We are pleased to present our, Annual Report which gives a comprehensive overview of the Alliance’s accomplishments and highlights from the past year. In this blog we aim to provide you with an introduction to some of the flagship and stand-out activities from the past year and we hope that if they pique your interest you will consider reading the report to delve into them further
Firstly, it has been an extraordinary year for the Scottish Cities Alliance with the addition of Dunfermline, which was awarded city status during the Queens Platinum Jubilee Celebrations. Furthermore, with the government elections last May, we warmly welcomed new city leaders, as well as the re-election of our chair, Cllr John Alexander, who shared:
“I am truly delighted to have been reappointed as Chair by my colleagues.”
Cllr John Alexander, Annual Report 2022-2023
Investment Promotion
Through our Investment Promotion workstream, the Alliance has continued to support the cities to foster relations with investors and we have continued to promote the cities investment propositions, through our diverse events program and media profile.
- Events
The Alliance supported the cities in their participation at the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) 2022, in Leeds. Opportunities secured include panel slots for Aberdeen, Dundee, and Glasgow on various topics. A joint press release was issued with UKREiiF to highlight the involvement of Scottish cities. A Scotland networking session was organized, attended by key investors and developers. Scottish Cities shone again at UKREiiF 2023, if you’d like to find out more check out our blog.
Our inaugural Scottish Cities Week programme kicked off an amazing year in 2023, the Alliance team deliver their most ambitious programme of activity to date! Through the event we introduced the cities to over 180 distinguished investors and key officials, as well as supporting engaging panel sessions hosted by Professor Greg Clark, a networking reception with CBRE and, in true Scottish style, finishing the week with a Burns Supper at Dover House.
Our events programme went above and beyond with other notable highlights including helping to secure high level panel opportunities, annual dinners, and key-note speeches for city leaders. Furthermore, helping to raise the profile of the cities, connect with investors, and promote our country’s great economic potential. Looking ahead, we anticipate an even more remarkable year of events, promising an expanded and enhanced presence.
- Media
Raising the profile of the cities remained paramount to our work, and we are pleased to announce that we continued to connect to a targeted international audience, through our Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. Securing even more impressions and followers from the previous year, as well as creating our own original content showing the best of what the Scottish cities have to offer.
SMART Cities Scotland
The Scottish Cities Alliance has supported the cities to develop a programme of data and digital technology projects via the ‘Scotland’s 8th City- the Smart city EDRF programme’. The 8th city programme seeks to enhance Smart City activity to accelerate and transform the delivery of city services and make Scotland’s cities more attractive, liveable, and resilient. The Smart Cities program enters the final full year of delivery, and so we are pleased to share that the project has been a success and we are on course to meet the programmes targets. So, far having delivered, 57 new innovative services and 280 new data sets for innovation; the projects has undoubtedly been a huge win for our cities, and for Scotland!
- Highlights
Innovative service highlights across the 7 cities to date include Aberdeen’s Intelligent Street Lighting Network, Dundee delivering an array of Shared Mobility and resource Efficiency (ShareMORE), Edinburgh delivering an integrated group of City management /public safety projects, open data and data analytics activity in Glasgow, Smart Waste in, Perth’s Famous Grouse Ideas Centre (FGIC), Stirling’s delivery of Smart Energy projects identifying energy wastage.
Another notable highlight was the program being short-listed for the Digital Public Service Innovation of the Year Award!
- Knowledge Sharing
Knowledge sharing from project activity continues to be undertaken across the programme with the cities via a knowledge Hub Forum. The datasets outputs delivered via the 8th city programme now feature on Open Data Platforms supported by all the cities.
Transition to Net Zero
The Scottish Cities Alliance has helped progress the cities Transition to Net Zero Action plan, with the aim of ensuring regional sustainability, reduced carbon outputs, suitable reporting mechanisms and a coordinated action plan.
- Key highlights
The Alliance’s Transition to Net Zero Action Plan include: a refreshed Funding and Investment Strategy, a Peer-to-Peer Network for knowledge sharing and best practices, carbon literacy training for elected members and senior officers, support for low carbon heat projects, integration of adaptation and nature-based solutions, a draft delivery framework for regional net zero actions, a proposal for a Climate Intelligence Service, collaboration with energy network providers, membership in 3Ci with various supportive initiatives, and the delivery of the Hydrogen Scotland Education Programme to inspire renewable energy engineers.
We look forward to this work being undertaken with wider stakeholders and to progress the Net Zero agenda.
Policy and Stakeholder Engagement
Collaboration remains a key priority for the Scottish Cities Alliance, and this past year we have continued to help facilitate partnership working between our partners and external stakeholders. In addition, our commitment to harnessing the potentials of the future has meant we have helped support policy developments between the cities.
We helped progress the delivery of the strategic objectives in the City Centre Recovery Taskforce, working with the cities and both the Scottish and UK Governments to assist all parties to have a comprehensive understanding of how city economies are serving and are served by their local areas and regions. Hosted a Strategic Planning Away Day in January involving the City CEOs and Colin Cook, Director Economy, Roy Brannen, Director General Net Zero, Paul Johnston, Director General, Communities in the Scottish Government. Facilitated opportunities for discussions on a range of key topics at Alliance Leadership and CEO groups, as well as peer to peer learning sessions.
Reflections
Finally, we would like to say a huge thank you to all our partners and stakeholders for another memorable year. We look forward to building upon the successes of 2022-2023, showcasing our vibrant and unique cities, and country’s great economic potential. For more up-to-date information throughout the year don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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