Community Land Scotland’s vision is for the community ownership of land and buildings to be a significant driver of sustainable development across the whole of Scotland.
Community Land Scotland play an important developmental, convening and advocacy role within land reform and community wealth building at a pivotal moment of opportunity for Scotland. They support diverse community groups at all stages of the asset ownership journey; work collaboratively with strategic partners across the voluntary, public and corporate sectors; and draw on their members’ expertise and insight in advocating for legislation and policy that can scale empowerment of local people to lead fair and sustainable economic development for their communities.
Connection to Esmée's strategy
- Priorities
- Long-term outcomes
An increase in community owned assets and community wealth-building models drives greater reinvestment in local economies, reducing economic inequality
From Gillian Goode, Funding Manager, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation:
‘Community power’ is the nucleus of the Foundation’s Creative Confident Communities strategy. Community Land Scotland exemplify this in what they do and how they do it. They work to ensure that the narratives, aims and values demonstrated within Scottish land reform legislation and policy making recognise local people as experts in delivering what their communities need and as important partners in the just transition towards net zero.
From Dr Josh Doble, Policy Manager, Community Land Scotland:
Funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (EFF) has been instrumental in significantly increasing our advocacy work and policy development. It has helped secure Community Land Scotland as one of the most prominent land reform voices in Scotland and increased our capacity to influence legislative change at a time when several key pieces of legislation are working their way through the Scottish Parliament. The funding from EFF enabled us to employ a Policy Manager who has not only done work at national level on advocacy and policy for community ownership but has been able to work more closely with our members and other communities on the ground, meaning that our policy development is informed by real experiences of people trying to change landownership patterns and deliver sustainable development in their local areas.
We have also been fortunate to receive Funding Plus support from EFF which has enabled us to undertake a strategic review of the whole organisation during a time of growth and to help us be as resilient as possible in the future.
