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Scottish Cities Alliance

We formed the Scottish Cities Alliance in 2011 as a partnership between us and Scotland's seven cities, supported by the £7 million Cities Investment Fund.

It's a unique collaboration that aims to bring investment and jobs to our cities and their regions, and to deliver inclusive economic growth that leaves everyone better off.

Purpose

The Alliance seeks to enable new and more effective ways of working collaboratively with key stakeholders in both the private and public sector. Regular meetings bring together the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity and the leaders of all seven city councils to provide the Alliance with strategic direction.

The Alliance works on collaborative projects that focus on low carbon, 'smart' technology, investment promotion and infrastructure. It aims to attract external investment, stimulate economic activity and create business growth. Working together enables Alliance partners to share knowledge and create major projects designed to strengthen Scotland's economy.

Progress

Working collaboratively, the Scottish Cities Alliance has brought in significant investment to Scotland’s cities and their city regions, and has a Smart Cities programme of almost £60 million which is being rolled out. 

The SCA commissioned the Fraser of Allander Institute to produce the Scottish Cities Outlook Report in 2019, which identified five key challenges for the cities:

  • growth
  • the changing nature of our population
  • the importance of tackling inequalities
  • transition to a net zero carbon economy
  • technological change

The Alliance are working collaboratively to co-design an action plan to identify actions for the cities to take forward from the report, focusing first on the transition to a net zero carbon economy, in line with Government priorities.

More information on the partnership's activity and investment is available on the Scottish Cities Alliance website.

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