New collaborative approach to deliver more affordable housing

A new public sector alliance has been created to accelerate the delivery of much-needed affordable homes for rent in the south east of Scotland.

The alliance will provide local authorities and housing associations with an online knowledge hub hosting freely-available home designs that utilise modern methods of construction.

The South East Regional Delivery Alliance (SE-RDA) has been established by bringing together six councils - The City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian - supported by public sector infrastructure body, the Scottish Futures Trust.

To speed up delivery, the SE-RDA has built up a library of net-zero ready house and flat types that have been designed in collaboration with the house building industry and can be downloaded from the SE-RDA knowledge hub and shared with appointed contractors and design teams.

Property layouts range from a 1 bedroom flat up to a 4 bedroom house and can be customised in various configurations, with a number of designs incorporating wheelchair accessibility.

In addition, by bringing six local authorities together, a strong pipeline of proposed housing supply can be established, providing the construction sector with greater insight into expected future work. 

Pilot 1 in Granton, Edinburgh

Find out more at the South East Regional Delivery Alliance (SE-RDA) website.

Innovation Action Plan unveiled for Edinburgh and South East Scotland

A new action plan, which puts business growth and innovation at the forefront, has been launched.

Developed collaboratively by Innovate UK, Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region, and Scottish Enterprise, the plan aims to build a strong, resilient and investment-attractive economy by leveraging regional strengths and capabilities. It was launched at the University of Edinburgh’s Futures Institute at an event attended by business leaders from across the region.

The document has identified key areas with high innovation potential, helping to position Edinburgh and South East Scotland as leaders in advanced manufacturing, life sciences and financial services. The City Region’s initial focus is on three priority innovation clusters:

• Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing cluster at the Forth Green Freeport

• Health cluster in Edinburgh’s BioQuarter

• Financial Services and Fintech cluster in central Edinburgh

The plan also establishes core areas of alignment between Innovate UK, Scottish Enterprise and local leaders, including shared ambitions to:

• Expand collaborative research and development between industry and research organisations

• Develop new strategies for key growth sectors

• Support under-served communities to drive more equitable and inclusive growth

• Ensure existing business support is made more visible and easier to access

• Support the uptake of technologies to achieve Net Zero targets

• Strengthen the support pathway for small businesses from start-up to scale-up

From these shared ambitions, the plan outlines a series of commitments to streamline innovation support, amplify regional assets, attract inward investment and address innovation skills gaps.

Read the Edinburgh and South East Scotland Regional Innovation Action Plan

Data-Driven Innovation Programme Annual Review

The University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University’s Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) initiative has published its latest Annual Review, showcasing achievements from the academic year 2023-24.

Twenty in depth case studies feature in the review, covering start-ups and spin-outs, research, and partnerships delivering positive impacts for a range of industry sectors.

The DDI initiative launched in 2018 as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal, and was set ambitious targets for increasing data skills, industry partnerships and entrepreneurship.

The Review provides a snapshot of recent activity across six DDI hubs, all now open and located at the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University, and delivering impact across ten industry sectors, from Argritech and Creative, to Fintech and Healthcare.

The review includes examples of how staff at the Bayes Centre and Edinburgh Futures Institute helped housing and homelessness teams at City of Edinburgh Council improve services. Also featured is a partnership from the Creative Informatics team, which enabled an arts organisation to enhance digital skills and data capabilities.

In the 2023-24 academic year, the DDI initiative delivered £160million in research activity and saw a 24% increase compared with the previous year. 80 early-stage data-centric companies were supported, surpassing DDI’s unique company end-of-programme target by 25%.

23-24 also saw the initiative surpass its entrepreneurship goal by four times the initial target. Since launch, 550 entrepreneurs have been supported through DDI, together securing more than £200 million of investments. Half of this funding has remained local, with businesses in the Edinburgh and South East Scotland area.

With all DDI hubs now open, the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University are able to increase learning opportunities for a variety of communities and organisations, additionally offering residency spaces for companies where they can benefit from University collaboration.

Expanding partnerships, and increasing engagement with business, remains a core future goal for the DDI initiative; the opening of all six DDI innovation hubs is a significant milestone in helping deliver that ambition.

View the Annual Report

Watch the video

Edinburgh and South East Scotland’s universities and colleges sign the Community Wealth Building Pledge

Ellen Munro, Head of Integrated Employer Engagement (ESES City Region Deal), met with Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, Chair of Edinburgh and South East Scotland’s Higher/Further Education Strategy Group and Principal of the University of Edinburgh, as the Edinburgh and South East Scotland’s universities and colleges signed the Community Wealth Building Pledge

It's a firm commitment from each institution to support inclusive growth. The pledge strengthens the region’s commitment to local economic empowerment and sustainable development.

We're delighted that the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal has enabled this.

The pledge follows on from the "Framework for Action" for the Deal, developed in collaboration with the CLES - Centre for Local Economic Strategies, which provided key guidance for these commitments.

The ESES CRD Community Wealth Building Pledge includes these commitments:

• Support local SMEs through procurement

• Strengthen community-based ownership and resilience

• Promote fair employment practices and accessible career pathways

  
  Read more about the pledge signing

The Dunard Centre shares its 2023-24 Annual Report

The Dunard Centre, the cultural programme of the Edinburgh and South East City Region Deal, has shared its Annual Report for the 2023-24 financial year.  
 
Detailing a pivotal period for the project, key milestones covered in the report include the completion of enabling works that have prepared the site for construction; forging new cross-sector partnerships, including a new Further Education partner in Edinburgh College; securing a growing network of donors, trusts and corporate partners, with over £30M raised over the past financial year; and analysing insights from the first wave of citizens research.  
 
Jo Buckley, Chief Executive, said: "This project’s ambition, not just for its local community but for Edinburgh’s global reputation, signals a bold commitment to the importance of culture to our lives, our economy, and our society. We are now at a crucial turning point for the project, and we look forward to breaking ground in 2025." 
 The Dunard Centre, supported by Royal Bank of Scotland, will be Edinburgh’s first purpose-built venue of its kind in over 100 years, rivalling the best in the world in acoustic quality and audience experience. Designed by David Chipperfield Architects, it will also be the first Nagata hall in the UK. 
 
As well as providing a new home for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and a key performance venue each August for the Edinburgh International Festival, the Dunard Centre will be an inclusive cultural hub for all kinds of musical performance. Re-asserting Edinburgh's status as a Cultural Capital, the venue will also be an exciting new public space in the centre of Edinburgh, offering rehearsal and recording space as well as delivering an educational outreach programme that builds new audiences and brings new performers to the city. 

Download the report here.

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