Introduction to Economic Development
Glasgow City Council's Economic Development team is responsible for delivering the city's Economic Strategy, which defines the actions we will take to deliver an inclusive, sustainable and more productive economy for our city. The division has a wide-ranging remit with teams working in collaboration with city partners to deliver our goals. More information on the various teams within the division is below.
Business Glasgow
Business Glasgow provide a range of business support activities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Glasgow to support them to grow and increase their productivity.
The team of dedicated, skilled business advisers also deliver the Business Gateway Service within Economic Development, supporting Glasgow's key sectors and facilitating an environment that is receptive to innovation and high-growth employment.
SMEs are the lifeblood of the Glasgow economy and the Business Glasgow team makes supporting them their number one priority.
Employability
The Employability team support citizens to access employment and training opportunities, by designing, commissioning and managing the delivery of employability funds for Glasgow residents with barriers to employment.
While this support predominately focuses on individuals with multiple barriers to employment, it also recognises the impact the transition to net zero will have on the city economy and the wider jobs market, through the development of the Just Transition Skills Action Plan.
Invest Glasgow
Invest Glasgow is the city’s inward investment team whose goal it is to attract new foreign direct investment (FDI) as well as capital investment to Glasgow to support the city economy. We act as a single point of contact to inward investors and provide a range of support including property searches to help investors find a home in the city, market intelligence via our website and most recently, our new soft landing space incentive for newly arrived inward investors.
The team is dedicated to encouraging and assisting all types of inward investment especially in our key sectors, while promoting the Glasgow metropolitan area as one of the most investor and business-friendly locations in both the UK and Europe.
Green Economy, Innovation and International
The Green Economy, Innovation and International team is a new unit within Economic Development to oversee these three key areas of our economic agenda.
Green Economy: the team works closely with partners and businesses to support the transition to and growth of a green economy. It looks to ensure that an inclusive and sustainable economy contributes to the city’s Climate Plan and the delivery of its net zero carbon emissions target by 2030.
Innovation: the team works with a range of key partners from the academic and business communities to support innovation in the city. This agenda looks to increase productivity, grow high value jobs and support inclusive growth through new products and processes, as well as new ways of working. It draws on Glasgow’s rich history of invention, entrepreneurialism and collaboration and links with the two Innovation Districts established in Glasgow itself as well as the Glasgow City of Science & Innovation partnership.
International: the team has led on a range of international links and global urban partnerships for the Council. These relate especially to ongoing engagement with city peers as a legacy of hosting COP26, including the C40 network, ICLEI and the Global Resilient Cities Network.
Digital Economy
The Digital Economy team ensures the city attracts and grows the required digital foundations including skills, innovation environment, tech-enabled businesses, connectivity and infrastructure.
The purpose of the Digital Economy function is to maximise the benefits of leveraging digital technology to support a sustainable and growing economy. This comprises a number of aspects which are mutually supportive:
- Ensuring the city attracts and grows the required digital foundations including skills, innovation environment, connectivity and infrastructure
- Driving digital inclusion, including skills and accessibility
- Increasing numbers and growth of digital/tech businesses
- Driving digital adoption and exploitation.
Funding and Monitoring
The team monitors performance and compliance of conditions of grant funding from a growing range of sources. Whilst this funding is largely related to employability services, the team also provides broader support to activity that delivers on the Glasgow Economic Strategy, including the areas of business growth, digital economy, and the transition to net zero.
The Funding and Monitoring team plays a particularly important role in managing the delivery of No One Left Behind and Child Poverty funding and supporting the ongoing implementation of the No One Left Behind strategy, which places the needs of people furthest from the labour market or experiencing in-work poverty at the centre of any support.
The scale of employability funding in Glasgow for 2023/24 is significant, with over £18m investment supporting the delivery of 48 projects and interventions addressing child poverty and progressing people to work, training and education. The Funding and Monitoring team is instrumental in ensuring this funding is managed and spent compliantly, and that these projects are delivering maximum benefits to citizens and the economy.
Glasgow Film Office
Glasgow Film Office is the film commission service for the city of Glasgow.
The team markets Glasgow as a viable production centre for film and TV projects and works with productions in the city to ensure engagement with local communities.
They also assist with identifying and securing locations and tabulating the economic benefit derived from production activity.
Strategic Projects
The purpose of the Strategic Projects team is to:
- Work across Economic Development to support delivery of the Glasgow Economic Strategy
- Develop and deliver strategically important projects that don’t fit naturally in other Economic Development teams
- Collaborate with other Council services on cross-cutting projects
In 2022-23, the team supported with the delivery the £9.45m LACER-funded Scotland Loves Local Glasgow Gift Card programme, the design and scoring of the SPF Glasgow Communities & Place Fund, the redesign of the Social Enterprise Board, and providing assistance to the Just Transition Working Group.
Other work included monitoring the Community Renewal Fund, supporting the GPEG hubs and GERG Executive, further development of the ED Dashboard, and continuing the roll-out of Climate Literacy training to Economic Development staff.
Grants and Initiatives team
The Grants and Initiatives team joined the Economic Development section after the period of this report.
The main role of the team is to manage the effective delivery of two Council grant funds involving awards to 3rd sector organisations - the Glasgow Communities Fund (GCF) and the Children’s Holiday Food and Activity Programme.
The GCF was introduced in October 2020 and supported almost 300 third sector organisations to deliver diverse programmes of activity at a city-wide and local level to the value of over £47m. Phase 2 of GCF is now in place with a total 3-year budget allocation from April 2023 to March 2026 of £55.8m awarded to over 230 organisations. Of this, £6.5m is ring-fenced to support Financial Inclusion and Legal Support activity currently being delivered by organisations within the Glasgow Advice and Information Network (GAIN).
