Business Comment 47

Infrastructure and City Planning

JUNE/JULY2017

E f f I C I E n t. . . fA S t. . . r E l I A b l E . . . S A f E

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Building the city through our everyday choices

Introduction / Contents

03

ScotRail to add new charging spaces

04

Edinburgh a hotspot for buy to lets

05

Solicitor lends her voice to UN

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Premier Series Dinner with Chris van der Kuyl 08 Member Benefits

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Edinburgh is proving a major hotspot for buy to let investment

Feature: Digital Focus/Cyber Security

The Emerging Edinburgh St. James

In this issue, our focus is on the continued – and exciting – development of the infrastructure of Scotland’s Capital.

These are not only exciting times, they are also pivotal in terms of the future direction and development of Edinburgh as a hugely successful city.

In this issue, we keep you up to date with what is happening around the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Deal – a project that could deliver enormous benefits for the city and its environs, from the Scottish Borders to Fife. Your Chamber is deeply involved in this project, delivering a voice for business to work alongside our local authorities and our universities to deliver massive investment and opportunity to build on Edinburgh’s economic success story.

12|15

Get Going

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Secret of Success

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Ask the Expert 19

Infrastructure and City Planning Hello, and welcome to Business Comment, the magazine of Edinburgh Chamber.

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bringing jobs, opportunities and iconic new buildings.

We also learn about CityFibre, investing in the delivery of gigabit networks to deliver the best digital infrastructure for the city – as essential as the physical infrastructure we see around us every day in terms of delivering for businesses in the present and in the future.

And as Roddy Smith, Chief Executive of Business Improvement District company Essential Edinburgh, reminds us, infrastructure is about more than buildings or cable. The importance of the city’s public open spaces is the subject of an ongoing review, and Roddy explains why they are vital in the life of the city centre.

Elsewhere in the magazine you can read of the development of sustainable transport in Edinburgh and – appropriately, hear news of a new investment in electric car charging spaces by ScotRail. As ever, our members have lots of interesting things to say, so enjoy the news and views.

One bricks and mortar manifestation of that success is Edinburgh St James, as a £1 billion investment continues to see an entire new city block emerge in the heart of the Capital,

City Infrastructure and Planning

20|21

Special Report

22|25

City Infrastructure and Planning

28|31

60 Seconds

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Partners In Enterprise

33

Talent and Skills

34|37

Get with It

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Europe Direct Edinburgh

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Chamber Training 42 Inspiring Connections 44|45 Movers and Shakers

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Join Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce Our membership base is truly multisector, multi-scale and multi- national.

As we develop our geographic reach, we continue to welcome new members who can enjoy exclusive benefits of being part of Scotland’s capital city Chamber of Commerce. We would be delighted to share with you the benefits of joining.

Liz McAreavey

Chief Executive, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce liz.mcareavey@edinburghchamber.co.uk

Contact our dedicated membership team on 0131 221 2999 or e-mail leads@edinburghchamber.co.uk or join via our website

www.edinburghchamber.co.uk

www.edinburghchamber.co.uk Image of Liz McAreavey: Credit: Tuskite Photography

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CHAMBER NEWS

ScotRail Alliance announces 100 new electric car charging spaces The ScotRail Alliance is leading a drive to improve the availability of electric car charging points in stations.

A total of 50 stations across their 359 station network will benefit from a new, free to use charging point which can charge two cars at once. With the use of low-emission vehicles on the rise, the ScotRail Alliance is keen to encourage their use, which will reduce carbon emissions by customers on their journeys to and from the station.

Construction work to install the first charger will begin in September, with all 100 spaces available from November this year.

The ScotRail Alliance’s programmes and transformation director, Ian McConnell, said: “As a low-carbon transport provider, we are always looking for new ways to encourage more environmentally-friendly travel.

Through the installation of these 100 electric car parking spaces, we hope to reduce our customers’ carbon footprint from door-todoor.

“We have big plans to improve our car parks, and this is just one of the many improvements we have planned for the next 12 months.”

“We have big plans to improve our car parks, and this is just one of the many improvements we have planned for the next 12 months.”

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CHAMBER NEWS

Edinburgh is proving a major hotspot for buy to let investment Edinburgh is proving a major hotspot for buy to let investment, as property prices are expected to rise by 23 per cent over the next four years (Source: JLL Property Consultants).

This is being driven by the lack of new residential properties being built in Edinburgh combined with a rapidly growing population. These factors are pushing both sales and rental prices up across the capital.

With demand for housing outstripping supply, particularly within the city centre, rental values and house prices in Edinburgh are forecast to rise well above the national average.

Construction of new residential properties is lagging far behind what is needed to meet demand, and this trend is showing no signs of any dramatic change in the foreseeable future.

The subsequent price rise is expected to affect properties at the lower end of the market most, with average prices for one bedroom flats rising to over £150,000. In the West End of Edinburgh, the average price for 2 bedroom flats is reaching nearly £400,000.

As a result of the dramatic hike in property values, first time buyers are sadly going to find it most difficult to purchase property.

Despite interest rates remaining at record lows it is more difficult to get a mortgage with lending criteria getting stricter and with large deposits being demanded. It’s not easy to get on the housing ladder, and as prices increase it will become even more difficult and this in turn is fuelling demand for rental accommodation.

Various plans have been put forward for housing developments in the green belt, but it is not thought that these will make an impact in the short term. It takes time for homes in new developments to come through and currently the population is increasing at a faster rate than properties are being built.

Lower priced properties are the most affected by price increases as this is where the bulk of the demand is focused. High numbers of first-time buyers are having to compete with increasing numbers of investor buyers and they are nearly all chasing after properties priced between £100,000 and £200,000. This combined demand is driving up prices, and available properties at this level are becoming harder and harder to come by.

It is clear that there are opportunities for investors to make the most of the strengthening rental market in Edinburgh and the predictions for strong capital growth but the big problem they face, even those who are cash buyers, is they can’t actually get hold of any suitable properties.

Rob Trotter Associate Director at DJ Alexander RobTrotter@djalexander.co.uk

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CHAMBER NEWS

Scottish solicitor lends her voice to UN gender equality summit Emma Guthrie spends most of her days as a solicitor in Shepherd and Wedderburn’s Property and Infrastructure team. However, for 18 days in March Emma was also in New York as a delegate at the 61st United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), attending on behalf of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).

When Emma isn’t working on commercial property transactions, she devotes much of her spare time to Girlguiding —she has been a member for over 20 years, and sees WAGGGS as an important organisation for the advancement of young women in the world today. It is the leading charity in the UK for girls and young women, with over half a million members and operates in 146 countries. It was her role as a member of this organisation that led her to the UNCSW. Emma’s main role at the summit within the WAGGGS delegation was providing legal expertise in reviewing the agreed conclusions document, and drafting reaction statements on behalf of WAGGGS.

She explains, “My legal background certainly equipped me to analyse and review the policy documents. This was an especially complex task as member states could be pretty particular about the inclusion or exclusion of certain words and phrases. As a solicitor I am aware of how important using one word over another can be in completely changing the intention and application of a legal document.”

At the UNCSW Emma gave an address alongside a representative from the World Bank at an event hosted by Save the Children, which focused on investing in girls and young women. She was also able to swap stories and share her experiences of the

corporate environment and the continuing drive in her own workplace to achieve diversity and gender equality.

Being a member of WAGGGS and also a qualified solicitor at Shepherd and Wedderburn gave Emma the necessary knowledge and expertise to make her voice heard at the Commission. She said: “The experience helped me to develop my understanding of the issues facing gender equality in a number of different contexts.

The knowledge gained in New York has been rich and rewarding, greatly benefiting my professional and philanthropic development and providing me with new ideas that will help me to drive gender equality forward. “

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CHAMBER NEWS

Focus on: Premier Series Dinner with Chris van der Kuyl In April, we heard from Chris van der Kuyl – cofounder of 4J Studios and one of Scotland’s leading entrepreneurs.

Through founding two globally successful technology companies, VIS Entertainment and 4J Studios and being involved in various Non-Exec Director (NXD) and Chief Executive roles, Chris has a wealth of experience in the entertainment, technology and media sectors.

Chris began by drawing upon Scotland’s highly educated and digitally literate workforce, and highlighted the importance of nurturing and utilising our young talent, as “Opportunities are out there for all of us.

The only barriers to these opportunities are confidence and capability.”

An advocate for the provision of top-quality education, Chris emphasised the importance of incorporating technology into the core curriculum taught in schools – “technology should be taught as a language in addition to English, French and German”.

A strong believer that Edinburgh and Scotland has the talent and potential to become the most entrepreneurial country in the world, Chris explained “Edinburgh has something special. It combines creative and intellectual talent with the potential to create something special. Not everywhere has that.”

Moving on from technology in education, Chris focused on the wider impact that technology has, and will have on our every day lives. “This is a remarkable time” Chris said, “Not because of politics; it’s remarkable because of communications technology. It has transformed the world we live in. The pace of change is now the fastest it’s ever been – yet, it’ll never be this slow again, and that’s a scary thought.”

Exploring these impacts, Chris explained “Technological advances have forced societal change, more than we’ve ever known, and this will continue to happen – only, on a much faster and larger scale.”

knowledge of the tech and entertainment industry paired with his optimistic outlook and real passion for “giving back” provided an excellent and inspirational night for Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce members.

Considering the prospect, and soon to be reality of autonomous vehicles and flying cars, Chris said “Change is here – like we’ve never known. These things won’t happen in 100+ years, its 20-30 years.”

Along with a two-course dinner, wine and networking, our first Premier Series Dinner of 2017 was a great success. At our next Premier Series Dinner, we will welcome Jim McColl OBE, on Thursday 29th of June. Don’t hesitate to book your ticket – email events@ edinburghchamber.co.uk to secure a place.

Chris’s entrepreneurial insight and profound

“Technological advances have forced societal change, more than we’ve ever known, and this will continue to happen – only, on a much faster and larger scale.”

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MEMBER BENEFITS

Top reasons why you should #JoinYourChamber the Chamber. We provide access to a social media audience of over 15,000, which you can reach as easily as tagging us in your posts. Our members can post to a private LinkedIn group made up of members, and we also offer the opportunity to post blogs and press releases on our website, as well as a free editorial in our bi-monthly Business Comment magazine. Whether it’s news, an opinion piece, or a special offer to share, our Marketing team will help to spread your message far and wide.

BUSINESS MENTORING New to business or looking for guidance on growth? No matter which stage your business is at, we can provide access to a network of business mentors who are happy to help you and your ambitions for the future with free advice. Who better to help you find success than someone who has already?

MEMBER REFERRAL SCHEME As well as being a part of Edinburgh’s best connected business organisation, members receive exclusive access to a variety of benefits, ensuring you have the tools and support to help your business develop & grow.

Whether your aim is to make connections and partner with likeminded businesses, gain support with your product offering in overseas markets, receive helpful guidance from our executive team, or be first to hear of important city updates, a membership with the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce will provide you with a plethora of perks and unbeatable opportunities.

Our member benefits include;

CIVIC LEADERSHIP AND INFLUENCE As part of Edinburgh’s best connected business network, you’ll gain access to insights from key city stakeholders including Local Council and Government. The Edinburgh Chamber are also leading contributors in the formation of the City Vision 2050 for Edinburgh.

Have a great idea and need help getting it heard? We’re all ears!

Enjoying your Chamber membership? Spread the word and enjoy events on us! Our Member Referral Scheme will gift you a free place at two events of your choosing (excluding Business Awards and Premier Series Dinner) for every member who joins at your recommendation - they simply need to tell us that it was you who sent them our way.

There’s no limit on this offer either! Referred one, five, ten, fifteen members to us? We’ll keep your calendar full - for free!

These are but a selection of benefits Chamber members are able to enjoy. For a full, comprehensive list of benefits and offers, visit www.edinburghchamber.co.uk For enquiries on how to #JoinYourChamber please contact Richard Ellis, Head of Membership: Richard.ellis@edinburghchamber.co.uk

E f f i c i E n t. . . fA s t. . . r E l i A b l E . . . s A f E

NETWORKING Networking is at the heart of what we do. We have a comprehensive programme of over 130 events per year, each offering the perfect opportunity to make long-lasting connections. From high-end Breakfast Connections & Premier Series Dinners to relaxed Chamber Dining Clubs and Early Start events - we’re sure to keep your calendar crammed full of exciting events.

MEMBER DIRECTORY Members of the Edinburgh Chamber benefit from having their business listed on our exclusive Member Directory. Each member also receives a login to the Directory, where you can access over 750 personal contacts within Edinburgh businesses. Looking to branch out but not sure who to talk to? We provide the contact so you can work on the perfect introduction!

For all corporate, personal & airport transFer Fares: www.citycabs.co.uk Get the City Cabs app on iPhone and Android Pay using Apple Pay or contactless payments

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT As well as preferential rates on our International Documentation and Certificates services, you’ll get access to our recently launched International Events Programme. We are connected with most consuls in Edinburgh and many other international organisations, so wherever you’re looking to grow your business - we’re here to help!

MARKETING SUPPORT Members benefit from a wide range of marketing support through

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A PROMISE BY THE NATION. The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise by the nation, ensuring that those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated fairly.

So why not publicly declare your commitment to our Armed Forces by signing up? In doing so you would be among the 1300+ UK companies who have already shown their support.

Signing up to the Covenant is straightforward and sets companies on the path to have their pledge recognised through the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

This scheme incorporates prestigious Bronze, Silver and Gold awards, granted in recognition of their pledge to support defence and the Armed Forces Community.

The ERS awards culminate annually with prestigious ceremonies in Edinburgh (below) and London to recognise the efforts of the Silver and Gold award winners.

For more about the Covenant and what it means for you, go to www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk.

You can also contact the Regional Employer Engagement Directors of both Highland and Lowland Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations to find out how to get involved.

Highland: Contact Ron Macgregor on 01382 631026 or email hi-empsp@rfca.mod.uk.

Lowland: Contact Colin Vooght on 0141 9456751 or email lo-empspcv@rfca.mod.uk.

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FEATURE: DIGITAL FOCUS/CYBER SECURITY

Consolidation is the key to improving productivity The world is changing, we are all expected to keep track of a whole lot more information than ever before.

Note that I didn’t say memorise.

Instead of remember all the information necessary to do our jobs and keep our lives on track, we leave it to apps and systems to do the remembering for us. All we have to do is remember where we put which piece of information.

As we all know from the hours we spend throughout our lives searching for our keys, this isn’t the easiest thing in the world.

To make this even more difficult for ourselves, we tend to silo information in different places, because some new tool or app or gadget is really good at storing the one type of data, but can’t store another, so then we have to get another app.

There are so many tools out there, just waiting to help us organise one aspect of our lives, that we are always in danger of becoming overwhelmed by them.

When you boil it down, we all forget to do things from time to time, but now we are forcing ourselves to have to hunt in more and more places to figure out exact what it is we’re supposed to be doing.

And then we wonder why productivity—that business buzzword—is falling.

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Instead of having all your tasks divided up between your flashy, trendy apps, find a product that will allow you to keep the majority of your business data in one central location.

Don’t get me wrong, you’ll never find a system that will do everything, but by finding something that will store 80% of your data and 90% of your processes, you’ll end up with a much more organised and streamlined team.

For example, we use OpenCRM to manage just about every single thing that our business does: sales process, project management, technical support, HR, marketing campaigns, etc. But there are things that it doesn’t do: it’s not a phone system, it isn’t an internal chat product, and you can’t screenshare directly from it.

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That’s not really a problem though, because it covers about 80% of our business processes.

I then spent about six years finding a product to manage all of our communications and screensharing, bringing us to around 90% of my team’s daily activity being covered by two systems.

The other 10% of our tasks are managed in dedicated products that are individual to their job role, i.e. accounting software, programs for writing code, etc. But even so, the specificity of these systems mean that most people only have between three and four places to look for the information they need.

This means that, if one of our developers needs to find a piece of information about one of their projects, they’ve really only got two possible places to look: our CRM system and our internal messaging app. If it isn’t there, they know that it has to be in the code itself.

When you think that this information could instead be split across specialised task, project, contact, or document management

tools, in addition to an internal messaging system and email, having three places sounds like a win to me.

Yes our world is more complex now and yes this means that we all have to be masters of a variety of tools, but there’s no reason to make our lives more difficult by silo-ing information into half a dozen systems.

To talk to a member of the OpenCRM team about how CRM software can benefit your brand, just call 01748 473000 or visit the website: www.opencrm.co.uk.

Graham Anderson, is the CEO and founder of OpenCRM, one of the UK’s leading customer relationship management systems

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FEATURE: DIGITAL FOCUS/CYBER SECURITY

Marketing Transformation.

What is it and how do I know I need it?

01

02

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For many companies, the key to marketing success is being able to adapt quickly and efficiently to meet new challenges.

However, many are weighed down by a lack of communication and collaboration across teams. Or they may have difficulty approaching digital campaigns through a historic reliance on traditional media. Some have inconsistent systems or find that they are not collecting and analysing the most appropriate data.

Changing these dynamics to create a worldclass marketing organisation requires a collaborative effort across four areas: process, people, systems and data. Improvements in these areas can help maximise the return on marketing investment and create a more efficient organisation.

Transforming your marketing will strengthen your company’s brand and improve interaction with your customers and set the stage for customer lifetime loyalty.

So, if marketing transformation is all about making changes to how you operate and interact with your customers, how do I know that I need it? If you’re asking any of these questions, then you should be considering a Marketing Transformation project.

How do we get more for our marketing budget?

“More bang for my buck” isn’t about making people work harder or cutting agency fees to make savings. Rather it’s about having the correct people and processes in place to make the maximum use of the channels and technologies available to you.

How do we get a single view of all our customer interactions?

This used to be relatively easy when customers interacted through voice or paper channels. Then along came digital including social feeds and the job just got a whole lot more complex. Today’s gold standard is a single view of every inbound and outbound contact as well as a view of what customers and prospects are saying on social sites where you have no control.

How do we best use all this data we’re collecting?

It’s very easy to fall into a trap of collecting

as much data as possible.

Everyone talks about Big Data. Fine if you have a mainframe that has the processing power to land a craft on Mars and banks of analysts who spend every day crunching numbers.

But that isn’t reality for most organisations. You need to find a way to extract the insights that are used to inform smarter marketing.

Marketing Transformation systems

data

How can I get the most appropriate content to customers?

Content is no longer the domain of the product marketing team.

Digital channels in particular demand new content marketing skills. This changes processes, crosses departments and requires new technology to seamlessly deliver individualised content to customers across different formats and channels.

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How do we appear joined up to our customers when, in reality, we’re a siloed business?

04

Can we improve how we work with our agencies?

We all want “joined up thinking” but defining all the bits and bringing them together to enable smart decisions is not easy. And the customer doesn’t care how tricky it is. If you can’t do it, they will simply move to someone who can demonstrate an understanding of the complete relationship.

How do we give customers a world class experience?

To transform your marketing and create great Customer Experience you will need to map customer journeys and identify pain and pleasure points. Of course, identifying them is just the start of a process of change.

How do we make best use of our marketing technology?

You’ve bought the kit and you’ve trained a few people. But is that really enough? Is there a reliance on these users to drive out the benefits of the transformational power of marketing technology? There may be a smarter way of approaching this.

Are you really happy with how you interact with your agencies? And has that model changed over time as your business has changed? You may find agencies control how you work with them and it is not in their favour to help you find faster and more efficient ways of doing things. Marketing Transformation means developing new engagement models so you work together with a common purpose.

Summercall have many years of experience in helping companies transform their marketing. Typically, projects will consist of four phases – Discovery, Design, Build and Implement – and depending on the size and complexity of the organisation, can take between a few weeks to several months to complete.

If you would like to have a no obligation chat about transforming your marketing, contact Grant Denholm at grant@summercall.co.uk

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FEATURE: DIGITAL FOCUS/CYBER SECURITY

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Our enhanced Plan Assistance Service 2017 is a big year for Registers of Scotland, with our celebrations marking 400 years of land registration in Scotland paralleling the development of a wide range of new digital products and services. As part of the latter, the year has already witnessed the launch of our enhanced Plan Assistance Service (PAS).

In line with our digital transformation goals, the new offering now allows for PAS requests to be submitted, managed and completed entirely digitally. The online portal uses the existing RoS eServices platform which existing customers will be familiar with.

What is PAS? PAS is one of the most valuable services on offer from RoS. It supports the process of land registration by directly addressing the legislative obligation that property be mapped. Interpretation of sasine titles onto the modern Ordnance Map to a registration standard can be problematic. PAS can assist by examining the relevant titles to offer an interpretation of the titles based on the Ordnance Survey MasterMap, which adheres to both current legislation and RoS registration requirements while highlighting

Get in touch

any potential extent problems, including cadastral conflicts.

The service takes advantage of our advanced geospatial software, comprehensive property data and expertise in land registration. With these resources our dedicated PAS team based in Edinburgh offers a valuable service to solicitors and land owners both large and small across Scotland.

PAS is also a cost effective solution for mapping property title plans. Full costs are given upfront and based on the number of titles in the request, so it is easy to budget.

Additionally, the service continues past the initial provision of the plan, as the team can work with their clients to make any minor alterations required to the plan free of charge for up to six months.

It’s been a great year for the PAS team so far, with the enhanced service launching in February, and over 300 requests successfully processed since that time. User feedback on the improved digital service has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’ve set the groundwork to build further on this achievement.

Whether you are looking to submit a voluntary application for first registration, or digitise the entire land ownership record for a large estate, PAS will aim to provide a registration quality plan to assist and ease the registration process. For more information on PAS and how it can assist with your mapping requirements for registration please visit www.ros.gov.uk/services/plan-assistanceservice or contact your account manager.

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CHAMBER NEWS

Let’s Talk about Youth Talent: The Apprenticeship Family supporting skills development in Infrastructure and City Planning From rail to road, water to tunnels and electricity to telecommunications, the diversity of roles and breadth of apprenticeship provision to match has become simpler to navigate, and industry along with young people are offered new ways of developing skills and careers in this area.

Already more than 15,000 employers support over 25,000 new apprenticeship places each year. Yet, the apprenticeship family in Scotland continues to grow.

With more than 50 frameworks and 150 direct pathways to achieving a qualification through apprenticeships, finding the right route is simple. www.apprenticeship.scot offers a simple step by step online process to find the right match of qualification and training provider/college to meet your industry and business needs. Why not take a look today to find out more, you can identify qualifications ranging from Building and Civil Engineering to Welding Machine Setting and Operating, the website offers insight on how and where to start and guidance on the apprenticeship levy too.

If you are considering investing in talent at an earlier stage, the new Foundation Apprenticeships allow pupils to complete elements of an apprenticeship while still at school. Delivered in partnership with Edinburgh College and industry the Foundation Apprenticeship in Civil Engineering offers an enticing route for both young people and employers. Young people have the opportunity to enter a career in the industry while businesses get the opportunity to spot talented, motivated pupils who could become future employees. Pupils complete the majority of their Foundation Apprenticeship in Civil Engineering through college. However, a key component is a work placement with a business like yours. The placement should give them solid work

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experience and help them start to build practical skills and employability skills. In addition, such placements help to raise awareness of the opportunities available in your sector for school leavers.

Designed by industry, for industry to build the skills you need to succeed, Graduate Level Apprenticeships provide work-based learning opportunities for employees up to Masters Level. These qualifications are designed to suit your industry. They are flexible enough to meet your specific needs as an employer – for new recruits or existing employees. So, you can develop employees with the right knowledge and skills to support and grow your business.

It is exciting times for skills development and vocational opportunities for accredited learning, as they are increasing year on year. It is clear that the infrastructure for apprenticeships has the potential to impact positively our city’s infrastructure moving forward long term. Grahame Barn, Chief

Executive, CECA Scotland agrees; “Employers have a lot to gain from supporting both Foundation and Graduate Apprenticeships. Both have been designed in partnership with industry, which means employers can be confident that learning pathways are tailored to their needs and it’s a fantastic opportunity to attract highly motivated and committed young people into civil engineering. All the evidence shows that investing in apprenticeships boosts productivity levels and provides employers with an unrivalled opportunity to secure the talent pipeline their business needs to ensure its future success.”

To find out more contact Jimmy O’Connell for free advice and guidance on 0131 221 2999 option 9. www.edinburghchamber. co.uk/dyw @DYWEdinMidEast

GET GOING Name: Dave Stewart Business name: The Fresh Air Learning Company Ltd Start up date: May 2011 Website: www.freshairlearning.com Q Tell us a bit about your business?

A We accelerate the effectiveness of senior teams and leaders through a range of creative and inspiring experiences, journeys and programmes.

Q What makes your company unique?

A Creative, experienced people: Special Forces, improv comedy performers, Everest summiteers, paramedics, CEO/ CIOs, murder detectives, business psychologists, and more.

Q What motivated you to set up in business?

A The poor self-awareness, sloppy thinking, and lack of courageous conversations that creates widespread and avoidable underperformance!

Q How many staff do you manage?

A We have no staff. We work with associates and specialist companies to design and deliver the powerful development experiences clients need.

Q How long have you been trading?

A 6 years.

Q What do you like most about running your own company?

A Working with clients, associates and other partners to design and deliver powerful development experiences. It really appeals to my creative side.

Q What has been your greatest business success to date?

A Accelerating the effectiveness of a global bank’s new executive team via a rapid induction programme as a mountain rescue team!

Q What has been the hardest part of setting up your own business?

A Getting really clear about our purpose, and then finding our way to market.

Q In terms of business achievements, where do you want to be within the next 5 years?

A 7-figure turnover with at least half coming from clients travelling to

Scotland for all or part of their Fresh Air Learning experience, journey or programme.

Q What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting up their own company?

A Do it. Get going. Don’t wait for perfect.

Network. Ask for help. At all stages. Join your local Chamber!

Heehaw work on Nestle’s premium Swiss chocolate brand To coincide with the 2017 Chinese New Year and ongoing Spring celebrations, Heehaw partnered with Swiss agency MEO and Chinese agency Possible to create a new film for Nestle’s premium Swiss chocolate brand, Cailler. The film tells the story of the collaboration between Swiss decoupage artist Marianne Dubuis and Chinese paper-cut master Hongchuan Wang, as they work together to create an artwork that will be included as an insert in the high-end chocolate selection boxes and promoted as a premium gift across China.

The Heehaw film crew spent four days capturing the collaboration as the artisans worked from Marianne’s studio in the foothills of the Swiss Alps, touring the region, visiting the hill farms where the milk is produced and the legendary chocolate factory itself, all sources of inspiration for the traditional Swiss artwork.

Toby Trueman, Heehaw’s Creative Director, said “On every front, the Nestle film was a truly international collaboration between Edinburgh, Geneva and Beijing. During filming it was a pleasure to watch these master artists at work, pushing past language barriers to

create something truly unique and special, while also giving a glimpse into how premium chocolate is made at the same time.”

Managing Director of MEO design & communication Graham Smith said “We recommended Heehaw for this project on the basis of our previous work together.

Their flexibility, enthusiasm and dedication to producing a quality product were key factors in the decision, and their ability to capture

the magical moments of our two artists working together ensured that the underlying message of the Cailler brand came through clearly in the final edit.”

Video Link: https://vimeo.com/207092065 More information on Heehaw: http://heehaw.co.uk/ More information on MEO: http://www.meomeo.ch/en/

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SECRET OF SUCCESS

Name: Eileen Blackburn Business name: French Duncan Website: www.frenchduncan.co.uk Q1. How did you get into your role?

I joined French Duncan LLP in 2003 - at that time we were very Glasgow focussed and had no presence in Edinburgh. We merged with McCabe’s in 2008 and I started to build the restructuring practice in the East. I took on the role of principal partner with day-to-day responsibility for the Edinburgh office in 2015.

Q2. What is your proudest achievement?

I am fortunate to have had fantastic support from colleagues and the wider world of restructuring and insolvency. This has allowed me to help others advance their careers and also in a small way to give back to the community through my involvement with R3 – the Association of Business Recovery Professionals trade body - and with ICAS to support our profession and to work towards better regulation and enhancing the reputation of our profession.

Q3. Where would you like to be in 5 years time?

To be continuing to help restructure distressed businesses while also achieving my long-held ambition of living half of the year in France and the other half in Scotland with my husband Tom and our West Highland Terrier Mollie.

Q4. What is your biggest passion (in and out of work)?

In work it is helping to develop the people around me who come to work every day and give a huge amount of dedication and commitment to the business. We are a people-oriented business and I firmly believe that if you take care of your team everything else follows. Out of work, I love to travel – France and New York are my go-to destinations.

Q5. How do you wind down after a busy day at work?

Listening to Radio 4 on the drive home is a great start! When I arrive home, my husband and I share the cooking and bring each other up to date on the events of the day. If there’s a glass of wine on the table that’s a real bonus.

Q6. Who has been the biggest influence in your career?

An extremely demanding boss who pushed me to the limits of my ability and beyond. He was very knowledgeable and hardworking himself and I never wanted to give in or admit when things were tough. When he handed over the reins to me I was ready to take up the challenge.

Q7. What is the best piece of advice you have been given?

Never go to sleep on an argument.

Q8. Describe your approach to work in 3 words?

Living the dream

NEW MEMBERS

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The Great Run Company

Reactec Ltd

Jessica Armstrong, Pro

Children’s Hospice Association Scotland

Douglas Home & CO Ltd

1st Class Chauffeuring Scotland

Consulate General of India

Cancer Research UK

Turkish Consulate

Valeco Recruitment Ltd

Help for Heroes

George Street Apple Apartments

Scope Estimating & Surveying Services

Sterling Solutions

Engaging People

Regus UK Limited

Tidman Legal

Latvian Honorary Consulate

Scotia Wealth Management Limited

British Heart Foundation Scotland

L.A.Media Ltd.

The Placement Factory

BNBbuddy

Tech Enabled Ltd

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ASK THE EXPERT

How to Water-proof Your Business Continuity You arrive at work on a rainy Monday morning to find that over the weekend the heavy rain has flooded your office.

What do you do next?

Businesses who don’t have a contingency plan will likely have to close the office for a couple of days while the damage is fixed; costing money, productivity and putting a strain on their relationships with their customers.

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail" - Benjamin Franklin Bad weather can test a company’s infrastructure to breaking point, often wreaking havoc on business communications. When it comes to potential business disruptions, the loss of IT and telecommunications is one of the biggest fears among business owners.

While your office may be closed due to not being able to access it, flooding or a loss of power; your competitors may not have suffered the same fate.

DDIs will be automatically forwarded to your employees’ home phones or mobile, unaware they are at home because your office is under 2 feet of water.

So, what can you do to ensure that if a problem such as this was to arise you would have a plan to ensure business could continue as usual?

Perhaps the best thing about this type of business continuity solution is that you don’t have to be reactive with it – from the outset this type of technology can be programmed to automatically route calls to different locations if your office is unreachable; allowing you the peace of mind that it’s one less thing to worry about. If you do need to make any changes these can be arranged through an online portal which gives you complete control of your telephone system, with changes made becoming active within seconds.

There are many answers to this question but a cost-effective, easy to use solution is available in the form of a cloud-based telephone system. Because the system would be hosted in a data centre off-site, it will be unaffected by any issues affecting your office. This allows your employees to continue to work as normal, from another site, from home or even remotely, while the problem is fixed.

With the right infrastructure, your staff can be just as productive during this time as they would be at the office. More importantly, business can continue as normal. Customers calling your business number or individuals’

If you would like more information on hosted telephony visit our website www.commsfm. com and read our article “5 Misconceptions About Hosted Telephony” in which we have answered our customers’ most common queries about this type of technology.

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ADVERTORIAL

FEATURE: CITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING

Office spaces that are great places to learn or work in Alpha Scotland provides the Scottish market with expert advice on how well designed and furnished spaces can positively impact productivity and engagement whether in the office or classroom.

The company was born from the successful acquisition of the Steelcase business in Glasgow and forms a key part of the Belfast based Alpha Group. Alpha Scotland actively works in all the major cities in Scotland with a team of 10 people, with skills in project management, space planning, sales and customer service. The business has many years of experience in delivering learning and teaching spaces and office spaces that are great places to learn or work in.

Clients include some of the largest of Scotland’s employers, to privately owned SME businesses and some of the country’s leading

education establishments. Alpha Scotland also works closely with the well-established architecture and design community and leverages its experience in the commercial furniture market to support independent cost and project management consultants.

Co-working space options from Steelcase

office furniture & interior professionals Combining comfort and function to create inspirational workspaces

Tel 0141 225 5170 www.alphascotland.com Alpha Scotland is part of the Alpha Group

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e hello@alphascotland.com @AlphaGrpOffice

ADVERTORIAL

FEATURE: CITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING

The exciting re-birth of an iconic building One of the most exciting developments in Edinburgh in recent times is taking shape, allowing people to stay in one of the city’s most iconic and celebrated buildings.

Having stood empty for almost a decade, the former Royal Bank of Scotland building in St Andrew Square was acquired by property developers The Chris Stewart Group, parent company of Lateral City Apartments, and is being re-born as The Edinburgh Grand, comprising 50 serviced apartments.

traditional five star hotels. Now, developments from companies such as ourselves are up there.

“We are aiming for the apartments to feel like home, but better. We’ve put some serious thought into designing apartments that not only encourage easy living, but look stunning from floor-to-ceiling. We are providing the best bits of hotel service with the added freedom of apartment living and people are telling us that they like the independent way of living that we offer.”

For Lateral City General Manager Gavin MacLennan, seeing the building come back to life is a joy.

He said: “The building is one of the city’s best known landmarks but it had stood empty for almost a decade since the Royal Bank of Scotland left so it is really exciting to see the work progress.”

The refurbishment is being carried out with the respect for heritage that characterises all Lateral City’s properties in the city with original features restored and artfully woven into the design to create a luxurious new residence.

The result of mixing authentic features with new designs for the 21st Century is a beguiling mixture of styles that enhance what were already unbelievably beautiful spaces.

Gavin said: “The work is being carried out with great respect for the building’s history. People know the building and the feedback we are receiving is that they like what we are doing.

“Our teams have been working to blend in the historical elements of the building with the new designs, including retaining many of the original features.

“We are finding fascinating spaces and features all the time and wherever we can we are retaining them as part of the building.”

The result is a wide range of apartments accommodating from one to six guests. They come in a gamut of shapes and sizes, from uniquely configured Grand Studios, to the three-bedroom, rooftop Penthouse with its staggering 360 degree panoramic view.

Lateral City’s eclectic portfolio of apartments includes three distinct and magnificent properties in Edinburgh, among them Old Town Chambers and Merchiston Residence.

Unique and idiosyncratic in character they celebrate the unusual and all share the company’s passion for stylish design, contemporary features and ultra-modern technology.

Apartments in The Edinburgh Grand will be available at the end of the year. You can find out more at www.lateralcity.com

Gavin said: “To stand in the penthouse and look round the city is a stunning experience.”

The development is part of a buoyant scene as Edinburgh continues to thrive with increasing numbers of visitors.

Gavin said: “What is happening in Edinburgh is astonishing. If you went back a few years and looked at the recommendations on Trip Advisor, the list in Scotland would be led by the

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SPECIAL REPORT: INFRASTRUCTURE AND CITY PLANNING

Building the city through our everyday choices Every week, Cyrenians provide surplus food from supermarkets and other food retailers to around 100 community organisations, feeding around 4500 vulnerable and excluded people. It is a win-win-win. Retailers see their surplus going to a good cause rather than landfill, community groups get access to food for those they journey with at rates much cheaper than they would normally pay and Cyrenians generate an income and provide volunteer opportunities for people who’re a long way from employment – helping them develop skills for future work.

Yet the truth is, the real win is something deeper and more human and is more about civic leadership than charity support. From experience, many of the staff who work in retailers appreciate their employers choice to use their organisations surplus in way which expresses a sense of civic purpose. It is true they are saving the landfill or waste collection costs, but a conscious decision was made to donate food so others can eat. For any employer, staff recognising that their organization cares about the city and community of which they are part, that the organisation has a sense of purpose beyond the bottom line, is truly priceless, and will nurture morale, loyalty and commitment.

This is a simple yet powerful example of how, through partnerships between charity

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and business, the ethos of a caring city can flourish and be made real; effective civic leadership through longer term, multi layered partnerships which benefit all involved.

For too long we have allowed the city to be divided into three sectors; public, private and charitable. We have believed the myth that they are so culturally different and collaboration is very difficult, when each label is simply a description of the legal status of the organisations within. Our organisations, whatever their legal status, thrive through the hard work of employees who are citizens living in the same streets, are committed to the same communities, join the same clubs, support the same sports teams, are part of the same families. Their passion for the city, for their neighbours, for the stranger, is not necessarily defined by the legal status of their employer - unless we let that be so.

Every day choices are made in our organisations which could help build relationships institutionally and between the citizens who are our employees. If we choose wisely, we could develop a type of civic leadership that could help build our city. Let me give you a simple example: Cyrenians run a farm as a social enterprise and as home to a community of young homeless people who contribute to the life of the farm. Mark Greenway, who runs two

excellent restaurants in the city, chooses to buy produce for his restaurants from our farm. Thus, the challenge faced by Cyrenians is to produce the quality of food needed for the restaurants. However, we view this as a positive challenge, as for too long many charities have accepted that “second hand and second best” will do.

As long as we continue to supply top quality produce, we will have a sustainable income stream to support our work journeying with the most excluded people in our city. And when Mark Greenway serves a meal, his message is not only “this is the food I think you will like”, but “this is the kind of city I want to build”.

This is only one of many examples of partnerships in the city. Yet, we need to do much more. Be braver, be more creative and most importantly, be willing to look past sector labels and view them as simply the legal status of where fellow citizens work.

Then together, we have helped each other build a city with the civic leadership which allows all of our citizens to collaborate and thrive.

Ewan Aitken CEO, Cyrenians

ewanaitken@cyrenians.scot

SPECIAL REPORT: INFRASTRUCTURE AND CITY PLANNING

Infrastructure changes bring opportunity

The infrastructure of Edinburgh’s worldfamous city centre will benefit from perhaps its biggest transformation in centuries.

Essential Edinburgh runs the city centre Business Improvement District, one of the UK’s largest and best established, with more than 600 levy-paying businesses who contribute £1 million each year into making our city centre the best that it can be.

Developments The £1 billion creation of the Edinburgh St James scheme will see a new entire city block rise right in the heart of the Capital, creating new space and facilities of the highest quality and creating thousands of jobs.

The development will also massively improve the quality of our city centre’s built infrastructure, replacing an outdated 1970s shopping centre and office buildings with exciting new modern architecture designed to fill the space in a way that is sympathetic to the outstanding location.

It will also add to the city’s burgeoning reputation as a short-term visitor destination, encouraging those who want to come and sample the Capital’s superb food and drink offering, staying in a wide range of accommodation including a welcome new five-star hotel. All due to start coming on-stream in 2020.

Accessibility Our city centre benefits from its superb

accessibility. Visitors landing at Edinburgh Airport can be in the heart of the Capital within half an hour. The centre is served by two busy train stations, and our bus service is award-winning, and works alongside the ever more popular trams. Leith Docks is bringing increasing numbers of people to the city, as well as being the major freight hub.

We are also seeing a greater emphasis and importance on digital infrastructure, supporting businesses and also enhancing the visitor experience of our city centre.

Public Space But infrastructure is not just about our physical assets. It’s also about the space we allow to relax, or to create and host events.

residents, visitors and businesses. This is a complex issue and is evolving year on year and it’s important we learn the lessons and improve.

Our Role Essential Edinburgh is committed to support our city centre businesses to make the most of the huge opportunities our changing infrastructure presents. In doing that we need to understand and be considerate to the needs of all of those who work in the city centre and travel through it. And most of all, we need to ensure we build flexibility into our spaces to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.

The City of Edinburgh Council has recently undertaken consultation for a public spaces protocol, and in addition has just finished some work on the future use of Castle Street.

Both of these important pieces of work will help shape how we can and should use our important public spaces in the city centre to support a wide range of uses, and public events.

Flexibility has to be the key consideration.

Space in the city centre is a scarce and valuable resource.

August is undoubtedly one of the times of year when we have to be creative about how we use the city centre to the benefit of our

Roddy Smith

Chief Executive, Essential Edinburgh www.essentialedinburgh.co.uk info@essentialedinburgh.co.uk

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SPECIAL REPORT: INFRASTRUCTURE AND CITY PLANNING

The deal that could hold the keys to the city’s future By any standards, Edinburgh is an economic success story. The conundrum facing Scotland’s Capital and the region it serves is how to build on that in future.

It’s a question that has been taxing the political, administrative, and business leaders of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland for years – and one that we may be close to answering.

The Edinburgh and South East Scotland Region is on the verge of signing off its City Region Deal, a huge project involving six local authorities, universities, colleges, and hundreds of local businesses. What might it deliver? The keys to the future…

After lengthy discussions, negotiations, and refinement, the authorities are hopeful the Deal will be signed as soon after the General Election as possible. Its vision is that: “In a fast-changing world we will create a region where investment, intellect and culture will fuse to create new ways of doing things.

“In the next 20 years the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region will become the most connected, creative, inclusive and entrepreneurial place in Europe. We will build a network of businesses, universities, technical and creative skills attracted by a great lifestyle and cultural offer.”

The scale of the Deal has been estimated at anything from £1 to £2 billion of public sector finance, leveraging anything from £3.5 to £5 billion of additional private sector input. City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian, Scottish Borders and Fife Councils are all involved. Paul Lawrence, Executive Director – Place at City of Edinburgh Council has been deeply involved in the Deal’s progress and he is understandably reluctant to quote precise figures.

“It is really difficult to put specific figures to it. There are still some moving parts. What

is certain is that we are ambitious for the public investment which will, in turn, leverage significantly more from the private sector.”

The Deal is being designed to accelerate growth in Scotland’s capital city and wider region in order to benefit the Scottish and UK economies while tackling deprivation and inequality. The proposals are being shaped around five interconnected programmes: innovation hubs; infrastructure investment; a regional housing programme; a regional skills programme, and cultural sector investment.

The public-sector investment will mainly be funded through UK and Scottish Government.

Political support for City Region Deals has been strong, and that is not expected to change.

Paul Lawrence added: “We are confident that political support remains undiminished.

People see the value of encouraging cities as the economic powerhouses of our economy.

And a successful Edinburgh is of national importance to Scotland and the UK, and also internationally.

“The public support will, in general, fund the kind of shared physical and digital infrastructure not funded through usual means, such as the planning process. The aim is that such work will facilitate development that might not happen otherwise. For example, there is huge potential development in West Edinburgh, but to make it happen we need to look at the transport infrastructure – our roads and our public transport for example.”

The region has a strong and successful economy on which to build. Edinburgh is the 2nd most prosperous city in the UK, with a GVA per head of over £38,000 (ONS: 2013), and 45.9% of the region’s workingage population is educated to degree or equivalent level (the UK rate is 35.8% (Annual Population Survey – 2014)).

Paul added: “Edinburgh has been hugely successful, but we need to build on our

strengths in areas of knowledge, culture and technology through increased innovation across our finance, science, culture, leisure, tourism, learning and technology sectors. In all of that, if you ask me for one key in the whole City Region Deal for us, it has to be around innovation, data, and the knowledge economy – but a knowledge economy that opens out opportunity for all.”

In that regard, the support and engagement of the region’s universities and colleges has been vital, as has the support of more than 300 businesses who have actively engaged in the process. n Some examples of what the Deal could deliver: n Develop a regional network of data driven innovation hubsInvest to protect and enhance the world-famous culture and leisure assets in the region including the Edinburgh FestivalsDevelop advanced digital technology to support business growth n Deliver skills programmes to ensure growth is not constrained by a tightening labour market n The biggest house building programme for generations The process also enhances local control, through the process of developing a clear and integrated regional infrastructure strategy with all public-sector partners, allied with the development of an integrated regional skills programme to increase opportunities for learning and development for everyone.

Paul added: “That opportunity for all is a key driver of the City Region Deal. It needs to bring benefits for the City as the economic driver for the area, but there also need to be benefits throughout the Region. And those benefits need to create positive social benefits as well, with greater affluence and opportunity, and improved quality of life for all our citizens.”

“That opportunity for all is a key driver of the City Region Deal. It needs to bring benefits for the City as the economic driver for the area, but there also need to be benefits throughout the Region."

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SPECIAL REPORT: INFRASTRUCTURE AND CITY PLANNING

The Emerging Edinburgh St. James For those passing regularly along Leith Street on their daily commute the progress on the largest ever private sector investment in Edinburgh is hard to ignore. Some 4 months into the construction contract, significant demolition of the brutalist monolith that was the St. James Shopping Centre, King James Hotel and New St. Andrews House is progressing well as these photographs illustrate.

The first 18 months of the 4 year construction programme, which commenced in November 2016 is involved with the careful demolition of the existing buildings, the creation of a wall of piling around the site and the excavation of the area inside this to form

the below ground car parking levels. This excavation in some places is over 5 storeys deep and requires substantial care to protect the surrounding listed buildings. It will be nearly 2 years into the programme before the new building structure starts to emerge above the hoarding line and the public will start to get their first real understanding of the new development.

What cannot be seen by the public at the current time is the huge amount of work going on behind the scenes to finalise the leasing and partnerships for the residential, hotels and leisure components of the project and preparing for the retail leasing commencement. These vital commercial components are being progressed with local, national and international parties at the highest quality level to ensure that Edinburgh St James is delivered at world class standard, integrating, enhancing and extending the attractiveness of the City.

The advantage of developing a project at this scale allows socio-economic initiatives for the City to be created that would otherwise not be viable for smaller developments. The employment, training, skills and community

engagement programmes being progressed will really make a difference to the City and the surrounding communities and are already starting to reap positive results.

The schools engagement programme has already seen significant numbers of school children becoming actively involved in the development and the construction activities and the apprenticeship programme, run

by Laing O’Rourke has also created the opportunities for a number of young people to start careers in the industry.

With over 3000 jobs created within the development itself, the recruitment and skills training programme for the completed development is currently being progressed for the retail and hospitality industries in partnership with City of Edinburgh Council, educational institutions within the City and other stakeholders.

As the excitement builds towards the opening of the development in 2020, we intend to regularly update fellow members of the Chamber of Commerce with our news on progress and the opportunities to work together in enhancing the City offer. https://www.threalestate.com/

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ADVERTORIAL

FEATURE: CITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING

Scotland’s digital infrastructure: Sparking ambition and growth with fibre In today’s technologydriven world, every business looking to stay competitive needs access to full fibre connectivity.

With many former breadwinner industries facing decline, the future of Scotland’s economy is a hotter topic than ever before.

With rumours of a recession and IndyRef 2 on the horizon, it’s time the focus shifted from areas of uncertainty and instead, we focus our energies on a viable solution – digital investment, specifically in digital infrastructure.

In the past, investment in Scotland’s traditional infrastructure such as roads, bridges and railways has delivered significant economic benefit by creating jobs, supporting local supply chains and improving circumstances for local businesses. Digital infrastructure is no different, and its benefits are farther reaching in many ways. Not only does it support those who build it, it drives the competitiveness, productivity and efficiency of those who use it – from small businesses and universities to public services like schools and hospitals.

Pure fibre provider CityFibre is a big believer in the wide-reaching potential of its nextgeneration digital infrastructure. CityFibre is currently revolutionising Scotland’s cities by investing in and building gigabit networks

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and, alongside ISP partners, the networks are equipping Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Stirling with internet connectivity up to 100 times faster than the UK average.

A ‘fibre’ spotlight on the Capital Hailed the UK’s entrepreneurial city of the year and a hub for Scotland’s techsavviest minds, Edinburgh – the country’s largest Gigabit City – presents a significant opportunity to drive economic growth and investment through its digital sector. But this wasn’t always the case. The demand for ultrafast connectivity from both private and public sector organisations had been mounting for some time.

Struggling with aged copper networks and planned upgrades not up to speed with the city’s aspiration to become one of the UK’s most digitally connected cities, the future wasn’t always so bright for Scotland’s capital.

CityFibre launched its Edinburgh gigabit network in July 2016 via their launch partner, ISP Commsworld. Business expansion, new start-ups, e-learning in schools and

universities, accelerated job creation, skills development and innovation are just some of the growth factors the city has seen since pure fibre connectivity became a reality. Edinburgh now has the capability to accelerate inward and external growth because it has the digital infrastructure to support it.

Spanning the city centre to the outer suburbs, the 150km Edinburgh gigabit network looks set to continue growing at the same rate that we’ve seen to date. With increasing demand from businesses of all sizes and public sector organisations, CityFibre will continue building and investing at the rate the city dictates.

However, CityFibre cannot fight this battle alone. Thankfully, policy and regulation is now moving in the right direction following recent announcements from Ofcom and the Chancellor’s plan to start rolling out the Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund later this spring.

With over 300 council buildings connected, the City of Edinburgh Council’s demand for full fibre connectivity has provided a strong foundation for growth of the CityFibre network.

The new gigabit network provides the Council with a future proofed platform to deliver innovative, more efficient public services.

It allows experimentation with smart city initiatives and new teaching techniques which would not previously have been possible.

Bruce Strang, Head of IT at the City of Edinburgh Council, also believes CityFibre’s network is

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FEATURE: CITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING

helping to attract new talent and investment.

Bruce commented: “Edinburgh has established itself as one of the most tech-minded and impressive Gigabit Cities in the UK thanks to an innovative and well established partnership between the private and public sector.

Case in Point: The Festival Theatre Trust

“By partnering with Commsworld and CGI to connect to CityFibre’s infrastructure, the City of Edinburgh Council has enabled the construction of world-leading digital infrastructure which not only makes a significant statement to the global investment community but is helping to accelerate the growth of city organisations who can now connect to gigabit Internet services and transform the way they do business. We have achieved this by being innovative about our own needs and ensuring that they have created this opportunity for businesses across the city.

As well as industries traditionally associated with the need for high capacity internet connectivity, such as big tech firms or banks, Edinburgh’s worldrenowned cultural scene has received a 21st century boost thanks to continued investment from CityFibre.

Since connecting in July 2016 via CityFibre’s Edinburgh launch partner, ISP Commsworld, both theatres now have access to a full-fibre connection that allows visitors and performers to enjoy Gigabit speed Internet services enabled by 100 per cent fibre infrastructure.

Festival City Theatres Trust is the largest independent theatre management organisation in Scotland. Since 1998, The Trust has operated two of Edinburgh’s busiest arts venues, the Festival Theatre (1,900 seats) and the King’s Theatre (1,300 seats).

An ultrafast Internet service has allowed The Trust to successfully transfer their box office ticketing system into the Cloud which has led to increased volumes of business online as theatre-goers are able to complete ticket purchases on the move with a more reliable and secure connection.

“Digital investment is a long-term solution that will support the city as new ways of working evolve, data usage and storage needs continue to grow and ever faster data processing is required.”

James McClafferty, Head of Regional Development in Scotland commented: “Edinburgh has fully embraced the digital future of Scotland with a palpable reverence for technology and its ability to unleash the city’s full economic potential. This is just the start however. Ultimately, if Scotland is to remain innovative and competitive, it needs to invest in the future, and the future is not paved in asphalt, it is lined with fibre.”

To find out more or register your interest in full fibre connectivity, visit: www.cityfibre.com/edinburgh

Both theatres offer free public Wi-Fi – a must for theatre-goers of today who want to share their experience with the world instantly.

With thousands of visitors every year and more technically advanced staging and lighting concepts from production companies, the demand for a fast, reliable broadband connection was ever-increasing, The Trust could wait no longer for Openreach to confirm a date for securing a fibre connection to the theatres.

With mounting pressure from theatregoers and performers for unlimited connectivity, The Trust sought an alternative provider to connect the theatres and that’s when they heard about CityFibre’s network.

When faced with the failure of their original supplier to provide a dedicated fibre network to allow them to host a major conference at the Festival Theatre, they turned to CityFibre and Commsworld who have delivered impeccably across all areas.

They ensured their public Wi-Fi network was installed in time and as a result, they were able to provide an outstanding service to over 800 attendees, each using multiple devices. They have been able to extend that great service to thousands of visitors since then, have no doubt that the Edinburgh Gigabit City project has been of major benefit to Edinburgh, and are delighted to have found such reliable and focused partners to provide exceptional public Wi-Fi in their theatres.

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ADVERTORIAL

FEATURE: CITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING

You might not have noticed us!

Next time you switch the light on, boil your kettle, or hear your central heating boiler click on, just imagine for a moment the city without any electricity.

Nothing would work, even many battery powered devices such as mobiles would run down within a day or so. Imagine then if the power was out for days rather than hours – food in refrigerators would go off, no internet, in winter houses would get rapidly very cold, paying for items in the shops would be very challenging – cash machines wouldn’t work, and businesses would not be able to trade.

When you start to think along these lines you quickly realise how essential the infrastructure is that delivers power to Edinburgh; and you would rightly expect it to be sufficiently robust to provide essential life support to the city!

Indeed providing a reliable electricity supply is vital to safeguarding Edinburgh’s success – ensuring it remains a desirable place to live, to do business, and to maintain its position as a leading global cultural destination.

This is what we do. SP Energy Network is the division within Scottish Power responsible for operating and maintaining the electrical supply infrastructure assets across central

and south Scotland – it is our network that powers Edinburgh and, rest assured – our track record is very good.

Although small scale faults do occasionally occur, the vast majority of people within Edinburgh will rarely experience a power cut.

And when they do they will seldom be off for more than a few hours.

Our District office is in Edinburgh and in a world where centralisation is driving many business models, we have maintained a very strong local presence, and are proud our staff and their families live and work in the city and surrounding suburbs. Our teams carry out planned maintenance, connect new customers, replace and modernise older assets, and fix faults 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Electricity first came to Edinburgh a century or so ago but a lot has changed since then.

The 1950s and 1960s saw a large amount of power infrastructure installed across the city, and for many decades these assets served us well.

However, increasing expectations on supply security, new standards, and ageing equipment have led to an extensive programme of replacement and upgrade activities which have been very active to date, and which continue year on year into the future.

Sometimes our activities are obvious and despite our best efforts unavoidable (the traffic jam you may have sat in is because we were laying new cable in the road), but many of the replacement activities we do go unnoticed. We also have to respond to major new developments within the city, so for example we have been very active around the St James development, where we have moved one of our large primary substations out the way to facilitate the centres demolition.

Over the past decade, we have been very active with replacement works in substations large and small across the city, installing new transformers and switchgear

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FEATURE: CITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING

and laying cable to reinforce the network.

Some activities are low-cost high-volume works, but some projects involving larger infrastructure can individually run into millions of pounds.

Indeed, our main backbone project completed recently, to upgrade the power corridor from the south into Edinburgh city centre, cost more than £90 million. We are investing over £100,000 per day in the network within the Edinburgh & Borders District.

Investment activities will continue well into the future which is a challenge in itself, but there are more new challenges on the horizon. Over the past twenty years, the way we generate power in the UK has been turned literally on its head. Old coal-fired power stations have been closing - the most notable local examples being Cockenzie and Longannet - and this is a similar story across the UK as a whole.

The electricity network in and around Edinburgh like other equivalent cities used to be purely for delivering or distributing power - hence the generic industry term (which is still used today) of Distribution Network - but this is changing rapidly.

We have been actively connecting small and large windfarms throughout the Lothians and beyond for some time now. We have witnessed the uptake of solar panels installed on roof tops, heat pumps for building heating, enquiries for large scale battery storage facilities and solar farms, smart metering initiatives, and active network management systems which allow us to control generation ‘beyond the meter’ dependant on network conditions. And moving forward we will need to facilitate the rising adoption of electric vehicles.

all of these items is how the distribution network is becoming a delivery tool for the future low carbon economy. So next time you switch that light on you’ll have a better understanding of the infrastructure and engineering effort involved and how our distribution network is an enabler for our future low carbon world.

Mark Everett

Head of Delivery within the Edinburgh and Borders District for SP Energy Networks. www.spenergynetworks.co.uk

All of this is leading to new thinking on how our network copes with the changing loads and generation. The important point amongst

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ADVERTORIAL

FEATURE: CITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING

Fit-out and refurbishment company goes from strength to strength after Edinburgh move The decision by leading interior fit-out and refurbishment company Worksmart Contracts to open an office in Edinburgh has paid off with the business securing work on a number of prestigious projects.

Now, the company is targeting further expansion as the reputation of its skilled team’s ability to deliver high quality work on time and to budget grows.

Worksmart opened an office in the city in 2016 as part of its growth strategy, a move which saw Gary McGurk appointed as Regional Manager to drive the business forward in the East Coast of Scotland.

Having an office situated in Alva Street in the heart of the Capital has allowed the company to build upon their existing UK wide coverage to secure an increase in work which has allowed Worksmart to expand its team.

The company, which this year celebrates its fifteenth anniversary, is looking to grow its current team of joiners and apprentices at its Edinburgh office, as well as Contract Managers and Quantity Surveyors.

Gary said: “We are growing steadily and to secure work with public, private and third sector clients. The move to Edinburgh has allowed us to target further growth.”

Some of the successful projects completed in Edinburgh were for prestigious clients such as Napier University, the People’s Postcode Lottery and the Scottish Government.

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In addition one of the most significant projects completed in the last year was in London. Scotland House is the official name for the Innovation and Investment Hub.that brings together officials from the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Visit Scotland under one roof to provide a Team Scotland approach to supporting businesses and attracting visitors and investment to Scotland.

The purpose of Scotland House is to allow businesses to improve their presence in the thriving London market, and appeal to clients in this area. What makes Scotland House unique is its focus on supporting Scotland’s growth in London and beyond.

Officially opening Scotland House, the Rt. Hon. Nicola Sturgeon MSP, First Minister of Scotland said: “London is a very important trading market and a meeting place for the world’s business leaders, but for Scottish businesses it can be challenging and costly to try and break into these markets.”

Worksmart’s Managing Director Stephen Neilson said: “We are thrilled to be working with such prestigious clients in Scotland’s capital, with these projects ensuring Worksmart can grow and expand our business. We are able to complete all types of projects in Edinburgh, from large seven figure refurbishments to small and medium-sized fast track fit-outs, as well as glazed partitioning and various other interior contracts in Edinburgh and throughout the UK.”

Worksmart provide fit-out and refurbishment all over Scotland and the UK, recent projects have been completed in Ayrshire, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Manchester and London.

The high level of repeat business and referred business from satisfied clients stands testament to the quality of their work and Gary said: “We are in many ways a traditional contractor with all the required foundations in place to deliver a comprehensive refurbishment service.

The company, with a head office in Kilmarnock, employs more than 40 people, including school leavers and Modern Apprentices, as well as being part of several graduate programmes and work placement schemes.

That focus on encouraging the next generation of talent is key for Steve Neilson. He said: “We place great focus on encouraging the next generation of young talent. We have strong apprentice and graduate schemes and we currently have seven apprentice joiners on our books.

“We have a strong commitment to the community and bringing through the next generation of skilled trades men and women that the industry needs is a high priority for us.”

You can find out more about the company at www.makeitworksmart.co.uk

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60 SECONDS

Name: Fiona Melvin-Farr Company Name: Fiona Melvin-Farr Consulting Website: www.fmfc.co.uk Q In five words or less, what do you do?

A Marketing consultant supporting business growth Q How long have you been a Chamber member?

A Joined shortly after establishing my marketing consultancy in 2001 Q Why did you join?

A Primarily for the excellent networking opportunities, allowing me to build relationships with the Edinburgh business community Q What services do you use?

A Networking events such as the Inspiring Women in Business lunches and the members’ directory Q What’s the best business/benefit you have won through the Chamber?

A Have directly won new clients through my membership and received several referrals Q Are there any additional services or information you’d be particularly interested in?

A It’s great to know that the legal advice benefit is available should my business require

Q If you were telling another business person about the Chamber, what’s the first thing you would say?

A It’s a great organisation for introducing you to businesses and people from a wide range of industry sectors Q Where do you read your copy of Business Comment?

A Settle into a comfy sofa with a coffee and catch up on the business news

Don’t pour your money down the drain For the majority of businesses, reducing costs is vital. When it comes to utilities however, water is often overlooked. That’s now changing as businesses wake up to the potential in managing their water use more efficiently. By using less water, customers can significantly lower their water bills, as well as help the environment. Understanding water use is the best place to start.

Businesses don’t necessarily realise just how much water they are using – and consequently could be saving. A running tap, for example, uses an average of 6 litres of water per minute and a single dishwasher load uses about 20 litres. In addition, a leaking tap significantly increases the amount of water being unnecessarily used throughout the day.

Business Stream’s Commercial Director, James Cardwell-Moore, highlights the importance of water efficiency: “Whether you are a tiny business or a company with extensive water demands, becoming water efficient is vital both financially and environmentally. If you haven’t already, then do take the time to look at how your company could be saving more – simple, small changes could make a big difference”.

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Business Stream, the leading retail water supplier in Scotland and third largest in the UK, following its acquisition of Southern Water’s non-household customer base, is leading the way in providing customers with the tools they need to reduce their water use.

All customers can take advantage of their free, recently enhanced, water efficiency pack which includes two intuitive devices – a water saving hippo, which reduces the amount of water used when flushing the

toilet by up to 33%, and a tap aerator, which reduces the water flow from any tap by up to 50% - as well as a step-by-step water guide and DIY audit. For its larger, more water intensive users, the retailer provides bespoke packages, which have helped customers realise £1000s of savings.

For further information: https://www. business-stream.co.uk/water-efficiency

PARTNERS IN ENTERPRISE

Designing Sustainable Transport in New Developments

By Dr Andrew MacIver, Head of Civil and Transportation Engineering at Edinburgh Napier University Edinburgh residents, now nearing half a million, generate complex patterns of movement on a daily basis. These patterns may comprise simple trip chains from home to work and back home or they can become more complex if we decide to stop for a coffee, do some shopping or go to a restaurant.

At the same time developers, planning professionals and local politicians are involved in the day to day decisions about where housing, offices, shops, roads and public transport services are provided. Good planning can boost economic growth but at the same time there is a need to reduce the environmental impacts of traffic and develop walkable communities. Good transport choices can also support health and fitness targets and social cohesion.

The city landscape is constantly changing as new development proposals are brought to completion. The latest Local Development Plan sets out the City’s vision, policies and proposals for development over the next five to ten years. The plan considers the strategy for jobs, housing, retail and leisure as well as the environment and transport amongst other issues. The plan follows Scottish Planning Policy which reflects ministers’ priorities for operation of the planning system and the use of land.

Transport policy in Scotland is supported by a number of documents including Designing Streets and Transport Assessment Guidance.

Designing Streets is a policy document

intended to influence safety, sustainability and a higher quality of urban design for transport infrastructure within new development.

A Transport Assessment is a process that sets out transport issues relating to a proposed development. It identifies what measures will be taken to deal with the anticipated transport impacts of the scheme and to improve accessibility and safety for all modes of travel, particularly for alternatives to the car such as walking, cycling and public transport.

Transportation planning professionals have the responsibility of designing infrastructure and services that can accommodate or influence our daily travel choices. Government policy dictates that professionals follow a sustainable hierarchy when designing new development by giving priority to pedestrians first followed by cycling and public transport before finally considering other motor vehicles.

So what makes a development sustainable?

The interactions between different land uses, transport infrastructure and services, and our daily travel patterns are highly significant. The

most important factor is location, particularly walking distance to public transport services and local services, such as shops. On the other hand, easy access to motorways and high speed roads will favour car trips.

Density of development, high quality public transport services and the availability of local facilities and jobs are also major influences.

Street layout and design can support walking and cycling. Other measures to support sustainable travel include car parking provision and travel plans.

The sustainability challenges for Edinburgh are no different to other cities. Good planning and design are essential, as is a continued focus on making sustainable mode options more attractive in terms of time and convenience to users. The biggest influencer in the future will be how we adapt our behaviour in relation to our daily trip chains and in particular reducing our dependency on the car as our main mode of travel.

Jack Mathieson Edinburgh Napier University Email: j.mathieson@napier.ac.uk

We thank our Partners in Enterprise for their continued support of the Chamber.

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SQA Journeys Developing the workforce of tomorrow

Business Development T: 0303 333 0330 E: mycentre@sqa.org.uk W: www.sqa.org.uk/journeys

Developing the Young Workforce In January 2013, the Scottish Government set up The Education Working for All! — Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce.

Through extensive consultations with leading figures in education, business and equalities groups, the Commission outlined the importance of vocational education and its role in the Scottish education system.

Developing the Young Workforce — Scotland’s Youth Employment Strategy (DYW) includes the detailed plans, agreed with local government, to implement the Commission’s recommendations.

DYW aims to improve the options available to young people, and reduce youth unemployment by preparing young people for the workplace, giving them the skills that employers need.

SQA Journeys SQA is a key partner for DYW. We are uniquely placed to support DYW because we already work closely with training providers, employers, colleges and schools, as well as local authorities and SDS.

We understand the needs of learners and employers.

We can help one group to help the other, creating a more qualified, more motivated and more productive workforce.

Our wide range of robust, relevant and respected qualifications link directly into DYW. They are designed and continually reviewed in partnership with industry to develop the workplace skills and experience needed in the real working world to make businesses more competitive and Scotland’s economy more dynamic.

SQA qualifications sit at various levels, allowing the learner to move from one qualification to the next or to change paths at an equivalent level.

DYW Regional Support SQA Regional Managers are actively involved in all of the DYW Regional Groups across Scotland.

Every business working with SQA has a dedicated Account Manager — one point of contact who will take the time to get to know you and how you work. We can provide the best possible advice and guidance for qualifications and skills development relevant at a local level relevant to you.

SQA Working with you Your Account Manager will advise you on the best possible journey for enhancing your industry’s young workforce. Working together, we can give Scotland a happier, more productive, more reliable and more skilled workforce.

Find out where SQA Journeys can take your business. www.sqa.org.uk/journeys

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FEATURE: TALENT AND SKILLS

ADVERTORIAL

Learning from the very best with the Institute for Management Studies One of the keys to succeeding in business is recognising how to access high quality learning and development interventions that help drive the individual, team and business forward.

Joining The Institute for Management Studies (IMS) makes great sense! For a modest annual fee, organisations and companies can enjoy seminars and outstanding online learning resources held in Scotland and 24 other regions across the US and Europe.

These sessions are led by truly world-class international experts in their respective fields at a fraction of the cost open public courses or private in-house events could realise.

Graeme Wilkinson, who before becoming the Chairman of IMS in Scotland worked in financial services as a Learning and Development professional, has organised a stellar line-up of speakers, each one of which is an exceptional educator and published author in their given specialism.

The Institute for Management Studies has been operating successfully since being formed in the United States in 1974. Graeme is therefore building on IMS’ track record of an internationally-recognised and respected organisation which has for more than forty years provided its members with the most innovative, cost-effective and unequalled management development series available.

Its growth is such that today there are 450 IMS corporate member organisations across North America and Europe, including many of

the world’s largest businesses. About 20,000 leaders and managers attend monthly oneday IMS Leadership Masterclasses each year.

In Scotland, the Masterclasses are staged at the elegant Royal Scots Club, Edinburgh for participants from 16 IMS Corporate Members, including Abellio ScotRail, Baillie Gifford, City of Edinburgh Counci, Fife Council, Forth Ports, Glasgow City Council, Royal Bank of Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Prison Service, Scottish Water, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), Standard Life, Tesco Bank, The Scottish Government and Webhelp UK.

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For more information please visit www.ims-online.com/scotland or contact Graeme Wilkinson at Scotland@ims-online.com 07796 938102

A Leader’s Guide to Building a High­Performance Workplace

Motivation, Cooperation and Trust: Reaching for the Next Level

Dr Clinton Longenecker 15th June 2017

Alan Zimmerman | 7th July 2017

This dynamic, interactive and hands­on learning experience will: provide specific tools to help leaders better understand the causes of managerial failure; equip managers to better focus their people and themselves on desired outcomes; help leaders effectively equip their people to perform at higher levels; demonstrate the importance of creating a working environment that fosters better results; encouraging managers to maximize people power and will make a strong case for developing both people and processes in a quest to get better results.

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One of the biggest benefits for the members is that they are given the opportunity to gain access to speakers whose excellence is such that they can usually command large fees, but who can be enjoyed at a fraction of the cost through IMS membership.

Unlike most motivational programs that do little more than explain the “why” of human behaviour, this program shows you the “how.”

You will learn specific communication skills to inspire productivity in others, build their trust, fuel their accomplishment, and assure their peak performance. When you give people the care they need, they produce the results you want. Instead of academic theory you will learn 30 specific, action orientated communication strategies to bring out the best in others now!

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What do successful businesses and Messi have in common?

I recently watched Lionel Messi score two goals in the Barcelona v Real Madrid match, the second coming with just seconds left in injury time. And, although when someone says “football,” I usually think Denver Broncos of the American variety, even this football novice can recognize a brilliant performance. The agility of Messi is staggering.

By Greta Hart Montgomery Agility is a necessary trait of successful athletes. It is the ability to change direction using explosive acceleration. Agile athletes can split defences, make opponents miss, or redirect their bodies to make a play that leaves you incredulous. Agile athletes see opportunities and act on them in uncertain conditions. Think about Messi; he is able to think, respond and innovate faster than those around him, putting him at the top in a very competitive environment.

In business, our constantly evolving world also demands agility. A business must be able to redirect, make adjustments, or change direction with explosive acceleration.

It requires the ability to see opportunity and respond and innovate faster than the competition. They must be Messi.

This is where Design Thinking comes in. Some of the world’s most successful businesses use Design Thinking to increase their agility.

Think the big guns: Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Starbucks, Airbnb. Design Thinking pretty much transformed Airbnb when their revenue was flatlined at $200 a week. In a world of increasing sameness with every business looking for an edge, I would argue for embracing Design Thinking as a business strategy.

Design Thinking allows you to be more creative. It’s a process that is proven and repeatable. It helps you look at the world through a different lens, bringing previously unimagined options into focus. It is a way of reframing situations, becoming solutionfocused and action-oriented. Think about a typical business situation; usually it goes like this—you have a product or an idea and your strategy is to explain why a customer should use it. Design Thinking flips this. Instead, it sees things from the customer or enduser’s perspective. It seeks to understand the user, challenges assumptions and redefines problems to create value for the future. It draws on logic, creativity, imagination and intuition to explore the possibilities of what could be. This process creates outcomes that benefit the end user, sometimes in ways they

didn’t know they needed! It isn’t just for new products; it is for systems, policies, business models, adapting to changing workplaces and trends, and responding to changing customer expectations. When the Design Thinking process is applied, the success rate for innovation dramatically improves. It has the “wow” factor that makes products more desirable, services more appealing and processes more efficient.

The ability to innovate is part of business agility. In an age that demands innovation, a company, a start-up or a leader who cannot innovate is headed for decline and extinction.

Thomas Edison said, “There’s a way to do it better—find it.” Messi found a way to do it better. You wait for the moment when he makes a move and when he does, it has the “wow” factor. Are you making those moves

in your business? As a company, do you have the agility to react and explosively take action? Design Thinking gives that Messi-like agility to innovate, stay competitive and gain an edge.

Greta Hart Montgomery is an innovator. She believes that everyone makes sense once you know their story. With a passion for humancentred design, she applies Design Thinking to business, coaching and education. Greta is a recognised public speaker and delivers training courses on Design Thinking and Conversational Leadership.

Email: greta@ogilvieross.co.uk

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Enhance Your Career Prospects With a Professional Qualification from Andrew Carnegie Business School In today’s competitive business environment, the need for highly-skilled professional people is greater than before.

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Our multi-mode suite of programmes include one day, block release, part-time and e-learning options to allow your teams to confidently undertake training and development in a way that suits your work environment.

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INSPIRING INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS

Inspiring International Connections Small businesses are typically limited by their lack of capacity, resources and time required to invest in exporting. Yet, in order for small businesses to survive, grow and innovate more and more will have to consider expanding their business internationally.

The importance of supporting SMEs to export can not be underestimated, especially at one of the most uncertain times in UK trade history.

The Edinburgh Chamber has recently partnered with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Chambers of Commerce to develop and provide effective International Support to our members through an international programme of events as well as access to our global network of Chambers and businesses worldwide. We will also offer opportunities to hear from fellow members and SMEs who have successfully grown their business internationally.

GET WITH IT Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has lately taken on a technological edge and it's the wise organisation that embarks on a fullyfledged social media program.

Charitable beneficiaries like MS Society Scotland, for example are doing likewise to catch the eye of financial backers in what remains an austerity economy made more complex by BREXIT where every penny counts.

There are over 11,000 folks living with multiple sclerosis in Scotland, making MS more common here than most other countries in the world.

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For more information on any of our international services, please contact Alexia at: alexia.haramis@ edinburghchamber.co.uk

By Bill Magee Scottish Business Technology Writer of the Year

Along with being highly active on various social networking sites including Google+, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, the society has produced a handy blog entitled simply: "6 Tips for Fantastic Fundraising."

6. Order fundraising goodies to make sure your event gets noticed. The society has balloons, bunting, flags and much more.

Get in touch and they'll send what's needed - they're free! www.MSSociety.org.uk/nearme/branches/ms-society-scotland

1. Set up a JustGiving page sharing the link with friends, family and colleagues;

Scott McGlinchey, chief executive officer of Edinburgh-based digital and technology consulting and mobile apps developer Exception, sums up by stressing that any outward looking organisation should help its community, local, national, or both.

2. Shout about your challenge on social media - we all love a good news story, so let people know what you're doing and how they can help make a difference, sharing posts with the society through tagging; 3. Get sponsorship forms from the society;

Money raised helps the society to fund worldclass research, run its MS Helpline providing support and information plus an ongoing campaign for the rights of people living with MS.

4. Tick the Gift Aid box: however people donate remind them to tick (if eligible), it means the government gives 25p for every £1 raised;

In Edinburgh this involves the MS therapy centre at Swanfield, which costs £250,000 each year to run mostly from fundraising and contributions.

5. Put on an event ie get your workplace, school or club involved to do anything from a cake sale to a dress down day to raise some extra sponsorship (and brighten up everyone's day); &

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As well as support through our events and contacts, we have recently launched an ‘Inspiring International’ LinkedIn group where you can share your international news, hear our latest updates, receive invites to our events and ask any questions you may have. To join our online network, please use this link:

"Many of our staff also contribute to the communities they live in," he adds,"Whether it be donating their time or raising funds for great causes."

Amongst the charities and initiatives Exception has supported are Help for Heroes, Crohn's and Colitis UK, Portobello Water Polo Club, Spartans FC Youth, Movember, and up-and-coming Edinburgh-based artist David MacDonald.

EUROPE DIRECT EDINBURGH

What is CSR? Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to companies taking responsibility for their impact on society. The European Commission believes that CSR is important for the sustainability, competitiveness, and innovation of EU enterprises and the EU economy, bringing benefits for risk management, cost saving, access to capital, customer relationships, and human resource management.

makes companies more sustainable and innovative, which contributes to a more sustainable economy

n Better aligning European and global approaches to CSR

n In the interest of society, CSR offers a set of values on which we can build a more cohesive society and base the transition to a sustainable economic system

European Commission Strategy on CSR

CSR should be company led. Public authorities can play a supporting role through a smart mix of voluntary policy measures and, where necessary, complementary regulation.

The Commission promotes CSR in the EU and encourages enterprises to adhere to international guidelines and principles. The EU’s policy is built on an agenda for action to support this approach. It includes:

Companies can become socially responsible by:

n Enhancing the visibility of CSR and disseminating good practices

n Following the law

n Improving and tracking levels of trust in business

n Integrating social, environmental, ethical, consumer, and human rights concerns into their business strategy and operations

Why is CSR important? n In the interest of enterprises, CSR provides important benefits to companies in risk management, cost savings, access to capital, customer relationships, HR management, and their ability to innovate n In the interest of the EU economy, CSR

Local Support What support is available to local companies who want to act responsibly? The Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce has a wealth of support and tools on offer. This includes a checklist to highlight how your business is currently doing. We also have a handy toolkit which offers valuable information and tips on a range of topics to help your company act more responsibility. To view this material visit https://www.edinburghchamber.co.uk/ responsible-business www.edinburghchamber.co.uk/europedirect

n Improving self and co-regulation processes

europedirect@edinburghchamber.co.uk Tel 0131 221 2999 Or visit @EuropeDirectEDI on Twitter

n Enhancing market rewards for CSR n Improving company disclosure of social and environmental information

www.facebook.com/EuropeDirect-Information-CentreEdinburgh-632037513489361/

n Further integrating CSR into education, training, and research n Emphasising the importance of national and sub-national CSR policies

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CHAMBER TRAINING

Up skill your staff with Chamber Training

With staff playing an integral role in business growth and performance, it is vital to ensure they are equipped with the right knowledge and skills to achieve success.

At the Edinburgh Chamber we work closely with our trusted network of training suppliers to deliver an engaging business training programme which covers everything from how to avoid social media faux pas, to understanding the International Commercial

June Friday 2nd Social Media Masterclass: Marketing Strategy and Content Planning Thursday 8th Workplace Wellbeing: How to Develop an Effective Strategy Friday 9th Social Media Masterclass Series: Content creation, delivery, advertising and analysis Friday 16th Social Media Masterclass Series: Social Media Platform Techniques Wednesday 21st Bidding to Win: How to write tenders and proposals that beat the competition (without cutting prices) Friday 23rd Social Media Masterclass Series: LinkedIn for Sales and Business Development Tuesday 27th Documentary Letters of Credit

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Terms required in international trade contracts and documents.

2017 will see the Chamber deliver over 120 open courses as well as focusing on the recently launched in-house course offering.

All courses are tailored to suit delegates’ specific needs and are delivered by industry experts, in small groups to encourage discussion, collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Thursday 29th LinkedIn Bootcamp: The Complete Guide to Personal and Business Development Friday 30th Social Media Masterclass: Crisis and Incident Management on Social Media Friday 30th How to: Create Business Opportunities

July

With live demonstrations, practical exercises and follow up packs offered on many of our courses, we feel that they offer a chance to learn, grow and develop actionable skills which deliver results when transferred in the workplace.

Take a look at our upcoming courses below!

If you would like any of these sessions delivered in-house or have any bespoke training needs, then please submit an enquiry to training@edinburghchamber.co.uk Wednesday 19th Focus! Plan! Attack!

Thursday 20th Mastering Emotional Intelligence Wednesday 26th Talent Development Academy: Presentation Skills

August

Monday 3rd Incoterms 2010

Wednesday 2nd Cultural Awareness in a CustomerFacing Role

Tuesday 4th Welcoming Visitors

Thursday 17th How to Write Compelling Web Content

Wednesday 5th Talent Development Academy: Influencing Skills

Wednesday 30th Export Documentation

Wednesday 12th Talent Development Academy: Meeting Skills Wednesday 19th Talent Development Academy: Networking Skills

Thursday 31st How to: Maximise Business Success Through Your People

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Company name: National Galleries Scotland Who? Sir John Leighton, Director General Website: www.nationalgalleries.org In your experience, do arts and culture play an important role in communities in Edinburgh?

Yes, arts and culture are part of the DNA of this city; they play a crucial role in the economy, in education, in encouraging ambition and inspiration and, of course, they add immeasurably to the quality of life for residents.

How do you feel your organisation can work more closely with communities in Edinburgh moving forward?

We already work with a very wide range of communities in the city, covering all age groups and many special needs and interests. On any given day you might encounter parents and carers taking part in our BYOB programme (Bring Your Own Baby) in one gallery and participants in a dementia-friendly tour in another. We are currently working on plans for a new facility to store and look after our collections in Granton so this will open up yet another innovative interface with the local community in North Edinburgh.

Have disruptive technologies impacted on your organisation, and if so how do you overcome this?

The digital revolution has transformed the relationship with our public – we now think of our audience not in terms of millions but the billions world-wide who have access to the internet. And the relationship with our audience is much more interactive, requiring new ways of working and new skills. Our first priority has been to make the collection available in digital form – all our works will have been digitised by 2020. Alongside this, we are working on creative ways to use digital to inform, engage and inspire our audiences.

What do you consider your biggest business triumph?

I think that despite the volatility in the economic context, the Galleries have continued to thrive, creating a world-class offer which, for the second year in a row, has attracted record visitor numbers. With 2.4 million visits a year, NGS is among the best attended museums anywhere in the world. That’s something we are very proud of.

On reflection, what do you think have been the most significant stages in your career?

I have had three great jobs: first as a Curator of the National Gallery in London; then Director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (working in Dutch) and now at the National Galleries.

What skills and qualities do you believe were most important to your career?

Possibly some contradictory combinations of flexibility and stubbornness, patience and impatience, optimism and pragmatism.

In business, is it more important to be liked or successful?

This is not necessarily a binary choice but I think it is more important to command respect rather than to be liked.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to others trying to reach the top?

There is no top, just more responsibility. Throw away any books on management and don’t read articles like this!

How do you ensure staff are happy and morale is high?

Salaries in the public sector are not over-generous and people who work here tend to be motivated by their passions and interests rather than financial gain – so it is important to respect and give scope to these enthusiasms.

Are there any key projects on the horizon for your organisation?

We are developing an ambitious new set of Galleries for the Scottish collections at the National Gallery so that we can show the ‘crown jewels’ of Scottish art in a world-class setting.

Other than your current position, what would be your dream job?

What skills and qualities do you look for in potential employees?

The demolition expert in charge of pulling down the St James Centre.

This is essentially a business about people so I look for the brightest, most talented folk who also have highly developed people skills.

Outside of business, what is most important in your life?

Family, friends and a firm mattress.

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INSPIRING CONNECTIONS

"Thank you for the Woman in Business event - I think this was the most inspirational event yet!" It was high praise from Monika at City Cabs Edinburgh, following our Inspiring Women in Business event with Kate Polson, CEO of The Rock Trust in April.

This was just one of our many events that left attendees inspired, excited, and entertained these past couple of months.

During April and May, our Chamber Dining

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Lunch visited the Courtyard Marriott and The Bonham Hotel, with both providing rooms full of conversation and guests who left full of delicious food! We enjoyed Early Start networking events at Vittoria Restaurant and Dishoom, talked Leith over lunch at Malmaison, and were inspired by Global Scotland's MD, Tracey McNellan.

An event that always proves popular with a range of members attracted a full room at The Royal College of Surgeons as we heard

from Charles Hammond, CEO of Forth Ports, at our Breakfast Connections. At a new event on our calendar, Paul Lawrence gave us an update on goings-on at City of Edinburgh Council at a Leadership Session.

As we head in to the summer months, we are looking forward to a calendar of exciting events including a Premier Series Dinner with Jim McColl OBE, a behind-the-scenes afternoon at Musselburgh Racecourse, and many more - watch this space!

INSPIRING CONNECTIONS

FORTHCOMING EVENTS June Wednesday 7th 10.00 - 11.00am 60 really Useful Minutes: A Framework for your Business Future 40 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2LE Thursday 8th 08.30 - 10.00am Spotlight Breakfast with Kat Brogan Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, 40 George Street

Thursday 29th 18.00 - 21.00pm Premier Series Dinner with Jim McColl OBE The Principal Hotel, 19-21 George Street, Edinburgh, Midlothian, EH2 2BP Friday 30th 08.30 - 10.00am Early Start with Dishoom Dishoom, 3a St Andrew Square, EDINBURGH, Midlothian, EH2 2BD

July

Tuesday 13th 12.30 - 14.30pm Inspiring Entrepreneurs Lunch with Stephen Leckie, CEO of Crieff Hydro Royal Scots Club, 30 Abercromby Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6QE

Wednesday 5th 10.00 - 11.00am 60 Really Useful Minutes with Codebase Codebase, 38 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh

Wednesday 14th 08:30 - 10:00am New Member Event Kingsford Estates, 26 Dublin Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6NN

Wednesday 12th 12.30 - 14.30pm Chamber Dining Club Lunch with No 11 Brunswick Street 11 Brunswick Street

Wednesday 14th 12.30 - 14.30pm Chamber Dining Club Lunch with La Favorita La Favorita, 325-331 Leith Walk, Edinburgh , EH6 8SA

Friday 21st 08.30 - 11.00am Breakfast Speed Networking Grassmarket Community Centre, 1 Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh

Wednesday 21st 14.00 - 16.00pm Behind the Scenes Tour with Royal Mail Royal Mail Group, 11 Cultins Road, Sighthill, Edinburgh, Midlothian, EH11 4YY

Tuesday 25th 14.30 - 16.30pm Behind the Scenes Tour at Musselburgh Race Course Musselburgh Race Course, Linkfield Road, East Lothian, EH21 7RG

Thursday 22nd 17:30 - 19.30pm Net-Walking Club Leaving from 40 George Street Edinburgh, EH2 2LE

Friday 28th 08.30 - 10.00am Early Start with Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home

Tuesday 27th June Inspiring Women in Business with Catherine Topley (Scottish Prision Service) Waldorf Astoria Edinubrgh

To book please visit www.edinburghchamber.co.uk or call the events team on 0131 221 2999 option 2 or e-mail events@edinburghchamber.co.uk

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS

AM Bid Services grow winning team again with new Bid Writer Award winning Bid Specialists, AM Bid Services, are pleased to announce the appointment of experienced bidding and proposal management professional, Callum Graham, to the role of Bid Writer.

Callum joined the rapidly growing team at AM Bid Services in February 2017. Callum brings with him 4 years of bid writing and bid management experience and a proven track record in the public, commercial and third sectors, leading and developing successful bids totalling over £100m in contract wins.

Lateral City Apartments has extended its team with the appointment of Anna Wierzejewska Lateral City Apartments has extended its team with the appointment of Anna Wierzejewska as Group Executive Housekeeper and Jennifer Kirk as Operations Manager.

Anna has joined Lateral City Apartments with over 12 years housekeeping experience at The Scotsman Hotel. Jennifer has also joined the team after previously working at The Scotsman Hotel as Hotel Administration Manager.

Lateral City is an award-winning serviced apartment provider, which includes Old Town Chambers, located off the Royal Mile, and Merchiston Residence in the city’s south side.

The group will extend its offering this year with the addition of the eagerly anticipated, The Edinburgh Grand.

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Employment Law, Wellness and HR specialist, Loch Associates Group, has expanded its team in Scotland Employment Law, Wellness and HR specialist, Loch Associates Group, has expanded its team in Scotland with the appointment of Gavin Macgregor as Employment Lawyer and Wendy Davidson as HR Consultant.

Gavin joined Loch Employment Law from a large international commercial law and litigation firm. Wendy previously worked for 20 years at Vetco Gray, an oil service company before becoming an HR Consultant.

Loch Associates Group was founded by Pam Loch, Managing Director, in April 2007 and comprises Loch Employment Law, HR Advise Me, Loch Mediation and Loch Health.

The business opened its first office in Scotland, in Edinburgh, in October 2016 and also has offices in London, Tunbridge Wells and Brighton.

For more information please visit www.lochassociatesgroup.co.uk

On joining the company, Callum’s primary focus will be on improving clients’ bid capabilities and success rates through managing the bid process throughout its lifecycle, including writing and editing bids and tender response documents.

BUSINESS COMMENT IS AN EDINBURGH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PUBLICATION. Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, Business Centre, 2nd Floor, 40 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2LE www.edinburghchamber.co.uk President: Scott Black Chief Executive: Liz McAreavey EDITOR : Emma Reid, Tel: 0131 221 2999 Email: emma.reid@edinburghchamber.co.uk FEATU R ES EDITOR David Forsyth, Tel: 07887 955778 Email: david@benchmarkpr.co.uk P RODU CTION & DES IG N Distinctive Publishing, Unit 6b, Floor B, Milburn House, Dean Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 1LE Tel: 0845 884 2383 www.distinctivepublishing.co.uk A DV ERTIS IN G Distinctive Publishing, Unit 6b, Floor B, Milburn House, Dean Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 1LE John Neilson, Tel: 0845 884 2343 john.neilson@distinctivegroup.co.uk

DISCL AIM ER

Distinctive Publishing or Business Comment cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies that may occur, individual products or services advertised or late entries. No part of this publication may be reproduced or scanned without prior written permission of the publishers and Business Comment.

Do you know what to do with your business waste?

REDUCING WASTE, CARBON AND COSTS.

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SQA Journeys For Scotland’s future

Scotland’s future is our young people — the workforce of tomorrow. SQA qualifications prepare them for work, and give them the skills employers like you are looking for.

Find out where SQA Journeys can take your business.

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Business Development T: 0303 333 0330 E: mycentre@sqa.org.uk W: www.sqa.org.uk/journeys