SOUTH OF SCOTLAND REGIONAL ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP TERMS OF REFERENCE
Remit:
The South of Scotland Regional Economic Partnership’s primary purpose is to secure and enable inclusive
and sustainable economic growth across the South of Scotland, through:
• Setting the strategic direction for the regional economy in the South of Scotland by developing the Economic Strategy and Action Plan;
• Addressing the strategic economic issues of the South of Scotland through effective partnership work;
• Ensuring that collectively, partner capacities and resources are harnessed to maximum effect.
• Bringing together stakeholders from across the area under a common purpose to drive inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the South of Scotland; and
• Identifying barriers to inclusive and sustainable economic growth, particularly those that are specific to the South of Scotland and exploring how those barriers could be addressed.
Membership:
Membership of the Partnership will be comprised as follows:
• Dumfries & Galloway Council (four elected members – to be determined by the Council)
• Scottish Borders Council (four elected members – to be determined by the Council)
• South of Scotland Enterprise (Chair of the Agency and three SOSE board members – to be determined by SOSE)
• Skills Development Scotland (one appropriate/regional lead to be determined by the organisation)
• Scottish Funding Council (one appropriate/regional lead to be determined by the organisation)
• VisitScotland (one appropriate/regional lead to be determined by the organisation)
• Historic Environment Scotland (one appropriate/regional lead to be determined by the organisation)
• NHS (one each from Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway)
• South of Scotland Destination Alliance (one appropriate lead to be determined by the organisation)
• Young person’s representative (one each from Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway)
• Private Sector representatives (two each from Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway – to be selected via an application process)
• Social Enterprise representatives (one each from Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway – to be selected via an application process)
• Third Sector Interface representatives (one each from Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway)
Registered Social Landlord representatives (one each from Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway)
• Community representatives (one each from Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway – to be selected via an application process)
• Borders College (Chair or Principal)
• Dumfries & Galloway College (Chair or Principal)
• Heriot Watt University (free to nominate who is best placed to input into the REP)
• Crichton Leadership Group (Chair)
• Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) (Chair or Principal)
Scottish Government officials will be invited to attend meetings as observers.
Senior officials from partner organisations, including Chief Executives and Principals, will be welcome to attend as required at each meeting.
Terms of Appointment:
• Members of the Partnership will be appointed for an initial period of two years
• Elected Members of Councils willserve for five years before local government elections, with their ongoing membership determined by their Council
• The appointment of representatives from national agencies, SOSE and higher and further education establishments will be a matter for each organisation, who should however act to support continuity as far as is possible
• Membership is on a voluntary, non-paid basis but travel and other reasonable expenses will be covered
• A declaration of interest must be completed following appointment
• Early release from your position must be in writing to the REP chair
Chair and Vice Chair:
• Senior Council Members will chair the meetings, with the chair rotating annually between Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders.
• A vice chair will be appointed by the Chair from their own organisation.
Operating Principles:
• Partnership meetings will as a minimum take place every quarter (minimum four times a year)
• Partnership meetings will take place across the South of Scotland, in locations alternating
between the Scottish Borders Council area and Dumfries and Galloway Council area, and/or virtually where necessary or beneficial to maximise attendance
• Partnership meetings will be no more than three hours long
• Papers for meetings will generally be circulated a week in advance
• Members should aim to attend each meeting. If members from non-elected member organisations are unable to attend, they should ensure representation from a senior official of the organisation. They should propose a substitute to the REP Chair/ Secretariat if their normal representative is unable to attend. Other members are not expected to send substitutes
• Meetings will be minuted, with a focus on capturing key decisions and actions
• Members should, if approached by the media, contact the REP secretariat for clearance and support prior to commenting and report back on the content of coverage.
• Members with a social media presence are asked to make clear that all views are their own and do not reflect the formal view of the Partnership.
Ways of Working:
• Each individual member must take responsibility for building an inclusive and collaborative partnership culture
• Members must act with respect, equity and recognise and value differences in experience and attitude at all times, helping to establish trust across the partnership and recognising that embracing diversity will lead to the outputs of the Partnership being the best they can be
• All members of the partnership must be leaders, motivating others to engage, enthusing and inspiring, convincing them that the work of the Partnership, including development and implementation of the Regional Economic Strategy, is worth investing their time and efforts in
• All have a duty to ensure the Partnership, in leading and driving change, remains action orientated and focused on outcomes, recognising the importance of measuring and evaluating the progress of impacts and being accountable.
• Partnership members are expected to act in accordance with the Model Code of Conduct for Members of Boards of Devolved Public Bodies, issued by the Standards Commission for Scotland by virtue of Part 1 of the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000.
Secretariat:
The partnership will benefit from dedicated secretariatsupport, jointly and equally resourced by Dumfries
and Galloway Council, Scottish Borders Council and South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE).
Relationship with the Convention for the South of Scotland:
The REP will shape and influence the future agendas of the Convention of the South of Scotland. It will present a report to the Convention, outlining the work done to deliver the Regional Economic Strategy,
presenting the opportunity to raise and discuss issues which have been identified as limiting the delivery of the strategy.
Last updated: March 2023