Street, G1 4PA. To enjoy a rate of £15 for 24 hours, take your ticket from the Oswald Street car park and have it validated at the hotel reception desk before returning.

Accommodation

The Radisson Blu is centrally located close to Glasgow Central Station. If you need accommodation, the hotel features on all the major accommodation booking websites as do alternative budget options.       

Scotland Excel Supplier Excellence Awards

These awards recognise suppliers who go the extra mile to support the delivery of key public services.  The awards ceremony takes place on the first evening of the conference, and delegates can purchase tickets for this prestigious event at an additional cost of £99.  For further information and to book tickets, please visit https://supplierexcellenceawards.holyrood.com/.

Scotland Excel is the Centre of Procurement Expertise of local government.  You can find more about our organisation at http://www.scotland-excel.org.uk/ or email communications@scotland-excel.org.uk.

Audit Scotland's Report on Scotland's City Region and Growth Deals

Audit Scotland have published their report on Scotland's City Regions and Growth Deals.

City Region and Growth Deals have enabled economic development projects across Scotland that may not otherwise have gone ahead and sparked increased collaboration between councils and their partners. Eight deals worth £5.2 billion, mostly around infrastructure improvements, have been signed or agreed in principle, with more in the pipeline. 

But the Scottish Government has not set out how it will measure the programme's value for money. It is also not clear why some deal projects were approved for funding over others, while local communities have had very little involvement in deals. These two factors have limited transparency around the process. 

How accountability would work around individual deals if something went wrong also remains untested. And there is a risk that councils and their partners could struggle to deliver deal projects alongside the other challenges facing Scotland's public sector.

Graham Sharp, Chair of the Accounts Commission said: 
"City deals have had a positive effect across Scotland, strengthening relationships between councils, government, business, our universities and other partners. 

"It's early days, but it's important lines of accountability for deals are now made clearer and that the right staff are in place to develop and deliver deals at a time of considerable financial pressure for councils and the wider public sector."

Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland, said: 
"A significant amount of public money has been committed to city deals, but the programme's lack of aims and objectives means opportunities may already have been missed to ensure deals contribute to national outcomes.

"The Scottish Government needs to show how it will measure deals' long-term success and work with councils to improve transparency around the approval process for individual projects."



The report is available here.

Notice of updated Privacy Policy: January 2020

We have recently conducted a routine review of our privacy policy and data storage practices, in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016. This has involved some incremental updates to how we manage and store personal information.

For more information about these practices, you can view our privacy policy here, and you also have the right to request a copy of our data audit should you wish to view this.