Community + Town Investment Plans
Following on from Local Place Plans, Investment Plans use recognised methodologies to turn ideas and aspirations into tangible business case
Background
Town Investment Plan (TIP) is a term that has appeared against a number of recent funds as the blanket term for the socio-economic strategy for investment within the community it references.
Like much of Place Making terminology, it considers a community as a town, and given the rural nature of Scottish Borders, we are reframing this as a Town or Community Investment Plan (CIP) to recognise the diversity of our community groups and the opportunity for plans to be developed by clusters of smaller settlements when this makes economic sense, or is the will of the community.
Developing an Investment Plan
Whether for a community, a cluster of hamlets, a village or a Town, an Investment Plan looks at how ideas and aspirations captured within the Local Place Plan can be further prioritised, organised and ultimately funded.
The Town or Community Investment Plan is a working document which moves the community’s aspirations, ideas and objectives captured within the Local Place Plan to a space where projects they can be further prioritised, organised and ultimately funded. The plan is essentially a light touch business case, based on industry best practise aligned to the HM Treasury Green Book five case model.
The five case methodology is as follows:
- Strategic Case – linking to national strategy and the South of Scotland Regional Economic Strategy
- Economic Case – benefits it will realise to the economy of the community
- Financial Case – Costs/funding
- Commercial Case – Sustainability, forward plan of how project will be supported / managed following the initial funding
- Management Case – deliverability considering capacity/capability
This formulaic approach is designed to consider all angles of a project, in particular the management and ongoing running and maintenance when it moves from delivery into day to day running and use.
The plan is also an opportunity to include a mini programme of projects and investment opportunities as a pipeline, to be connected with the right funds at the right time, with a focus on evidence of need, impact, value for money, and deliverability. This allows communities to be agile and respond quickly to funders timelines, which can often be short, with robust proposals backed by a body of evidence, which will improve the likelihood of getting investment.
The TIP / CIP should demonstrate a commitment to Inclusive Growth, which Scottish Government defines as “growth that combines increased prosperity with greater equality, creates opportunities for all, and distributes the benefits of increased prosperity fairly”. So creating an investment plan is an opportunity to direct funding resources to support not just economic growth but contributes to a wellbeing economy and carbon conscious place that benefits the lives of residents.
This not merely a monetary strategy, but one which considers a wide range of factors that affect the lives of people and their environmental as part of the evaluation of the case for action.
An Investment Plan is not necessarily required to apply for funding, and is most helpful for communities that are embarking on large scale transformation which requires complex planning and funding from multiple sources.
However, an Investment Plan may be a mandatory requirement of a specific fund, and as part of the current Place Making activity, this requirement exists within the Borderlands Towns, who are eligible for funding under the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal .
All terms listed in bold can be found in the Glossary for further clarification and reading by navigating the A-Z.
