Research, evaluation and insight

The High Growth Development Project, part funded by the EDRF under the South of Scotland Objective2, 2000-2006 programme, aimed to provide consultancy advice and information, and access to funding and networks to companies in the Scottish Borders.

Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire's (SEL's) High Growth Start-up Service, whose main delivery mechanism was the High Growth Incubation Centre, aimed to provide tailored, enhanced support to prospective businesses that were believed to have the greatest chance of meeting the SE Network’s high growth criteria.

The High-Growth Start-Ups (HGSU) programme was designed to provide various methods of assistance and support to eligible 'high growth' businesses in Fife.

The Hillington Park Innovation Centre (HPIC), jointly run by Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire (SER) and Caledonian Land, aimed to provide high quality business start-up and incubation space for firms deemed to be ‘innovative’, thereby growing the number of innovative / technology firms in Renfrewshire and attracting different types of firms to Hillington.

The Exchange, including Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC), aimed to address weaknesses in Edinburgh’s economic infrastructure, maximise the commercial development area, and provide a prominent city landmark.

The aim of the evaluation was to estimate the economic impact to the Borders of hosting four fixtures from the International Rugby Board Under 21 World Championship, what lessons could be learned to assist in the hosting of future similar events and how the facilities and experiences at the ground in Galashiels compared with other matches held elsewhere in Scotland.

Through a series of workshops, audits, specialist support services, student placements and interaction with Heriot Watt University, the Innovation and Technology Initiative (Innovatech) aimed to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to: adopt new technologies; exploit and protect intellectual assets; adopt a culture of innovation; and strengthen their links to academia.

The Innovation Support Programme (ISP) aimed to encourage and support innovation within the Lanarkshire business community.

SEL’s range of internationalisation support programmes aimed to assist and encourage firms to overcome the relatively high risk they perceive when considering entry to a new international market.

Inward investment aimed to help address job losses within traditional industries in the Forth Valley by attracting foreign direct investment and mobile investment from indigenous companies.

In North Ayrshire, Joblink aimed to improve access to training for Training for Work (TfW) clients and the Adult Training and Recruitment Credit (ARTC) pilot aimed to provide financial and training support to employers and clients when they exit training and enter employment.

The Lanarkshire Branding and Communication Project (LBCP) was created with the aim of changing negative perceptions of Lanarkshire and promoting the area as a place to live, work and invest.

The Lanarkshire Strategic Tourism Marketing Project (LSTMP) was created with the aim of raising Lanarkshire's profile to visitors, challenging negative perceptions and raising awareness of the area's tourism product.

The ‘Corporate Leadership’ MSc and the ‘Emerging Executives’ programme aimed to develop leaders to be successful in the current and future business climate and contribute to the SE Strategic Objective of creating growing businesses with an innovative and far-sighted culture.

The Get into Enterprise (GiE) programme was used in Dumfries and Galloway to rekindle the spirit of enterprise in the community, following the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease.

The Learning Journeys Programme sought to expose British tourism businesses to the operational practices of two exemplar businesses, the Disney Institute in Florida, USA, and the Schindlerhof Hotel in Nuremberg, Germany.

Medical devices in Scotland (MDIS), a membership based company, aimed to stimulate and promote the medical devices sector in Scotland.

The Skillseekers programme aimed to encourage young people leaving education to enter training and secure higher levels of skills and qualifications.

The evaluation aimed to: identify various models and methods of delivery currently being used across the Business Gateways and local enterprise companies (LECs) and the differential impact support services have had on social enterprises; assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the current services and support provided to social enterprises by the Business Gateways and LECs, including the fit with the Growing Business segmentation model; establish the impact of the support services on the cl…

The New Jobs for Glasgow 2 (NJFG2) aimed to create new or expanded social enterprise jobs by: using established intermediate labour market models; identifying new job growth areas; and demonstrating how basic models could be developed to contribute to the local economy.

NEXXUS was formed in 2003 with the aim of: facilitating communication, knowledge sharing and collaboration between organisations involved in life sciences and related activities in the West of Scotland; and raising the profile locally and nationally of the West of Scotland as a life science centre and contributing to any Scottish Enterprise activity on an international basis.

Solway Heritage (SH) aimed to: secure the sustainable management of the natural and man-made heritage; conserve and enhance buildings or artefacts of architectural historical interest; conserve and enhance landscape and wildlife resources; and interpret and encourage informed public access to the built, natural and cultural heritage.

Partnership by Design, initiated by Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire (SED), aimed to: promote effective partnerships to develop and implement economic development strategies; focus on common objectives and aspirations, building effective and efficient linkages and being prepared to assume leadership or step back as appropriate; and improve teamwork and partnership through performance and the recognition of achievements.

The evaluation aimed to assess the overall success of the Supply Chain and Product Development Process Improvement Projects (SCPI and PDPI projects) in meeting their objectives.

The Phoenix Industrial Park aimed to contribute to the wider economic regeneration of Renfrewshire in general and the provision of high quality business locations in particular.