Call to Action for Edinburgh's Future

Edinburgh has a wealth of assets, innovative ideas, and strategies from its diverse sectors and ecosystems. Yet, as we strive for a more prosperous, greener, and fairer future for Scotland’s capital, we face a crucial challenge: how do we connect our strategies, sectors, innovation streams, and opportunities into a compelling and cohesive call to action for the city’s economic future?
The Edinburgh Chamber has brought together a dynamic group of business leaders from various sectors and institutions to create an industry-led ‘Call to Action’. This initiative aims to maximise and accelerate good economic growth, for the benefit of all, enhancing our contribution to both the national and UK economies.
We invite you to be part of the ‘Call to Action for Edinburgh’s Future’ on 29th October at the EICC. Join us for this free half-day event where we will:

• Unveil the innovative thinking behind our ‘Call to Action’.
• Explore the priority themes that we believe will drive significant change.
• Engage in discussions on the growth opportunities for Edinburgh, including how we can leverage our unique assets.
• Hear the views of policy makers during a panel session with local and national government.

We’re pleased to share some highlights of our programme on the day (further speakers to be announced next week):
Open – Jeremy Grant, with special welcome from Andy Burnham (virtual), Mayor of Greater Manchester
Launch of Economic Call to Action – Liz McAreavey and Stephen Ingledew
Panel - Edinburgh’s Economic Opportunities to Drive Growth

• Martin Boyle, VP Transformation, Codebase (Tech)
• Vicky Gorman, Chief Operations Officer, Fintech Scotland (Finance/Fintech)
• Julie Jacko, Chair of Health Informatics and Data Science and Interim Director, Usher Institute (Health)
• Jamie Brogan, Head of Climate Partnerships, Edinburgh Climate Change Institute (Green Economy)
• Francesca Hegyi OBE, Executive Director, Edinburgh International Festival (Creative)

Panel - Leveraging Edinburgh’s Innovation Capabilities to Drive Growth

• Professor Sukanlaya Sawang - Edinburgh Napier University
• David Richardson - Heriot Watt University
• John Scott, University of Edinburgh
• Bob martin, Innovate UK
• Terry Hogg, Scottish Enterprise

Panel - Leveraging Edinburgh’s Economic Assets to Drive Growth
How can Edinburgh’s diverse economic assets, including our talented workforce, thriving visitor economy, and unique strengths in digital and data, support and accelerate our future growth?

• People Skills - Audrey Cumberford MBE FRSE, Principal and Chief Executive, Edinburgh College
• Digital and Data - Jarmo Eskelinen, Executive Director, Data Driven Innovation Initiative (UoE), Challenge Fund, Scottish Enterprise

Edinburgh’s Economic Opportunities Showcase Examples
Discover exciting, high-growth organisations in the city that are creating new opportunities and driving Edinburgh’s economic success.

• Finance - Modulr
• Health - RoslinCT
• Creative - Dunard Centre

Policy Response to Call to Action

Representatives from the City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Government, and UK Government are scheduled to join us to share their responses to the Call to Action and their views on how we can work collaboratively to unlock growth in the outlined areas
This is an excellent opportunity to connect with influential business leaders, participate in this exciting piece of work and contribute to shaping the economic future of Edinburgh.
We look forward to welcoming you for an inspiring and informative day.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Edinburgh International Conference Centre, 150 Morrison Street, Edinburgh, United Kingdom