Championing the Local, part 2
SPEAKERS: (full bios below)
TBC, North Ayrshire Council
Sarah Gowanlock, Partnerships Manager, Soil Association Scotland
Sue Guy, Director, People, Place & Resilience Scotland CIC
Iain MacPherson, director, Reorient Places
Mike Staples,CEO, South of Scotland Community Housing (SOSCH)
Emma Fletcher, founder & chair, Heating Swaffham Prior
Councils need to buy better
Monday, 14th September, 4-6pm
Online – free admission
Councils Need to Buy Better is the second in the CHAMPIONING THE LOCAL series of SEDA Land Conversations.
This conversation will highlight the critical role that local authorities play in enhancing local economies.
The Scottish Government is committed to integrating social value and wellbeing into public procurement through not only the Procurement Reform (Scotland) legislation, but also the Scottish National Performance Framework strategy.
In April 2023 the Scottish Government published the first Public Procurement Strategy for Scotland. Local authority procurement – on the long-term contractual basis – can give communities the much needed confidence to invest and kickstart new enterprises.
This could be particularly transformative for Scotland's rural and remote communities which often face unique challenges, including economic fragility, limited employment opportunities, and infrastructural deficits. Local procurement fosters local employment, enhancing skills, and improving local infrastructure. This event aims to ensure that councils, health boards and other public bodies are given the means to enact the bill.
This Conversation will include inspirational models, using these as a springboard for a broader discussion of the subject, addressing obstacles along the way and how to overcome them.
CHAIR:
Chris Martin, CEO, Social Enterprise Scotland
Championing the Local
An online series of SEDA Land Conversations (free to attend)
Mon 7th, 14th & 21st of September 2026
There is an emerging consensus about what needs to be done to revive rural Scotland. This series of events will look at how this might be achieved in practice.
The theme will be the role local value chains can play and how these might be facilitated. A place-based model enables rural communities to reap more of the benefits from the land around them including health and wellbeing benefits as well as environmental ones from shorter supply chains.
The passing of the Community Wealth Building Act by the Scottish Government is likely to fuel the growth of local value chains. This world-first piece of legislation commits the Scottish Government to “enable more local communities and people to own, have a stake in, access and benefit from the wealth [Scotland’s] economy generates”, making it mandatory for public bodies to prioritise the reinvestment of locally-generated wealth back into local communities. This event aims to ensure that councils, health boards and other public bodies are given the means to enact the bill.
ArtistIC Contributions
Jenny Sturgeon, composer, singer-songwriter, and sound artist
Jenny’s music combines field recordings with sonic and lyrical imagery bound together by threads of nature, folklore and the connection people have with the landscape. Jenny has released two acclaimed albums. 'The Living Mountain' won Best Acoustic at the 2020 Scottish Alternative Music Awards. Jenny's most recent work paths.made.walking is a series of sound recordings which chart her journey walking the Scottish National Trail. Jenny’s music has been played widely on radio stations.
Chris Powici, poet, English and creative writing tutor
Chris’s poetry focuses on human and natural environments and how they overlap. He edited the literary magazine Northwords Now for seven years. He lives in Dunblane, and teaches at The Open University, the University of Stirling, and in the community. His collection, This Weight of Light, was published in 2015.
Flora Fraser, artist
Flora is an award-winning multi-media landscape artist exploring shared experiences in Scotland’s wild places: Art by FAF
Speakers
TBC
North Ayrshire Council
North Ayrshire Council was Scotland's first Community Wealth Building (CWB) Council, as part of the Regional Economic Strategy for Ayrshire. Their Community Wealth Building Strategy 2024–2027. They have brought the key Anchor Institutions in Ayrshire together and created a Community Wealth Building Commission which will drive forward this new approach.
Sarah Gowanlock
Partnerships Manager, Soil Association Scotland
Sarah is an experienced project manager working in partnership with public sector, third sector, academic institutions and community organisations toward a sustainable future where we can all access good food. I build partnerships to develop and facilitate innovative projects to embed healthy and sustainable diets. Roll up the soil Association, Sarah is also partnerships and programsme manager for Food for Life Scotland.
Sue Guy
Director, People, Place & Resilience Scotland CIC
Sue has worked for over 25 years with communities, public bodies and third-sector organisations to turn local priorities into practical action. She was Project Lead for Scotland’s First Zero Waste Town and went on to co-found Reuse Scotland SCIO, bringing practical experience of community action and circular economy approaches. Her work has included advising governments, local authorities, schools and community organisations, nationally and internationally, with a consistent focus on enabling people to shape the decisions and solutions that affect their lives. Sue is now Director of People, Place & Resilience Scotland CIC, which supports more ambitious community benefit, social value and place-based work - helping public investment and procurement leave a stronger legacy for local people and places.
Iain MacPherson
director, Reorient Places
Iain specialises in reshaping the narrative of places and spaces through innovative thinking. Supporting and co-designing with stakeholders, communities, local authorities, and organisations, he help navigate creatively towards achieving impactful and sustainable outcomes. Awards include: Your Kirky Town Centre Action Plan (2020), Warrington Central 6 Masterplan (2021) and most recently Fraserburgh Beach Masterplan won the RTPI Scotland Award in the Best Plan category (2024). Iain was also a finalist for the 2021 Young Planner of the Year award.
Mike Staples
CEO, South of Scotland Community Housing (SOSCH)
Mike has been Chief Executive of South of Scotland Community Housing (SOSCH) since 2015, working in support of community-led housing, regeneration and asset ownership across Southern Scotland. Over that period, he has helped community organisation across the region to buy land and vacant/derelict buildings and deliver permanently affordable homes in community control that address local needs such as repopulation and homes for key workers. More recently, Mike has worked with Communities Housing Trust, CLS, DTAS and Nationwide Foundation to form the national Community-led Housing Alliance. Previously in his career, Mike has worked on urban regeneration projects across the UK, both in the public and private sector. He lives in Moniaive in Dumfries and Galloway.
Emma Fletcher
Founder & chair, Heating Swaffham Prior
Emma is the Low Carbon Housing Director at Octopus Energy. Her career has centred on leading high impact, high innovation projects in real estate, with a particular focus on housing, energy performance and green energy production. Her practical experience includes starting her career in rural surveying and estate management moving into award-winning housing and regeneration developments. Emma is a passionate advocate for change, community resilience and sustainability solutions for all. She established and led the UK’s first fossil fuel-free district heating scheme in her village, Swaffham Prior. Her work regularly features in trade, national and international press & media.
CHAIR – Chris Martin
CEO, Social Enterprise Scotland
Chris Martin is Chief Executive Officer of Social Enterprise Scotland, the national membership body for social enterprises in Scotland. He has spent his career building and championing the social enterprise movement, with direct experience as a founder, practitioner and sector leader. Chris has launched a number of social enterprises, including Engage Youth Project and Callander Hostel, and has a background in both formal and informal education. As Convener of the Callander Social Enterprise Network, Chris played a leading role in Callander becoming Scotland’s first Social Enterprise Town. He also has a strong interest in social investment and co-founded Impact Investment Partnership Scotland. As Chair, he helped establish the £15 million Catalyst Fund in 2021, designed to support early-stage social enterprises with the finance they need to grow their impact. Through his current role, Chris works with members, government, funders and partners to strengthen Scotland’s social enterprise sector and advance a fairer, more inclusive economy.