CORDIS Archive

Infrastructure

The key players in Scottish research and innovation policy are outlined below. Further information on these organisations, including contacts, can be found in the Links section.

Government

Scotland now has its own Parliament, which is responsible for education, business support and training, and therefore has a large input into the development of innovation in Scotland. The Scottish Executive, (the administrative arm of the Parliament) working through the Department of Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, aims to increase innovation, competitiveness and wealth creation in Scotland, and to improve the science and research base and the quality of research training.

In developing the Scottish research base, the Executive continues to work closely with the relevant UK bodies, including the Department for Trade and Industry, and the Cabinet Office. Research efforts are also aligned with the UK's Technology Foresight Programme, which channels funding into the most economically promising and socially useful areas.

Scotland's Enterprise network

Scotland's Enterprise network is charged with working with partners in industry, government and academia to support and develop competitive businesses, creating prosperity and opportunity for all of Scotland's citizens. A key element of the enterprise network's efforts are encouraging innovation within companies, and supporting the start-up of new technology-based businesses. The enterprise network operates through two national organisations - Highlands and Islands Network which covers the Highlands and Islands and Scottish Enterprise Network which covers the South, Central-belt and North East of Scotland. Both organisations operate at a local level, through business led companies which seek to bring together businesses and technologists, and to encourage the commercialisation of promising research. The enterprise network also provides structured sectoral support to promising areas of development, including biotechnology, information industries, optoelectronics and the creative industries.

Universities

Scotland's universities research across a wide range of pure and applied disciplines, from the developing fields of computing, biotechnology and optoelectronics, to more traditional areas such as engineering, chemistry and physics. Scotland's colleges and universities have also proven very successful in the increasingly important field of design.

A recent study conducted by Scottish Enterprise and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, found that Scotland's universities were a potential seedbed for a new generation of Scottish technology companies. A new initiative, Technology Ventures, has been set-up by Scottish Enterprise to assist in the transformation of research into marketable products and processes. The strong focus on commercialisation is driven by the awareness of missed opportunities as well as past successes.

The Scottish university sector is also a major participant in EU-funded research and development programmes, through which they have developed strong national, European and international links. For example, the University of Strathclyde is a member of the European Consortium of Innovative Universities, which brings together universities from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Spain and Sweden.

EU support

There are various EU supported networks and organisations in Scotland which provide assistance to the R&D and technology transfer process.

There is an Innovation Relay Centre in Scotland, which is part of an EU-wide initiative to encourage smaller businesses to participate in European Union-funded research programmes. In Scotland, the IRC brings together organisations in Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow, Inverness and Stirling to help local businesses win funding and to develop technology transfer arrangements.

The West of Scotland is home to a pilot Regional Innovation Strategy, one of only twenty in the European Union. The aim of the RIS initiative is to improve regional innovation through the creation of partnerships between the region's companies and support organisations. In the West of Scotland, the Regional Innovation Strategy is currently seeking through selective actions to stimulate the innovation process in a number of "pathfinder" companies, and through them the wider economy.

The EU's Structural Funds are also major contributors to the R&D process in Scotland. New programmes are currently being drawn up which will cover the majority of Scotland. All of these will have an element of funding which will support R&D and innovation.