Read more about the latest Community Wealth Building news in this report.
The £3 million Community Wealth Building Business Fund was set up three years ago to enhance wealth, ensure fair and meaningful work and create successful places across Ayrshire.
A key Ayrshire Growth Deal project, the Fund was established to coordinate this new, bold approach across the region to develop resilient, inclusive local economies, with more local employment and a larger and more diverse business base.
The £3m fund was shared equally across the three local authorities and three CWB officers were employed in each to develop the principles of CWB amongst local businesses.
A team comprising a Programme Manager and two Fair Work Officers was also created – engaging local employers to improve recruitment processes and provide Fair Work – another cornerstone of CWB.
The Fund has assisted over 1000 businesses and helped us help them in a variety of ways. We’ve supported over 200 businesses navigate the often-complex procurement process to enable them to apply for large public sector contracts. We’ve worked with 27 businesses to change their ownership structure and turn them into employee-owned or cooperative businesses. Nearly 300 firms have been given grants and support, while 270 firms have been supported to create a Fair Work Plan.
Our dedicated officers have also arranged numerous networking events and also worked to develop public land and assets which, in turn, can benefit the wider community and create wealth locally. Working with local enterprises – large, medium and small – has helped drive a CWB approach to local economic development across the Ayrshire region.
The AGD CWB Programme concluded in March 2025, an evaluation of the programme’s impact will be published in due course.