Evaluation of Interactive Scotland

Interactive Scotland (IS) is a three year project, running from November 2009 to November 2012, which provides specialised market and technology advice services to the Digital Media sector. The project had been running for 24 months (at the point of the evaluation) and targets SMEs and start-up companies which are active in Digital Media or have plans to be. The project was developed and funded by Scottish Enterprise (SE) and has attracted European funding. The evaluation aimed to establish the impacts and progress of IS to date and to inform the future delivery of the project.

The methodology consisted of desk-based research, consultations with delivery agents and stakeholders, and beneficiary surveys.

The evaluation found that there is a clear and strong strategic rationale for the IS project based on its alignment to national economic policy and specific priorities in relation to the Digital Media sector. The performance of the project against targets has been consistently strong. The project has exceeded its activity targets and has far exceeded its targets for levels of client engagement. However, this has put pressure on delivery resources. In terms of economic impact, the project has achieved £8.9m (estimated) cumulative GVA to date and forecast for the future, and an impact investment ratio of 6:1. When considering cost effectiveness, the project compares well with other initiatives and against the initial appraisal of the likely impact to investment ratio. Overall, the evaluation found the project to be well managed and effectively delivered. The delivery team were generally praised for their knowledge of the Digital Media sector and the partnership between the two delivery agents appears to be working effectively. There were however some issues with management and delivery, which have been addressed in the recommendations.

It is recommended that the project should be continued beyond the current funding period. Other recommendations include: the service mix should be rebalanced to provide greater focus on intensive support to companies; the IS website should be redeveloped; there should be an increased focus on international development; the processes supporting the marketing and promotion of the project should be reviewed to ensure that the marketing effort is meeting the needs of a refocused project; tangible links should be developed across other sector teams within SE to facilitate connections between Scotland’s Digital Media community and opportunities in other key sectors; the monitoring and reporting processes for the project should be reviewed; work is required to build awareness and understanding of IS services among key business advisors to ensure that referrals into the service are operating effectively; and the value of the IS brand should be protected while also seeking to ensure SE receives due recognition of its role in the project.