Reflections from the Edinburgh Anchor Network

Reflections from the Edinburgh Anchor Network: Collaboration, Community Wealth Building and Measuring What Matters

The Edinburgh Anchor Network is made up of Capital City Partnership, ESES Communities, NHS Lothian, City of Edinburgh Council, University of Edinburgh, EVOC & Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network.

At our recent Edinburgh Anchor Network session, delivered in partnership with fellow network members, we explored an important question: how can we work together to deliver our shared ambitions and create lasting impact through Community Wealth Building?

Bringing together perspectives from across government, social enterprise and community organisations, speakers Neil McInroy, Stephen White, Biddy Kelly and Kate Wimpress challenged us to think differently about collaboration, economic development and how we measure success.

You can review the speaker presentations below: 

Anchor Event Delivering and Measuring Impact.pdf

 

One message came through loud and clear: meaningful change does not happen in isolation. Tackling complex social and economic challenges requires strong partnerships built on trust, shared values and a commitment to working towards common goals.

The discussion highlighted that Community Wealth Building is much more than a collection of individual projects. It is a wider economic approach that seeks to ensure wealth is created, retained and shared within communities. Achieving this at a regional level will require organisations to work together in new ways, creating space for everyone to have a voice and a seat at the table.

An interesting conversation emerged around the role of the private sector. While there is often a perception that businesses are difficult to engage, the challenge may be as much about invitation as participation. As Stephen White noted, private-sector representatives often say, "You don't ask us enough." Neil McInroy reflected that this is a global challenge, requiring persistence, encouragement and a clear understanding of the role that enterprise agencies and other partners can play. Perhaps most importantly, businesses are made up of people who live in our communities and often share the same aspirations for local prosperity and wellbeing.

 

 

The session was brought to life through the inspiring example of North Edinburgh Arts. Kate Wimpress shared how the organisation has evolved since acquiring its building through a Community Asset Transfer, becoming a vibrant community hub that now supports thousands of local people each year. What stood out most was the simple but powerful statistic that drives the organisation's work: every £1 spent at North Edinburgh Arts generates £2.37 for the local economy. You can read about the rationale here. 

Yet Kate also reflected on a challenge familiar to many organisations: while Community Wealth Building is gaining momentum, the language itself is not always widely understood. Many groups are already doing this work instinctively, creating opportunities, supporting local people and strengthening community assets, without necessarily describing it in those terms.

This idea was echoed through the NESSie project, an innovative partnership led by Fresh Start alongside North Edinburgh Arts, Move On and Spartans Community Foundation. NESSie adopts a Human Learning Systems approach, starting not with predetermined outcomes but with where people are in their lives. It is a reminder that real impact is often found in relationships, trust and individual journeys rather than simple targets and metrics.

 

Perhaps the strongest reflection from the day was the importance of asking ourselves a simple question: how could we do this differently?  Whether engaging businesses, developing employability pathways, managing community assets or delivering services, there is value in looking at existing work through a Community Wealth Building lens.

The session reminded us that many of the building blocks are already in place. The challenge now is to strengthen connections, share learning and ensure that ambitious national policies translate into meaningful change at a local level. When communities, organisations and institutions come together around a shared purpose, the results can be far greater than the sum of their parts.