Smart Metropolia 2014, AmberExpo Gdańsk

1. Gdansk Smart Metropolis
Congress
Liz Maguire
24th October 2014

2. Local Authorities as “doers and
“enablers of Social Innovation
• Brief overview of Glasgow
• Why would a Local Authority be Socially Innovative?
• Examples of Glasgow as a doer and enabler of Social
Innovation and understanding the contexts/drivers.
• What next for Social Innovation

3. Glasgow – an overview

4. Facts Issues and Challenges
• Scotland’s largest City (pop 600,000)
• Largest Local Authority – Budget 2.4 billion
• Young Population – 68% of working age with an average
age of 35
• Generates £17 billion GVA to the Scottish Economy
every year.
• Challenges: jobs growth, persistent unemployment,
poverty and reducing financial resources
• Re-inventing itself and trying to remain competitive

5. Social Innovation – Why and by Whom?
• Need to meet the needs of the City and its residents
• Local Authorities do not have all the answers/solutions or
mechanisms to meet need.
• Social Innovation provides the opportunity for new
mechanisms and creative successful solutions.
• All stakeholders, big and small, have a role to play and
contribution to make to foster and encourage social
innovation.

6. Glasgow – Enabling Social Innovation
Problem or Opportunity
Long Term
Unemployed
Govt Training Damp Housing
Scheme

7. Heatwise
• An ILM Training Scheme improving energy efficiency in
tenants homes
• Rate for the Job with real skills
• Council funded core staff costs and materials
• Govt funded training costs via MSC programme and able
to secure EU funding which the Council could not.
• Succesful model which led to other sectors e.g
Landwise, Treewise etc
• 30 years later, consolidated to the WISE Group with a
multi million pound turnover and 360 plus staff

8. Need to borrow
No bank account
So can only
access expensive
credit
No Money

9. Scotcash
• Established as a Community Development Finance
Initiative (operates as a Community Interest Company)
• Founding Members Glasgow City Council, Glasgow
Housing Association and Royal Bank of Scotland
• Provides affordable credit and able to assist people to
open basic bank accounts.
• Since opening in 2007 they provide loans of
approximately £1 million every year and have opened
around 5,500 basic bank accounts
• Glasgow City Council support to enable it to happen,
was by providing an initial £570,000 for the loans.

10. Glasgow - Doing Social Innovation
The Problem with Housing

11. • Legislative Constraints
• For every £1 of rent around 57p paid to service debt
• 43p left for housing management and repairs
• 2+2 = 7 The figures did not add up
• Housing stock decline and higher rents

12. Housing Stock Transfer
• Agreed transfer all Council housing stock to a newly
created Housing Association
• This would enable Central Government to write off the
Housing Debt.
• All tenants balloted on stock transfer – which was
supported
• Glasgow Housing Association created in 2003 biggest
Housing Association in Scotland
• Spent £1.2 billion modernising and improving 70,000
homes
• Now expanded to form the Wheatley Group

13. Encouraging Saving – Fighting Pay Day Lenders
Pay Day Lenders

14. A preventative approach
• Encourage saving at an early age
• All First year secondary pupils encouraged to open a
credit union account
• Council credit £10 into each account
• Credit union account maintained and deposit points in
schools.
• Started last year and this is now the second year
• Community credit unions are key partners to the
success.
• Potential to be really preventative in terms of future debt.
• Annual cost to the council £60,000

15. What next for Social Innovation?
• Social Innovation in Glasgow continues to thrive both on
a small and big scale.
• Increasing recognition that reliance on traditional forms
of support (grants) not sustainable
• In UK differing views on the role of Social Impact Bonds
and Investment.
• Should businesses “profit” from social innovation?
• Danger small local social innovations are overlooked in
terms of accessing finance/sustainable support.
• New innovations are emerging to support sustain and
develop social innovation.