PLANS for an innovation and intergenerational living project in Alloa will be laid for elected members this week.

Proposals for the creation of Alloa Innovation Hub will be heard at the Thursday, March 23, meeting of Clackmannanshire Council.

The hub is to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship through research and development as well as business incubation spaces, delivering a range of functionality and in turn catalysing additional investment over time.

It will encompass phase two of Scotland’s International Environment Centre (SIEC), drawing £15.25million in investment through the city region deal.

If agreed, in what is a partnership between the council and the University of Stirling, a request will be submitted to the UK and Scottish governments to combine the innovation hub into a single project with the Intergenerational Living Innovation Hub (ILIH).

The first phase of SIEC is already in delivery and is establishing the Forth Environmental Resilience Array (Forth ERA), as reported in the past.

The second phase is to deliver a “large-scale innovation community centre on SIEC, physically headquartered in Alloa, and an associated research and policy centre on the University of Stirling campus”.

The ILIH project was already welcomed to the deal in December 2021 to create a research and innovation platform.

It will pioneer novel approaches to ways of living, working and socialising, developing solutions that enhance wellbeing as people age.

The two projects are “intrinsically linked to place and people”, council papers explained, with a twin focus on an ageing population and the climate, which “represent two of societies’ biggest challenges”.

“Bringing together academic research, innovation, business and skills development within the heart of the Clackmannanshire provides the opportunity to enrich both, make positive change, attract further investment, build Community Wealth and create a lasting legacy,” documents for the meeting read.

Some areas of focus for economic change are required in the Wee County, councillors will hear, with a need for business creation, entrepreneurship, innovation and investment while tackling income inequalities.

The hub will seek to deliver directly on the above areas of focus, tied to a skills ecosystem that ensure opportunities, jobs and prosperity are created through economic change accessible to all citizens.

Innovation is also required to transform public service delivery to respond to increasingly constrained budgets and in the face of an ageing population that will increase demand, particularly in health and social care.

There is a long list of candidate sites for the hub in Alloa and a council has provided a recoverable grant of £294,833, subject to contract, to the university to support the development of the project and business case.