By Simon Smith, Group Executive Director, CEIS Group

If the economy isn’t working for everyone, then it isn’t working.

Across Scotland and the UK, inequality is deepening, public services are stretched, and too many communities are struggling to make ends meet. People are facing the combined pressures of the cost-of-living crisis, rising inequality, and rapid political and technological change that is reshaping how we live and work. These are not temporary shocks; they are signals that the current economic model is no longer serving society as it should.

These pressures are part of a wider period of transformation. Economic fragility, social change, and technological upheaval are converging in ways that test the resilience of our institutions and the strength of our communities. The structures and methods that originally supported community-led economic growth were right for their time, but today’s challenges require approaches that are more systemic, more collaborative, and able to operate at a larger scale.

We cannot meet 21st-century challenges with 20th-century approaches.

That is why we are re-founding CEIS; not because our purpose has changed, but because the way we work must match the scale and complexity of this moment.

As Group Executive Director, my role is to ensure that the CEIS Group remains both relevant and radical, staying true to our founding values while responding to the changing world around us.

Over the past forty years, CEIS and our partners have continuously adapted, from pioneering community business models to helping build a globally recognised social enterprise ecosystem. But the challenges we face today require another step change. The systems that once supported local regeneration now need to evolve into platforms for collaboration and innovation, where communities, government, and business co-create the solutions of the future.

We are now organising our work around three clear missions that give focus to our ambition and momentum to our next chapter:

• Strengthening the foundations of thriving communities
• Helping to design the next generation of public services
• Equipping people and organisations with the skills of the future

These missions are the blueprint for our next chapter.

They focus our effort, align our partnerships, and turn our values into measurable, long-term outcomes.

And these missions place the CEIS Group firmly at the intersection of enterprise, innovation, and fairness and inclusion, where we can create the greatest impact. CEIS is uniquely positioned for this shift as an organisation that operates across community, public, and economic systems, bridging sectors that rarely join up at scale.

To understand why these missions matter, it helps to see the journey that brought us here.

A Legacy of Radical Change-Making

To understand where the CEIS Group is going, it helps to reflect on where we started.

In 1984, a group of radical change-makers, led by John Pearce, came together in the midst of industrial decline and social upheaval to create Strathclyde Community Business (SCB). It was a new kind of organisation, built on enterprise rather than charity, designed to create opportunity where the market and the state had left gaps.

 That pioneering spirit, rooted in Scotland’s long history of cooperation and mutuality, has guided CEIS ever since. Over the following decades, SCB became CEIS, which helped shape Scotland’s modern social-enterprise movement. We have supported thousands of organisations, helped launch national programmes such as Just Enterprise and the International Social Enterprise Observatory, and played a central role in founding the Social Enterprise World Forum.

Last year’s 40th anniversary offered a moment to celebrate that journey and to reflect on what comes next.

Re-founding CEIS means staying true to our roots while designing for the future. It is about renewing the social contract that enterprise can and should serve people and place.

Our Three Missions

Our next chapter is organised around three long-term missions that align with national priorities and global challenges. Each looks ahead to 2030 and sets a clear direction for how the CEIS Group will help shape a fairer, more inclusive economy.

Building Thriving Communities – enabling people and places to shape their own futures.

By 2030, communities across Scotland and the UK will be shaping their local economies so that people and places can thrive. Through community wealth building and inclusive growth, we will unlock opportunities, strengthen local ownership, and ensure prosperity is shared fairly. CEIS will work with local partners to create practical pathways that build community power and long-term resilience.

Building the Next Generation of Public Services – reimagining how services are designed and delivered.

By 2030, the CEIS Group will have co-created a new generation of public services across Scotland and the UK that put dignity, fairness, and prevention at their core. By embedding innovation, collaboration, and the responsible use of data and AI, these services will reduce inequality, improve wellbeing, and deliver lasting public value. We will work alongside local and national partners to demonstrate how mission-led public services can be reimagined in practice.

Building Future Skills – connecting people to the innovation economy and creating a workforce fit for Scotland’s future.

By 2030, people across Scotland and the wider UK will have access to the skills needed to thrive in the green, digital, and innovation economy. CEIS will ensure that no one is left behind in the transition to the future of work by working across education, industry, and policy to create inclusive learning and employment pathways. Our goal is to connect people directly to the opportunities emerging from Scotland’s innovation economy and to build a workforce ready to shape its future.

We have spent the past year strengthening our capabilities, partnerships, and internal systems so we are ready for this shift and prepared to deliver on our mission-led approach.

These missions express what CEIS has always stood for: community-led innovation, practical enterprise, and inclusive growth. But they do so in a way that is fit for the next 40 years.

Join Us in Shaping What Comes Next

In the weeks ahead, we will publish our new strategy, setting out what this mission-led approach means in practice. After that, we will take a deeper look at each mission, exploring what success looks like, where we are starting from, and how we will work with partners to deliver lasting impact.

We want to collaborate with those who share our ambition to build an inclusive, sustainable economy, from community leaders and local authorities to funders, innovators, and public partners, by working together to design, test, and deliver practical solutions that create real impact. If your work aligns with these missions, or if you want to help shape the solutions Scotland needs next, let’s talk!

Together, we can reimagine what the social and impact economy can achieve and build the next 40 years on a foundation of purpose, partnership, and possibility.

Because at its heart, the CEIS Group remains committed to one simple idea: building an economy that works for everyone.

If our missions resonate with you, please join us on our journey and take part in the conversation.

Get in touch to explore ideas, partnerships or collaboration:

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