Our current ways of working are not preventing problems early enough or addressing the economic, environmental, and other challenges we face quickly enough.

Community wealth building is a different way to approach improving communities and their wellbeing. It puts people and communities firmly at the heart of everything we plan and on the basis that:

• Preventing problems is more likely when communities are fully involved
• Everyone owns a stake in the local environment and economy, no matter who they are
• Our financial power will work for communities and more of our spending will stay local
• Better use of our land and assets to benefit local people and communities
• Fair employment and labour markets that work for every community
• Improving wellbeing should be a key outcome for everything we do.

Find out more about community wealth building

The Covid-19 pandemic was an unprecedented shock to the UK and Fife economies. During this period, our local environments and community assets played a key role in community health and wellbeing. As we move from our immediate response to the pandemic, we need to focus on building back through a more inclusive and sustainable approach to economic recovery.

Despite a range of interventions and some successes, Fife, and particularly the people and communities of mid-Fife, continue to experience economic challenges. Like other parts of Scotland, our approach to economic development is not achieving the wider social benefits that promote social justice, environmental sustainability, and prosperity for all as part of a wellbeing economy.

Community wealth building is a way to reframe the development of our local economies and environments. It provides a unifying approach to meeting challenges as diverse as economic recovery, wellbeing, poverty, climate action and our aspiration for people and place-based, local leadership.

Establish leadership arrangements for taking forward community wealth building

Develop a community wealth building model of economic recovery and development with a focus on improving wellbeing

Develop a community wealth building approach to the climate emergency

Embed local people and place-based approaches across Fife Partnership

Redesign systems and processes to deliver wider social benefit and wellbeing through procurement, recruitment, fair employment and the use of land and assets

Expand support for community ownership, social enterprise and community owned businesses through a new business support hub

Further develop the role of credit unions and the community development finance initiative (CDFI) to support financial resilience and wellbeing