A local charity engaged in

S T E A M

empowered

creative

regeneration

Join us, become a member

Our vision is for Inverclyde to be a creative powerhouse

Creative Regeneration’s purpose is the advancement of the Arts, Culture, Heritage & Science. We believe in the transformative effect of community led learning, leading to renewal and regeneration.

Over the past decade, there has been growing recognition of the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in empowering young people.

More recently, however, there has been more talk about how the ARTS (or creativity) can be incorporated into STEM subjects to yield even greater results. The “A” in S T E A M stands for the arts, which include visual arts and design in addition to music and the humanities. When the sciences and the arts successfully come together, new connections yield exciting discoveries and ideas.

For us this encapsulates what Inverclyde has historically been brilliant at, combining creativity, innovation with a ‘can do’ attitude and practical skills. Whether shipbuilding, engineering, manufacturing, electronics or traditional craft - INVERCLYDE CAN!

Our board

We meet regularly to make strategic & operational decisions, discuss partnerships, apply for funding and act in the best interests of our members and the wider Inverclyde public. We are always interested in people who can bring something to our organisation and help steer the ship, if you are interested and have something to offer, get in touch about serving on our advisory boards or as a trustee on our board.

  • Trustee / Chair

    Alec Galloway is a Scottish stained glass artist and painter based in Inverclyde on the west coast of Scotland. After studying at the Edinburgh College of Art, he spent some time working in the UAE, before returning to Scotland in 2000. In conjunction with taking up a teaching post at the ECA (2000-12), where he took over from his teacher Douglas Hogg, he also developed a commercial business, which in recent years has also included many public art projects.

  • Trustee / Treasurer

    Finlay is an experienced local Teacher with a passion for outdoor education and experiential learning. He’s a respected member of the Inverclyde community whose involvement with numerous sporting, cultural and educational institutions bring him great pleasure.   

    Finlay sees the creation of positive relationships as fundamental to any successful experience. Motivated by his two young boys, Finlay tries to cultivate a can-do attitude, a pride in their community and shows them how supporting others to succeed can be an empowering and positive life experience for all.    

    Finlay would describe himself as a ‘recalibrator of hope’.

  • Trustee / Secretary

    Bruce is a practising architect with over 20 years experience. He was a co-founder of MAKLAB, Scotland’s first Open Access Digital Manufacturing Centre and formerly the Technical Director of the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre.

    Bruce is a founding Trustee of the Inverclyde Shed SCIO and Creative Regeneration SCIO.

    He currently manages the Shed’s Shore Street Community Gardens & Muirshiel Lane Market Garden and co-ordinated their East Blackhall Street Shed Renovation Project, Inverclyde’s first successful Community Asset Transfer.

    Photograph © Garth Ivan

  • Trustee / Business Development

    Fiona Descoteaux is a business architect and regenerative strategy specialist with over 20 years’ experience in economic development, regeneration, and social innovation. Originally from Helensburgh, she now lives in Ireland and previously served as CEO of a local development company in one of Ireland’s most disadvantaged communities, later founding and leading Innovate Communities to deliver place-based regeneration, enterprise development, and social innovation programmes.

    She is the founder of Unravel, an independent consultancy specialising in business and financial architecture for place-based regeneration. She works with public bodies, community organisations, and social enterprises across Ireland and the EU to design investment-ready systems that enable heritage and place-based projects to scale sustainably.

  • Trustee / Creative Direction

    Derek graduated from Glasgow School of Art specialising in fine art and is a practising graphic designer currently exploring the interface with AI generated work, recently showcasing examples at the Wyllieum.

    He is also a well-known face at the town's Lyle Gateway, where he is community development leader,

Our advisory groups

To ensure its activities remain relevant, inclusive, and impactful, the organisation has begun developing three dedicated advisory groups: a Youth Advisory Group, an Education Advisory Group, and an Industry Advisory Group. Together, these groups guide Creative Regeneration’s work in promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM). The individuals making up these groups are talented local people with a passion for STEAM / Community learning and who contribute to our direction, activities and collaborations. Please do get in touch if you would like to be considered for joining our advisory groups.

  • Youth Advisory Group

    Noel Griffin is an artist and museum professional. He works as a Project Officer at The Watt Institution, developing collaborative projects with schools and communities that use art, science, and digital tools to engage audiences with the museum’s collections and explore themes such as ecology, biodiversity, and climate change. Noel is a multidisciplinary artist and graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, whose research-driven practice investigates the entanglements between nature, humanity, and technology, combining material processes with digital experimentation. He is particularly interested in STEAM approaches that encourage experimentation, collaboration, and imaginative engagement.

  • Youth Advisory Group

    Connor Bristow is a community musician and composer who values collaboration and enjoys the process of developing something new and getting to know other creative people through that process. Their practice encompasses sound, music and technology and they like to explore the boundaries between the three and how they can utilise technology to widen creativity and access. The biggest and most rewarding part of their practice is working with a wide range of community groups to engage non-music makers in the joy of making sound. Through technology, they are continually exploring different forms of interactivity and how this can be used to shape how we access sound. 

  • Education Advisory Group

    Karen Morgan is the Principal Teacher of STEM with a focus on Technical Education at St Stephen’s High School in Port Glasgow.

    Having taught in Inverclyde for 26 years, Karen has lived in the area her entire life and is deeply committed to inspiring young minds. Her passion for STEM education began over 15 years ago and has flourished through mentoring numerous student teams for the TeenTech Awards, Appathon Competition with several achieving national success.

    Karen’s dedication has led her to build strong professional links with industry leaders, including Maggie Philbin OBE, and to provide students with extraordinary opportunities—such as visits to Facebook HQ, Google HQ, and Tesla’s manufacturing site in Silicon Valley as part of national award-winning projects.

    In recent years, she has served on the organising committee for the Inverclyde STEM Festival, championing innovation and collaboration. For Karen, the most rewarding aspect of her role is witnessing students’ excitement as they develop problem-solving skills and achieve success through their hard work and creativity.

  • Education Advisory Group

    With 24 years’ experience in primary education, I am proud to serve as a member of the Education Advisory Board at Creative Regeneration. I have a passion for helping children and young people enjoy learning and reach their potential.

    I have previously worked as the Coaching & Modelling Officer for Numeracy in Inverclyde and, more recently as the Primary STEM Development Officer for Inverclyde. As part of Education Scotland’s National STEM Team, funded by The Wood Foundation, the Scottish Government, and Inverclyde Council I developed national learning resources, modelled high-quality STEM learning in classrooms, and delivered professional learning to school and nursery staff, community groups, and industry partners.

    I was also instrumental in organising and facilitating the Inverclyde STEM Festival, bringing schools, employers and the wider community together to inspire young people and showcase the opportunities STEAM can offer.

    I am passionate about developing STEAM skills for all through fun, inclusive, and high-quality STEAM experiences that spark curiosity, creativity, and aspiration.

  • Education Advisory Group

    Curriculum Enhancement lecturer at West College Scotland project managing training courses in industry 4.0 technologies in conjunction with the Advanced Manufacturing Challenge Fund.

    Engaging with employers and training managers to ensure relevant industry lead training delivery to the next generation of engineers. Part of lecturing team with many teaching, assessing and verification duties.

  • Education Advisory Group

    Corrinne is an experienced Business Studies and ICT Teacher who is passionate about education that goes beyond the classroom. Her aim and focus is on giving young people real opportunities to not only learn, but experience their learning and develop practical, employability skills for the modern world. 

    With a strong enthusiasm for digital technology, she is committed to bridging the skills gap and preparing students for life and work. 

    As a Mum of two young children, she is also driven to ensure young people growing up in our area have access to meaningful opportunities to thrive.

  • Industry Advisory Group

    Co-founder of The Inverclyde STEM Festival and a Senior Control & Instrumentation Consultant in the Nuclear Industry.

  • Industry Advisory Group

    With a diverse background in Manufacturing Excellence, Productivity, CNC Production, and the Built Environment, Matthew is a dynamic leader focused on driving operational efficiency and technological innovation. His core expertise lies in optimising manufacturing processes for efficiency, quality, and scalability - combining deep knowledge of lean practices with a strong grasp of real-world production challenges.

    Matthew specialises in Digital Automation and Robotics, implementing advanced solutions that enhance traditional manufacturing systems and unlock new performance capabilities. From concept through to integration, he aligns technology and operations helping organisations push the boundaries of what's possible in modern production. Grounded in precision engineering and creative problem-solving, he delivers measurable results through smart process design, digital integration, and hands-on improvement.

    Passionate about progress, Matthew pairs strategic vision with practical expertise to lead meaningful, lasting change.

  • Industry Advisory Group

    Edmund Sutcliffe brings over 30 years of expertise delivering platform-neutral, high-performance technology systems with strategic IT risk management and comprehensive board advisory services. He specializes in Zero Trust Architecture and Identity as Code methodologies, applying systems theory to solve complex challenges for critical infrastructure including European satellite operations, one of Europe's largest government SAP deployments, and enterprise systems supporting thousands of users.

    As a contributor to UK government AI policy through the Trustable Software Initiative and House of Lords Select Committee, Edmund provides specialized expertise in AI's impact on systemic software risk and supply chain transparency. His advisory role with the Zero Trust Initiative, pioneering DevSecOps implementations with real-time regulatory reporting, and crisis diagnostician capabilities across industries from automotive to financial services demonstrate comprehensive technology leadership. Edmund serves boards providing strategic guidance on digital transformation, technical due diligence for M&A, succession planning, and security technology initiatives. As a professional training developer and expert practitioner, he supports strategic data pipelines and risk management through secure development practices.

    His unique position bridging technology implementation, AI policy development, and critical infrastructure security empowers businesses to meet current operational needs while ensure future regulatory compliance.

  • Industry Advisory Group

    Waste Match manager at Mitie, the UKs largest and most innovative FM provider. Kevin’s role supports the UKs largest employers retain assets within their estate for longer, recover value from their genuine surplus estate and donate genuine surplus assets to the community in which they operate in line with Circular Economy principals.

    He is also the founder of STAY RESOURCEFUL, supporting communities to get strategic about leveraging the social value and community benefits generated locally and nationally.

  • Industry Advisory Group

    My fundamental passion is making things work better. I specialise in analysing the inner workings of organisations, their processes, their workflows, their daily frustrations and finding the most effective ways to make them more efficient. My goal is to reclaim valuable time and resources, allowing charities and community groups to focus on what they do best: serving our community.

    To achieve this, I draw on a comprehensive technical background as the Founder and Managing Director of Inverclyde Digital Bridge CIC.

  • Industry Advisory Group

    Founder of Thrivepath, Kirsty helps startup & established tech-led businesses scale their products and services ready for market offering experienced senior marketing leadership.

  • Youth Advisory Group

    Mikey Broadley is age 15 is the college studying Sports, he currently travels the world representing Scotland in Muay Thai & Kickboxing.  Both attend creative regenerations STEAM Sessions, notably Lego engineering, Electronics & Coding and our Games & Geeks Session.

    Mikey volunteers at several free children’s Muay Thai classes and enjoys passing on our knowledge to others. He also helps to teach English & Maths to children struggling at school & children who have English as a 2nd language.

  • Youth Advisory Group

    Gabriel Broadley is age 13 is the college studying Sports, he currently travels the world representing Scotland in Muay Thai & Kickboxing.  Both attend creative regenerations STEAM Sessions, notably Lego engineering, Electronics & Coding and our Games & Geeks Session.

    Gabriel volunteers at several free children’s Muay Thai classes and enjoys passing on our knowledge to others. He also helps to teach English & Maths to children struggling at school & children who have English as a 2nd language.

The Youth Advisory Group provide a vital platform for young people to influence and co-design programmes. Their input helps ensure that Creative Regeneration’s activities are not only engaging but also aligned with the aspirations, needs, and lived experiences of Inverclyde’s younger generation. By listening directly to youth voices, the organisation will foster ownership, creativity, and participation, helping to cultivate the next generation of innovators and community leaders.

The Education Advisory Group strengthen links between schools, colleges, and lifelong learning providers, ensuring that Creative Regeneration’s work complements the educational journey at all stages. This group provides insights into curriculum alignment, skills development, and opportunities to embed creativity within STEAM education. By drawing on the expertise of educators, Creative Regeneration can help inspire curiosity, broaden learning experiences, and encourage pathways into both further education and future careers.

The Industry Advisory Group connects Creative Regeneration with employers, entrepreneurs, and sector leaders, ensuring that its initiatives are rooted in the realities of the modern workforce. This group highlights emerging trends in technology, science, and the creative industries, and identify opportunities for skills development and employability. By fostering collaboration between education, industry, and community, Creative Regeneration can support a stronger local economy and help equip Inverclyde residents with the skills and confidence needed to thrive in a changing world.

Together, these three advisory groups help Creative Regeneration work collaboratively, ensuring that its programmes are shaped by those they are designed to benefit. By integrating youth perspectives, educational expertise, and industry insight, the organisation is building a strong framework for positive outcomes. This approach will not only expand opportunities for individuals across Inverclyde but also strengthen community resilience, nurture talent, and promote a culture of creativity and innovation.

Our aims

  • The advancement of the arts, heritage, culture and science

  • Creating, developing, and maintaining community facilities

  • Empowerment through S T E A M learning.

  • Widening learning opportunities for people to undertake creative, purposeful, and recreational activities

  • To develop the capacity of young and old to share skills and knowledge.

  • To encourage concepts of citizenship, community & environmental awareness

S T E A M Empowered

One of the core differences between S T E M and S T E A M is that while S T E M focuses primarily on scientific concepts, STEAM takes a more wide ranging problem-solving approach. Instead of purely looking at the concepts, S T E A M encourages the creative process so that these concepts can be used to identify and solve real-world problems. When creativity is injected into STEM, innovation becomes possible.

Creative Regeneration have been working to bring community led S T E A M learning to Inverclyde, developing projects that can deliver. We have opened a S T E A M community learning space at The Old Library in Gourock.

We have also acquired The Glebe Sugarhouse with plans to raise funds to carry out significant capital works, making the building accessible, zero carbon and flexible for community use. We plan to organise events, activities and exhibitions within the refurbished building as well as manage the facility. Our goal for this iconic building is for it become a S T E A M empowered creative powerhouse for Inverclyde hosting digitally augmented heritage skills training, performance spaces with digital production facilities, a S T E A M maker space and community spaces.

We believe that our projects will have a role to play in supporting our communities by delivering social, economic and cultural regeneration. We aim to provide spaces which support, nurture and develop communities to realise and share their talent and skills, sustaining a creative future for Inverclyde. We acknowledge the value of unleashing creativity, the community empowerment it can bring and the better future it can deliver for all of us.

Access to flexible, cost effective space builds the community resilience by enabling people to connect through shared interests, learn new skills, undertake training that may lead to lifetime employment opportunities or just come together for events and exhibitions.

The Young STEM Leader Programme

Creative regeneration is an approved delivery centre for the YSLP programme, which is led by S(SERC) Scottish Schools Education Research Centre.

The Young STEM Leader Programme enables young people in Scotland to inspire, lead and mentor their peers through the delivery of STEM activities, events or interactions within their learning communities.

As well as developing important leadership, communication and employability skills, completing a Young STEM Leader award will motivate young people to progress their STEM studies leading towards positive destinations in STEM.

Above all, the Programme aims to promote curiosity in STEM, allowing Young STEM Leaders to learn about the world around them in a fun, engaging and accessible way

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

— Albert Einstein

Volunteering Scotland

As the only national centre for volunteering, Volunteering Scotland exist to help you make a difference through volunteering. Creative Regeneration support their aims of ensuring that volunteering is accessible to all, and that when people do volunteer, they have the very best experience. Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services (VSDS) is funded by Disclosure Scotland. Specifically, they provide annual funding, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, to VSDS to support the voluntary sector with their disclosure checks.

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

Creative Regeneration is a member of The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations. SCVO are the national membership organisation for the voluntary sector with a mission to champion the role of voluntary organisations in building a flourishing society and support them to do work that has a positive impact. Along with SCVO’s community of 4,105 members and supporters, we believe that a thriving voluntary sector should be at the heart of a successful, fair and inclusive Scotland.

Safeguarding + Child Protection

Our safeguarding + child protection policies have been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in Scotland.

A summary of the key legislation and guidance is available HERE.

Scottish Living Wage Accreditation

At Creative Regeneration, we are committed to creating a fair and inclusive workplace where all employees are valued and respected. We adhere to the principles of Fair Work First Scotland, ensuring that our practices align with ethical business standards. We believe in providing equal opportunities, fair pay, and a healthy work environment. Our commitment to fair work extends to our interactions with partners and collaborators, ensuring that our practices are socially responsible and sustainable.

Creative Regeneration’s principles, values and strategy are aligned to the Fair Work Principles.

Community Land Scotland

Community Land Scotland is the representative body for Scotland’s community landowners — a movement of people taking control of land, buildings and assets to shape their own futures.

They were established to provide a collective voice for community landowners in Scotland and represent over 140 member organisations across Scotland, ranging from community landowners of major crofting estates in the Western Isles to inner city community hubs in diverse communities.

Our shared vision is for the community ownership of land and buildings to be a significant driver of sustainable development across the whole of Scotland..

Circular Communities Scotland

Circular Communities Scotland empowers a national network of reuse, repair and recycling charities by representing our membership and the sector to a wide range of stakeholders and by supporting our membership and facilitating the growth of our sector in Scotland.

Their Share and Repair Network aims to support existing, and to encourage the establishment of new sharing libraries and repair projects across the country. The Share and Repair Network works to reduce consumption and cut waste in communities all over Scotland, contributing to Scottish Government’s ambition to achieve net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045.