Overview

The Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building (CBD) Programme seeks to develop resilient, inclusive local economies, with more local employment and a large and more diverse business base. Specifically, this project advances activities within the procurement, employment, ownership and asset pillars of CWB. The overall aim of the project is: ‘To develop an Ayrshire approach to Community Wealth Building that enhances wealth, ensures fair and meaningful work, and creates successful places throughout the region.’
The project has three key elements to achieve this:

• CWB Business Locality Officers – working with local organisations to facilitate CWB activities across the region.
• CWB Fund – a fund to support place-based CWB activity, and the work of CWB locality officers.
• Fair Work Ayrshire – a dedicated service that works with employers to implement Fair Work in workplaces across the Ayrshire

Gap the project addresses

Ayrshire has long been challenged by structural economic disadvantages, including high levels of unemployment, low productivity, and persistent inequality in income and opportunity. In response, the Introduction of the Ayrshire Growth Deal committed to pioneering a Community Wealth Building approach, investing £3 million to drive systemic change through local economic empowerment. The programme’s ambition has been to increase local spend, embed fair work, make better use of assets for community benefit, and promote inclusive ownership models. The programme has been delivered through three interlinked components: ⎯ CWB Locality Officers working directly with businesses and communities to promote and enable CWB practices. ⎯ The CWB Enterprise Support Fund, offering tailored financial and consultancy support to organisations. ⎯ Fair Work Ayrshire, a specialist advisory service promoting employment practices aligned with the principles of Fair Work.

Ownership model

This was delivered on a regional basis across Ayrshire with responsibility for implementation with each local authority and overall management and reporting with North Ayrshire Council, who were the lead Authority for this project.

Policy and funding

Leading on Community Wealth Building pioneering this approach funding was secured from the Scottish Government through the Ayrshire Growth Deal.

Impact to date
The Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building (CWB) Programme, delivered from 2021 to 2025. As the first initiative of its kind in Scotland, the Programme sought to establish a new model of economic development—one that prioritises local resilience, fair work, community ownership, and inclusive growth. This evaluation assesses the Programme’s delivery, impact, and future potential, drawing on extensive stakeholder interviews, survey data, performance analysis, and case study evidence.e.

Headline Achievements:

• 1,152 enterprises supported, exceeding the original programme target by 25%
• 1,027 jobs safeguarded and a further 164 projected new jobs
• 286 businesses received grants or consultancy support, improving resilience, innovation and market access
• 270 enterprises engaged in Fair Work Action Planning, embedding inclusive employment practices
• Over 290 businesses supported in procurement-readiness, resulting in increased local contract wins
• 27 organisations supported in developing or transitioning to cooperative or employee-owned models
• Community and social enterprises empowered through targeted asset and grant support What Worked Well
• Embedded delivery models (e.g. North Ayrshire) proved highly effective in aligning CWB with core business support services
• Flexibility in grant use allowed tailored responses to local challenges—from energy efficiency upgrades to digital innovation
• Trusted local officers provided relational, context-sensitive support, building confidence and capacity across the enterprise base
• CWB activities supported national goals on fair work, net zero, and inclusive growth

Contribution to just transition

Ayrshire as a region, is actively working towards a just transition by addressing the economic and social impacts of transitioning to a low-carbon economy. This includes initiatives focused on digital skills, community wealth building, and sustainable transport, with the goal of ensuring a fairer and more inclusive future for all residents.

Digital Transition and Economic Growth:

• Digital Strategy: The council is committed to supporting businesses in adopting new technologies and developing digital skills for the future. NAC is actively involved in the Ayrshire 5G Innovation Region project, which aims to leverage 5G technology to boost the local economy and improve various sectors.
• Ayrshire Growth Deal: They are actively involved in the Ayrshire Growth Deal, which aims to drive future growth through digital infrastructure, skills, and ambition.
• Community Wealth Building: All three Ayrshire local authorities have pledged to implement community wealth building principles to create a more resilient and inclusive local economy, addressing challenges like deprivation.

Sustainable Transport and Energy:

• Electric Vehicle Infrastructure: The council is collaborating with partners to secure funding for electric vehicle charging points across Ayrshire, supporting a transition to electric vehicles.
• Sustainable Transport Choices: They are promoting sustainable transport options through initiatives like the Travel Smart programme and active travel routes.
• Green New Deal: The council is pursuing a Green New Deal, including investing in renewable energy, creating a Green Jobs Fund, and supporting community economic development.

 Environmental Sustainability:

• Biodiversity Strategy: Ayrshire is developing a Nature Network to protect and enhance biodiversity, including creating pollinator-rich habitats.
• Sustainable Waste Management: The council is working towards more sustainable waste management practices, including reusing, recycling, and creating renewable energy from waste.
• Climate Change Strategy: They are actively working towards meeting climate change targets, including reducing emissions from their vehicle fleet and solar farms on landfill sites.

 Addressing Social Impacts:

• Community Wealth Building: This strategy aims to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are shared more widely, particularly in areas facing deprivation.
• Employability Services: The council’s Employability Service supports people into work, and they are also working with anchor institutions to improve employment opportunities.
• Affordable Housing: Recognising the challenges of affordable housing, particularly on the islands, the council is exploring solutions like modular and tiny houses.

Ayrshire’s regional approach to a just transition is multi-faceted, encompassing economic, social, and environmental considerations. Their focus on digital skills, community wealth building, and sustainable practices aims to create a more inclusive and resilient future for all residents.

Contribution to regional heritage

Ayrshire’s economy has historically been shaped by its industrial past and the subsequent impacts of deindustrialisation, particularly within the coal mining, manufacturing, and textiles sectors. This has contributed to a legacy of entrenched economic inequalities, with persistent issues around unemployment, low productivity, underemployment, and spatial disparities across urban and rural areas. According to the Scottish Government’s Inclusive Growth Diagnostic, both North and East Ayrshire have been identified as having among the least resilient local economies in Scotland. South Ayrshire also falls below the national average on many indicators of economic performance and social inclusion. These structural issues are compounded by lower-than-average business birth rates, skills mismatches, and a relatively high dependency on public sector employment in some areas. It was against this backdrop that the Ayrshire Growth Deal (AGD) was developed a £251 million investment package from the Scottish and UK Governments and local partners, aiming to transform the regional economy. Within this, the Community Wealth Building (CWB) programme was conceived as a foundational, system-shifting approach to inclusive economic development. Unlike traditional economic models that focus on attracting external investment, CWB seeks to harness and circulate wealth within the local economy by leveraging the economic power of local anchor institutions, enhancing social value, and building local capacity.

The CWB programme aligns strongly with national policy priorities, including:

• The Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation (2022), which emphasises fair work, wellbeing economy principles, and place-based investment.
• The Fair Work Framework (2016–2025), which calls for effective voice, opportunity, security, fulfilment, and respect in all workplaces.
• Scotland’s Net Zero ambitions, where the land and assets pillar of CWB supports the repurposing of public assets to advance climate goals.
• Public Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, underpinning the potential of procurement to deliver community benefits and social value.

Locally, CWB has been embedded into Ayrshire’s Regional economic strategy since 2020, making it the first local authority in Scotland to adopt CWB as a core economic model. The AGD investment enabled this approach to be scaled regionally, with the three councils collaborating to pilot and embed the model across Ayrshire through the programme evaluated in this report. In this context, the AGD CWB programme is not simply a suite of initiatives, but a strategic response to deep-rooted economic disadvantage. It provides a framework through which local government and partners can use their economic levers—procurement, employment, land and assets, and business support—to achieve more equitable and sustainable outcomes for Ayrshire’s people and places.

Lessons learned

An external evaluation has made the following recommendations:

1. Sustain and scale the programme through continued investment, mainstreamed staffing, and cross-council delivery coordination
2. Create a shared CWB monitoring and reporting framework to support evidence-based decision-making
3. Target future resource allocation towards high-impact areas such as procurement support, fair work integration, and cooperative development
4. Formalise alignment with regional and national strategies, including Scotland’s Net Zero Route Map, Fair Work Action Plan, and forthcoming CWB legislation
5. Use Ayrshire as a demonstration region, developing a replicable model for other parts of Scotland

The Ayrshire CWB Programme has delivered measurable economic and social benefits while piloting a new approach to place-based development. Its legacy lies in its ability to shift economic power back to communities, build fairer labour markets, and foster resilience through local ownership and collaboration. The evaluation finds a clear mandate for continuation—and a compelling case for Community Wealth Building to become a mainstream component of Scotland’s wellbeing economy.

Challenges

• There were some recruitment issues, particularly in the initial stages, meaning some council areas started later than others
• Variability in monitoring and evaluation limited cross-council learning and pan-Ayrshire coordination
• The complexity of CWB terminology and frameworks required extensive communication and culture change work

Replication and scaling

The Ayrshire CWB Programme has delivered measurable economic and social benefits while piloting a new approach to place-based development. Its legacy lies in its ability to shift economic power back to communities, build fairer labour markets, and foster resilience through local ownership and collaboration. The evaluation finds a clear mandate for continuation—and a compelling case for Community Wealth Building to become a mainstream component of Scotland’s wellbeing economy.

Working conditions and fair work practices

Featured organisations and initiatives were asked to supply the following information regarding working conditions:

• Alignment with Scottish Government Fair Work First criteria
• If they have gone beyond Fair Work First by incorporating broader values on fair work
• For larger organisations, whether a union recognition agreement is in place.

This did not apply to co-operatives structures and membership-based initiatives, though all projects and initiatives were given room to provide any detail on fair work practices deemed relevant.

The following information was provided:

All three Ayrshire Councils apply and promote the Fair Work First (FWF) criteria as a baseline in all of its economic development work and actively encourages businesses to go beyond FWF in the following ways:

Living Wage and Good Employer Practices

• Fair Work Ayrshire have supported several local businesses through the Real Living Wage accreditation process. In doing so, we are helping embed fair pay and secure employment practices across our economy.

Effective Voice and Union Recognition

• All three Ayrshire councils  have formal union recognition agreements in place with all teaching and trade unions, ensuring collective bargaining rights and regular dialogue between staff and leadership.

Inclusive and Flexible Work

• Ayrshire as a region  has embedded broader fair work values, including inclusive recruitment policies aimed at underrepresented groups, comprehensive flexible working policies, career progression pathways for all staff, and dedicated mental health and wellbeing support. We also monitor pay equity across gender and ethnicity bands.

Secure and Meaningful Work

• Ayrshire Local Authorities  do not use exploitative contracts such as zero-hours arrangements. All roles are offered with clear terms, development plans, and support structures, reflecting our commitment to creating not only jobs but good jobs.

Case study showcase

Some projects were selected for more in-depth profile through examples that showcased their impact on communities, businesses and workers.
Ayrshire Council provided the following examples.
Ailsa Reliability Solutions (North Ayrshire) and Curtainwise Ltd (East Ayrshire) offer strong, practical examples of how small-to-mid-sized enterprises can actively contribute to a Just Transition by embedding sustainability, skills development, and community benefit into their growth strategies. Together, these examples show how just transition principles, especially around skills development, local wealth building, fair access to opportunity, and environmental sustainability – can be embedded across sectors and company sizes.

.Ailsa Reliability Solutions (North Ayrshire)

Ailsa Reliability Solutions is a dynamic diagnostics and engineering firm based in North Ayrshire, operating at the intersection of technology, industrial resilience, and sustainability. With early-stage ambitions to digitalise operations and grow their service offer, the company accessed the Community Wealth Building (CWB) Fund in 2022 and again in 2023. These grants supported the development of their bespoke Ailsa Vision Software and enabled entry into the Centre for Engineering, Education and Development (CEED) pilot. Support from the CWB team included public procurement advice, consultancy for low-carbon innovation bids, and guidance through the Real Living Wage accreditation process.

As a result, Ailsa grew from 4 to 26 staff, expanded turnover by 42%, and established itself as a core partner in the regional 5G Innovation Region consortium. Their services now underpin diagnostics and predictive maintenance systems across Scotland. Founder Jamie Burns credits the CWB Programme with providing not only financial assistance but also the strategic advisory support needed to unlock future-facing markets. By 2025, Ailsa was contributing to Ayrshire’s net zero ambitions and demonstrating how locally rooted firms can lead national innovation. The case illustrates the power of coordinated funding, advice, and Fair Work alignment in fostering sustainable scale-up. “The programme enabled strategic growth and positioned us for regional leadership in diagnostics and sustainability

• Supporting Net Zero & Industrial Resilience: Ailsa’s development of its Vision Software and role in diagnostics and predictive maintenance supports decarbonisation and energy efficiency in heavy industries – key to Scotland’s net zero goals.
• Local Employment & Skills: Growing from 4 to 26 employees, Ailsa has created skilled, future-ready jobs in a region that has historically faced economic challenges. Their partnership with CEED furthers education and skills alignment with green and digital industries. Currently piloting a Non Destructive Testing training academy approach to cascade learning throughout Ayrshire businesses to increase efficiency, reduce waste and widen circular manufacturing processes in the region.  The pilot is funded by Ayrshire Skills Investment Fund.
• Public Procurement & Place-based Growth: With support from the Community Wealth Building (CWB) programme, Ailsa engaged in public sector markets and embedded its growth within regional innovation structures like the 5G Innovation Region – ensuring that value generated remains local.

Curtainwise Ltd (East Ayrshire)

Curtainwise Ltd is a long-established manufacturer based in East Ayrshire, employing over 40 people and supplying window furnishings to clients across the UK. Like many mid-sized firms, they faced challenges in scaling production while maintaining quality. Through East Ayrshire Council’s CWB programme, they secured funding for a Vertical Height Measuring Machine, which increased output, enhanced consistency, and reduced production times. Beyond operational efficiency, the firm also undertook a range of net zero and Fair Work improvements. These included an energy audit, adoption of a four-day working week, staff training, and the introduction of electric vehicles to the company fleet. With a deepening commitment to sustainability and inclusive employment, Curtainwise also repurposed fabric offcuts for donation to local schools and sewing groups, demonstrating a circular economy approach. Business support officer Kaidi Hall and the CWB team provided tailored support across multiple pillars— demonstrating the value of a joined-up delivery model. The firm’s leadership noted that these interventions positioned the business to bid for larger contracts and expand into new markets while staying true to its Ayrshire roots.

• Operational Sustainability & Circular Economy: Investments in energy audits, electric vehicles, and repurposing fabric offcuts show a tangible commitment to reducing environmental impact and embedding circular principles.
• Sustainable Growth through Technology: the Vertical Height Measuring Machine has improved productivity without compromising environmental or social outcomes.
• Inclusive Business Model: The four-day working week and support for local schools through material donations reflect a holistic, community-focused approach to transition.

These examples also show small to medium size enterprises going beyond Fair Work, actively using the principles as a foundation for sustainable modernisation and competitive advantage. Both companies in some areas have chosen to go further in promoting inclusive, equitable, and quality work:

Ailsa Reliability Solutions

• With support from the CWB team, Ailsa successfully completed the Real Living Wage accreditation process, affirming its commitment to fair pay.
• The company has expanded its team significantly, prioritising local hiring and career development aligned with emerging green and digital sectors.
• While there is no specific mention of a union recognition agreement, Ailsa has benefited from advisory support that includes strategic guidance around fair work, suggesting an openness to further formalising employee voice structures.

Curtainwise Ltd

• Curtainwise has gone beyond FWF by introducing a four-day working week, improving work-life balance without reducing pay.
• The company has also invested in staff training and sustainable transport options (electric vehicles), supporting wellbeing and reducing commuting-related emissions.
• Though union recognition is not referenced, Curtainwise demonstrates a clear commitment to employee wellbeing, environmental responsibility, and community engagement, aligning with broader values of fair work.