In Your Shoes - Frances Brown

Frances joined the Chamber in May 2026 as the Circular Economy Lead, relaunching the CirculariTAY programme to support value creation, resilience and a fairer, more inclusive economy for businesses and communities across the Tay Cities Region. Frances has broad experience working with business, charities and communities, specialising in innovation, network building and strategic development. Whether it’s championing design, leading The Queen’s Commonwealth youth development programme or getting her hands dirty on building sites her passion for exploring new skills and industries means work is never boring!

Monday — Member peer support + the ‘small jobs that matter’

I’m only a few weeks into the role so I’m balancing partnership conversations, project planning, and lots of ‘getting the foundations right’. Mondays start with priority setting and aligning with the team, including our weekly Team meeting. I’m still getting used to how things work here and have to remind myself to do the important but less exciting (shh don’t tell the boss!) parts of settling into a new role like sorting HR and software training.

In the afternoon I joined a group of the Chamber’s members for the Small Business Support Circle event where business owners get together to troubleshoot their specific issues and share tips and resources from their own experience. There were lots of laughs and good take-away advice on things like HR health check’s and accessing funding for training.

Tuesday — External partnerships and place-based circular conversations

A highlight was attending the Angus Cycle Hub SECAP Meeting at the Green Transport Hub on Bell Street. Scott Francis from Dundee Cycle Hub gave us a fantastic tour, demonstrating the scale of impact and ambition there — including the work to save thousands of bikes from landfill each year, the training and youth-development angle, and what they’d need to make their indoor track space more youth-friendly. This was also a useful reminder that circular economy is often most powerful when it’s tangible: skills, repair, reuse, community infrastructure — and supporting people who are already doing the work.

In the afternoon I met with Wendy Callander at the Community Toolkit based in the Wellgate. She shared how community members can rent those low use items like carpet cleaners, camping kits or DIY tools for a nominal fee rather than buying new, which is fantastic for reducing consumption and saving storage space, plus the toolbox provides a hub for community to share and learn. They have local satellite locations launching soon, allowing for easier access for those without transport.

Wednesday — Design lives here!

I attended the Meet the Funders event at the Dundee Steeple Church, a chance to explore funding that might be helpful for CirculariTAY or our network. I learned about Tayside Community Benefit Gateway, a free service that connects NHS Scotland suppliers with community organisations. From donations of trees and plants for community gardens to community facility repair or volunteers, ask and hopefully you shall receive!

The day ended at WASPS Studios for the DESIGN LIVES HERE meetup and was delighted to see Annie Marrs and Kirsten Wallace from UNESCO City of Design Dundee. Design Lives Here is their supporter scheme celebrating and showcasing individuals, organisations and businesses in Dundee who align with design values. Often when we think of the Circular Economy we think of waste or material salvage but CE practice can start from concept – ensuring that we design products with each stage of the lifecycle purposely considered. When it breaks what happens? Where will the component parts go? How can waste bi-products be part of a deliberate supply chain in another industry? Design is so important for Dundee and for a sustainable, innovative circular future!

Thursday — Regional mapping + seeing the bigger system

As I’m new to the project I’m very happy to have a brilliant Steering Group to help guide me as I get started. On Thursday I met with Donna Kudarenko from our funder Zero Waste Scotland for some great advice on managing the project. It was my first visit to Abernethy and I was a bit early so I popped into the very cute local museum to learn about the pictish influence on the village before the meeting at the Nook Café for some local baking (and work I promise!).

Next was Perth Collage to meet with John Ferguson, Head of Strategy at Binn Eco Park, Stuart Oliver from Urban Foresight and Zoe Watt, Binn Group’s incredible intern, to discuss the Tay Cities Region Circular Economy Advisory Strategy and Action Plan. So much work has gone into making it a genuinely practical plan that builds on our strengths to drive the Tay Cities Region to become the leading demonstrator of Circularity across Scotland and the wider UK. As a bit of a Teuchter from the Carse of Gowrie, who studied in Dundee, worked in Aberfeldy, played in St Andrews and Yomped in Blairgowrie, reading it made me feel genuinely proud of our regional innovation, education and community large and small.

Friday — A bit of calm phew!

After a hectic week it was nice to be back in the Chamber of Commerce, it’s a great space and I love looking out at the water. I spent some time working on our delivery plan and I sent notes to T’Go Creative about revamping the CirculariTAY website and logo, including thoughts on how we design for future uses (campaigns, stickers, social, etc.).

I finished up the day with a chat with Sarah Young and Emma Kilani and from Business Gateway, exploring how we can build Circular Economy skills into the support they offer their clients and move towards a time when they are as common as learning how to do your cash flow or write a winning marketing plan. A really positive chat to round off the week.