Celebrating 5 Years and Looking Ahead

This month marks a special milestone for Highland CIC, we are celebrating 5 years of building a community-led movement across the Highlands. What began as an idea rooted in collaboration and place-based change has grown into a strong network of people, projects and partnerships committed to a fairer, more resilient region. We’ll be marking this anniversary throughout the next month, reflecting on what we’ve built together and sharing what comes next.

This progress has been shaped by an incredible group of ambassadors and partners who have helped define and grow the CIC vision from the ground up. Together, we have helped unlock over £1.2 million of private sector investment into the region and, importantly, built the foundations for long-term, community-led growth.

A key part of this has been the development of the Highland Renewables Network – now bringing together 45 businesses across a range of sectors who are investing collectively in the region’s future. It reflects the kind of collaborative, place-based approach that sits at the heart of our work.

As we enter this next chapter, we are strengthening our Board of Directors to support our growing ambition for the Highlands to be a leader in sustainable development. We look forward to announcing new additions to the board in the coming weeks  bringing significant national experience and insight to help guide our future direction.

We are also evolving how we connect and collaborate. Soon, we will introduce a new way for mission-led organisations and community groups to formally align with Highland CIC, creating a stronger collective voice and enabling deeper collaboration around a shared community wealth building approach for the region.

We’re delighted to welcome Jill McAlpine as a strategic and development advisor to the Highland CIC. Joining us at a pivotal moment, Jill will play an important role in supporting our next phase of development as we expand our reach and deepen our work across Highland communities.

Next week, we will launch our manifesto, an exciting and ambitious vision for the future of the Highlands. It will set out how we can unlock the region’s full potential: growing community wealth, backing local leadership, driving rural innovation, and ensuring that people and places across the Highlands are at the heart of decision-making. It lays the groundwork for a step change for the region, positioning the Highlands at the forefront of community wealth building and demonstrating what a fairer, greener and more inclusive rural economy can look like in practice.

This is a defining moment for Highland CIC, a time of celebration, momentum and renewed purpose.

Thank you for being part of the journey.

The next five years start now.