CLES presentation on Civil Economy from VSNW 2013 Conference. The presentation includes case-studies from around the world showing how the local social sector has played a part in creating "good growth".

1. Marrying social and economic growth Adrian Nolan, Associate Director
Centre for Local Economic Strategies

2. Focus - influencing economic development & regeneration policy Membership - local authorities, private, social enterprise Publications - informing policy & effective practice Training & events - to support the sector Independent research - to understand challenges & influence policy Consultancy trading arm
•About CLES
About CLES

3. •About CLES
Our work/interests includes: Economic & social tools & methodologies Economic policy work Financing economies/regeneration Futures work Poverty/economic inclusion Place resilience
About CLES

4. ‘Economic growth is important’ – major assumption in current economic thinking at a national regional & local level Higher incomes, increase well-being & lead to prosperity for all Indeed much of CLES’ everyday work is based around the five ‘drivers’ of productivity that underpin growth:
Skills
Enterprise
Innovation
Investment
Competition
•Economic Growth is clearly of importance
Economic Growth is clearly of importance

5. Growth is not going to cure all of our problems: it may end up reinforcing longstanding issues
• Issue 1: Improvements in health, feelings of satisfaction & happiness are not necessarily synonymous with income or wealth GDP is not necessarily an effective measure of progress & prosperity in society
•Issue 2: Benefits of growth have been delivered ‘unequally’ ‘Good times’ didn’t deliver improvements for everyone, e.g. poorest areas in Northern England 20 years ago – still poorest
• But there are limits to relentlessly going after growth
But there are limits to relentlessly going after growth

6. Towards the notion of a ‘Civil Economy’: an economy that works for people and place

7. What is meant by a civil economy? Collaborative, sharing, civil economy: growing importance in academic literature Some cities have moved towards this principle in recent decades: e.g. Portland, Barcelona Place’s economic, business and social growth as three equally, mutually reinforcing aspects of success:
Strong communities and social inclusion as inputs to and outcomes of economic and business success
An economy which works for all the people in it
Refocusing on how economic success is perceived around the experiences of people and communities Civil focus has a ‘hard’ economic reality behind it: polarisation of communities undermines overall economic prosperity

8. Economic policy will be guided by a much more joined up approach Policies will be built upon the dual ambitions of economic prosperity and social wellbeing Local inequalities will be less pronounced Communities will be stronger, with access to support from a wide range of cross sector actors Businesses anchored in the city will reap the benefits of a competitive local labour pool Places do some or all of the above now – the challenge is to take it to the next level
•The outcomes of a Civil Economy
The outcomes of a Civil Economy

9. Case studies: approaches from elsewhere – key trends Similar challenges across cities: Decreasing public spending Need to simplify commissioning processes Reduce bureaucracy towards the social sector The need to find alternative forms of finance Social sector not always strategically ‘plugged’ in Difficulties in proving value for money and quality of delivery

10. Case studies: approaches from elsewhere – key trends But a number of differences in approaches: Variation in move towards ‘people first’ models Variations in extent to which economic and social development is entwined Engaging the social sector in different ways Realisation of the social sector importance in supporting job creation Understand the need for local social entrepreneurs Understanding of the wider importance of volunteering Collaboration has different meanings

11. Barcelona: the ‘city that puts people first’ Ethos of Strategic Framework 2012-15 - city that ‘puts the people first’ Economic and social progress highlighted as two sides of the same coin Economic and Social Council of Barcelona set up in 1992 Understanding of importance of social sector ingrained Collaboration between public, social, private: based on shared responsibility Good links between social and commercial Specific reference towards a ‘civil economy’

12. Lille: the ‘eco social’ city Commitment to ensure that all redevelopment benefits ‘Lillois’ Resulted in efforts to create an ‘eco-social’ city Quality of life viewed more important than gathering of wealth Have a long term view of economic, social, and environmental all as one Demonstrated by approach to young people to become leaders in sustainable development and communities Developed an urban contract for social cohesion based around cross sector local approaches Actively seeking social entrepreneurs and supportive of social enterprise

13. Copenhagen: quality of life combined with growth A strong ‘bottom up’ up with a robust strategic framework Inclusion and quality of life links directly with job creation Range of local programmes with strong collaboration Social Zones in disadvantaged areas: local platforms for cooperation and co-production and supporting growth Emphasis on generation of local solutions to area’s needs Strong local delivery based on collaboration that actions policy (not just rhetoric) Specific social enterprise strategy in place highlighting levels of social entrepreneurship

14. Arrasate–Mondragon, Spain: cooperative model defies recession Home to the world renowned successful cooperative corporation – Mondragon. One of Spain’s top ten corporations Comprises factories, a multibillion dollar bank, housing, insurance agencies, a grocery store chain and a network of retail stores 20% of the profit goes to the workers, 70% is reinvested within the corporation, 10% goes to community projects which include the Mondragon university Cooperative’s pay equity rules contribute to the city’s far greater income and wealth equality – unemployment in the Basque country is 15% compared to 25% in Spain as a whole Community survival and job creation are Mondragon’s explicit public purpose EU Commissioner for Employment advocates expanding and exporting the cooperative model

15. Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy: cooperative culture brings economic success One of richest regions in Europe, known for end manufacturing Also one of the most cooperative regions in the world Two thirds of citizens members of a cooperative Large scale cooperative economy: 30% of GDP by cooperatives Cooperative economy strongly bolstered by dense networks This results in low unemployment and high productivity High levels of social capital has developed alongside economic gains Councils run in a cooperative way, providing policy framework for deep public, private and social collaboration which is central to area’s success

16. Portland, Oregon: marrying social and economic growth A strong ‘bottom up’ up within a robust strategic framework City understands social and environmental vitality is critical Neighbourhoods at the core of the vision for citywide growth Use community cross sector partnerships to drive job creation Sectors are mutually influential and a strong model of collaborative governance has been developed Integrated drivers for neighbourhood development (all viewed as mutually dependent on one another) Business growth Commercial growth Community capacity

17. Bristol: focus on community Strategic thinking understands strong overlap of social and economic Focus upon social and community focused goals Led to a culture of volunteering across the city Understand value of VCS in employability and skills But levels of collaboration are not as advanced as other examples Implementing development of ward based Community Partnerships Like other UK cities, major focus on commissioning and service delivery

18. Scope for us to to do more? Foreign case studies show the potential of a Civil Economy: value of people and communities: but how much is transferable? Case studies show advanced thinking around a ‘whole place’ approach Key is recognition of social sector’s input and support into both social and economic growth: particularly job creation On a wider scale, shows that the UK approach to economic development is narrow Case studies show that it is not about ploughing money into social sector Rather integrating it in top down and bottom up approaches

19. Growth does matter – it is central to the prosperity of people and places However it needs to be managed right – growth at the expense of everything else is following a dated model and will further entrench other social and economic problems Policy needs to be highly sensitive to local circumstances What about those places that have not grown, even during the good times? Perceiving economic and social growth as two sides of the same coin is critical for future prosperity for people, places and business: notion of a Civil Economy
•In summary
In summary

20. Where is the sector involved in your area in economic activity currently?
Going forward: Making the case for change?
 Who to influence?
 What evidence?
What proposals/pilots for moving forward?
•In summary
Workshop discussion