Iain Cairns

Iain works as Teaching Associate at the University of Strathclyde’s Business School, in the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship. His research is primarily focused on democratic businesses and the financial arrangements to support their establishment and development.

Most recently, Iain has worked on a United Kingdom Energy Research Council (UKERC) project entitled Financing Community Energy: lessons learned and innovations for the future, which was undertaken jointly by the University of Manchester, University of Strathclyde and Imperial College London. In this project Iain led the data collection and analysis of community energy case studies.

Iain has a PhD in Management from Glasgow Caledonian University, which focused on community organisations and how they might own and manage assets to drive community development. Prior to PhD study, during his MRes in Human Geography at the University of Glasgow, Iain focused on financial geography and conducted research into the potential of alternative currencies to advance community organisations.

Iain has also published work on investment, banking and industrial strategy with the Common Weal think tank. His work on a Scottish National Investment Bank has been particularly impactful. His 2013 position paper on a Scottish National Investment Bank has been recognised by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) as the first major work on the subject. Subsequently, Iain worked in partnership with Common Weal, Friends of the Earth and NEF to develop the idea, a campaign which culminated in the adoption of the SNIB policy by the Scottish Government.

I bring interdisciplinary knowledge and an interdisciplinary approach to my teaching work. I have degrees in politics and history, human geography and management and I have taught English, modern studies, history, sociology, psychology, anthropology and social entrepreneurship.