Scottish expert advisory panel on the collaborative economy: report

The Collaborative Economy Expert Advisory Panel

Panel Members ^[1]

Helen Goulden, Chair of Expert Advisory Panel & CEO, Young Foundation

Jonathan Coburn, Social Value Lab

Claire Mack, Scottish Renewables

Polly Purvis, ScotlandIS

Patrick Robinson, Airbnb

Malcolm Roughead, VisitScotland

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Regulatory Review Group

John Schmidt, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

Douglas Shand, PwC

Grahame Smith, STUC

Andrew Byrne, Uber (replaced by Benjamin Bell, Uber)

Dr Jamie Coleman, Codebase was on the panel initially but stepped down due to work commitments

Terms of Reference

The Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work established the independent Scottish Expert Advisory Panel on the Collaborative Economy to make recommendations to Scottish Ministers on how Scotland can position itself to take advantage of the opportunities of the collaborative economy and overcome any regulatory, economic and social challenges.

The job of the advisory panel is to make recommendations that:

• Show how Scotland can position itself to take advantage of the opportunities of the collaborative economy.
• Ensure that regulation is fit for purpose and that an appropriate balance is struck to allow competition to flourish.
• Protect and empower consumers and identify clear routes to redress.
• Develop digital leadership skills to enable Scotland's business base to digitally transform and compete in the evolving marketplace.
• Prepare Scotland's current and future workforce for the digital workplace by ensuring they can access courses to gain or update skills.
• Ensure that the wider economic, social and community impacts, including taxation, social inclusion and employment conditions are taken into account.

The panel met for the first time at the beginning of May 2017 and then held five thematic evidence sessions from June to October. At its final meeting in November 2017 the panel considered its conclusions and recommendations.

Over the course of its work the panel was able to draw on a wide range of evidence, with a number of the respondents being invited, alongside other relevant stakeholders, to provide additional evidence during the panel's monthly meetings.

A Key Considerations background paper provided information on the prevailing global trends and potential lessons for the collaborative economy. Alongside this, YouGov undertook a survey exploring Scottish consumers' views of, and experiences with, the collaborative economy.

The panel's work was also informed by the findings from two public engagement workshops held by Involve on the collaborative economy, which took place in Glasgow and Edinburgh in October 2017, and the initial findings of a study on the Collaborative Economy and Scottish Tourism undertaken by Toposophy.

The Scottish Government provided the secretariat to the panel and has produced a document ^[2] which details the evidence and analysis that informed the work of the panel.

How do we define the collaborative economy?

In its work the panel has defined the collaborative economy as 'connecting individuals or communities via online platforms to enable the sharing or provision of goods and services, assets and resources without the need for ownership'.