Pride in Place in Scotland: Spend It Better. Connect It Better.
Pride in Place introduces long-term neighbourhood investment across Scotland, but it is not landing on a blank canvas.
Local authorities, community planning partnerships and the third sector are already working within complex, resource-constrained systems shaped by a decade of changing regeneration policy, European funding, and more recent UK Government programmes. In many places, governance arrangements, community relationships and delivery pressures are already well established.
This matters, because the key question for local leaders is not simply, “How do we deliver this programme well?” It is, “How does this funding interact with everything that is already here, and how do we use it to strengthen local systems rather than unintentionally complicate them?”
While the scale of investment is significant, Pride in Place is best understood as a contribution to place rather than a complete strategy for local transformation. Its impact will depend less on what it funds in isolation and more on how effectively it connects with the wider ecosystem of plans, partnerships and investment already shaping local areas.
Scotland has deep experience in place-based working and community partnership. The leadership challenge now is ensuring Pride in Place draws on and strengthens those foundations, rather than creating parallel structures that add pressure or fragmentation.
This raises important system-level questions for local leaders and partners:
- How can Pride in Place funding be supported by strong local evidence and shared priorities, enabling communities to make informed choices about long-term impact rather than short-term visible activity?
- How can this investment align with other funding streams, timelines and governance arrangements so it supports a coherent local strategy rather than operating as a standalone programme?
- What enabling conditions need attention, delivery capacity, shared intelligence, trusted relationships and effective governance, to ensure funding lands in strong local systems rather than overstretched ones?
- And how should emerging neighbourhood governance arrangements connect clearly with democratic accountability and existing place-based decision-making?
In this webinar, Des Murray (Chief Executive, North Lanarkshire Council) and Alan Webb (Chief Executive, Dumfries & Galloway TSI) will reflect from local government and the third sector on leading through these tensions in practice.
The discussion will focus on how councils and partners can act as enablers; supporting community-led decisions while connecting Pride in Place investment into the wider place system.
If you are involved in local leadership, community planning, regeneration or partnership delivery, this session is intended to help you think about the choices being made now, while they are still shapeable.
You can register using the link below.
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1517703607106/WN_4OYXrOpuS5KTD02-AqhEjA
