From Gathering to Movement: Scotland’s Wellbeing Economy in Motion

Guest blog by Katherine Trebeck, writer, researcher and an advocate for economic system change

Last night’s gathering was a nice reminder that when people come together around a shared vision for a better economy, change begins to feel  not only possible, but already underway.

WEAll Scotland’s recent  event in Glasgow  brought together colleagues, partners, and friends committed to advancing Scotland’s journey towards a Wellbeing Economy: an economy that serves people and planet. 

For me, it was a chance to pause, reflect on how far we’ve come in Scotland (not least since we started up the Scottish WEAll hub in 2018), and perhaps more importantly, to recommit ourselves to the work still ahead - because there certainly is more to do!

Around the world, policymakers, academics and activists look to Scotland  as a place where the language and practice of a Wellbeing Economy are moving from the margins towards the mainstream, with all the opportunities and challenges that brings. Sitting in Australia, where I now live, I could write a decent list of policies and practices I wish we had, that are on the books in Scotland.

For example, the National Performance Framework has shifted based on an understanding that GDP alone cannot measure what truly matters. There’s the recently passed Community Wealth Building Act and the range of efforts to build a circular economy and expand the proportion of pro-social business models that make up the economy. There’s several measures to make tax more progressive, and one of my favourites, the recently announced ‘private jet tax’ (officially termed the ‘Environment Levy’’).

But celebration must never tip into complacency. As a wise man once noted, a good society is one that knows it’s not yet good enough. And these encouraging moves are certainly not yet adding up to the economic system change that is so urgently needed. The push back is real, as is the persistence of outdated assumptions and perspectives.

Building a Wellbeing Economy in Scotland requires persistence, courage and, crucially, collective effort, but is long over due, given the scale of the challenges we face, from climate breakdown to inequality. WEAll Scotland's 2026 manifesto sets out some of the tasks Scottish decisions makers need to turn their attention to.

Change at the scale and pace needed will take nothing less than a broad and resilient movement, with component parts working at different places in the system to make the transformations happen.No single organisation, government, or sector can deliver this transformation alone. Instead a mosaic movement is needed, building towards change. That will happen via spaces for collaboration, when new ideas are nurtured and inspire replication, and when the conversation is broadened beyond the active and already engaged.

The path ahead will not be straightforward. Transforming our economy means challenging entrenched interests and rethinking long-standing assumptions about success and value. It means asking difficult questions about power, ownership, and whose voices are heard. 

A Wellbeing Economy is built by people who refuse to accept that the status quo is inevitable. Yet if the atmosphere last night was anything to go by, there is both appetite and determination to take on that work. And beyond those in the room,   practitioners are experimenting with new models of business, campaigners are holding institutions to account, public servants are pushing for change from within, artists are connecting their work to system change, and communities are imagining different futures for their local economies. 

Last night reminded us that we are part of something bigger than any single event or speech. We are part of a growing movement, here in Scotland and globally, working to ensure that our economies deliver dignity, fairness and sustainability for all.