Shetland Partnership Network Thursday 30th October 2025

The session featured presentations and a group discussion centred on the EmPowering Shetland Improvement Project (as part of the Shetland Partnership Delivery Plan).

The Shetland Partnership Network aims to help partners create a sense of shared ownership of community planning and to create a safe environment for open and honest conversations around the challenges and opportunities to tackle inequalities in Shetland.  The Network brings together representatives of all community planning partners in Shetland and offers opportunities for information sharing, idea development, and relationship building.

About the Improvement Projects

EmPowering Shetland is a project that is part of the Shetland Partnership’s updated Delivery Plan, which supports the long-term Shetland Partnership Plan (2018–2028) intended to reduce inequalities and improve outcomes across Shetland.  Within this framework, four major Improvement Projects have been identified:

• EmPowering Shetland
• Climate Conscious Shetland
• Compassionate Shetland
• Person-Centred Shetland

Each project provides a focused lens through which partners can explore solutions to complex challenges.

Session Highlights

The session was led by Katrina Wiseman & Andrew Gear (Highlands and Islands Enterprise), and Tommy Coutts & Neil Grant (Shetland Islands Council).

The opening presentation highlighted the findings from Highland and Islands Enterprise’s (HIE) Regional Transformational Opportunities research. This research identifies the scale and scope of the economic opportunities across the Highlands and Islands from 2025-2040.

Following this was a presentation on the work to map out Shetland’s major project pipeline over the next 15 years. This highlighted what these projects may mean in terms of investment, job creation, and economic development. A brief Q&A followed, before a final presentation was given on Shetland’s economic outlook and the energy transition. This final talk covered the major opportunities and constraints facing Shetland through the energy transition, as well as providing an update on local development of policy responses via a Fair Share for Shetland.

Discussion was held as a whole group, with lots of engagement from those in attendance, posing questions and sharing knowledge and insight from their areas.

Engagement and Next Steps

Representatives of 10 partners took part.  Feedback from participants was very positive.  Attendees highlighted the quality of the discussions and the range and excellence of the presentations as positives from the event.  

The next Shetland Partnership Network session will take place on Tuesday 9th December 2025.