Community wealth building
Community Wealth Building (CWB) is an approach to economic development that seeks to transform our local and regional economic systems to enable local communities and people to own, have a greater stake in, access and benefit from the wealth our economy generates. In harnessing the economic leverage of local ‘anchor’ organisations (such as local councils, health boards and colleges), Community Wealth Building has the potential to:
- create jobs
- invigorate local supply chains
- strengthen local and regional economies
This approach works by encouraging action that stimulate new opportunities for local businesses access public procurement opportunities, support flows of new investment finance, and offer businesses, including social enterprises, employee-owned firms and co-operatives the opportunity to start up and grow.
Community Wealth Building acts as a framework for place-focused activity across five interlinked pillars:
Spending
Through procurement. commissioning and wider investment, develop local businesses, support the creation of employment opportunities, develop shorter supply chains and maximising community benefit.
Workforce
Increasing fair work and developing local labour markets that support the strength, cohesiveness and resilience of communities.
Land and property
Growing social, ecological, financial and economic value that local communities gain from land and property assets.
Inclusive ownership
Developing more local businesses which generate community wealth, including social enterprises, employee owned firms and cooperatives.
Finance
Ensuring that flows of investment and financial institutions work for local people, communities and businesses.
Community Wealth Building in Scotland
There has been significant progress in implementing Community Wealth Building in Scotland in recent years. At the strategic level, much of this has been led by local authorities, often in partnership with their community planning partners.
Key to this success has been the collaboration across public, third, and private sectors to drive implementation of Community Wealth Building and enable ‘anchors’ to take progressive actions to realise the benefits of this approach.
Legislation
The Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament in February 2026.
The Bill will make sure there is consistent implementation of the CWB model of economic development across Scotland. It does this by requiring public bodies to work together to use their economic levers to deliver sustainable growth and promote resilience in our local economies.