Research, evaluation and insight

Small Company Innovation Support (SCIS) provides vital financial support for projects that lead to the development and introduction of new products and processes.

The Spends and Trends 2004 project disseminated key market information to Scottish service companies in the oil and gas industry through a CD-Rom, with the aims of assisting them to plan for future activity and position themselves to capitalise on new opportunities.

Stirling University Innovation Park (SUIP) aimed to provide accommodation for high tech businesses or research & development (R & D) activities, offer tenant companies a wide range of business support services, and foster a close working relationship between these companies and the University’s research staff.

Strathclyde Business Park (Developments) Ltd (SBP(D)Ltd) was part of a broad programme of improvement which aimed to address the lack of high quality industrial and business accommodation in Lanarkshire and improve the area's image as a business location.

The Investors in People (IiP) initiative was launched in 1992 to create a national standard for employers’ human resource development.

The support provided to Account Management and Client Management companies by SE Lanarkshire aimed to ‘segment’ the market and identify the companies most able to derive advantage from SE Lanarkshire support, delivering the best return to the limited resources available.

TalentScotland was created as a pilot project in 2001 to address skills gap issues critical to the growth of design electronics activity in Scotland.

Targeting Technology Ltd (TTL) aimed to: accelerate the growth of high technology-based companies; provide a focus for new technology-based inward investment and business start-up; and enhance technology transfer between the HEI sector and SMEs, and between businesses.

The evaluation examined two innovation support pilot projects ‘3C’ and ‘Innovate for Profit’ (IFP), funded by Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian (SEEL).

The Aberdeen City Centre Partnership (ACCP) was set up in 1991 to revitalise the city centre, following a retail downturn.

The Aberfoyle Broadband Community’s (ABC) Wireless Satellite Broadband project aimed to provide broadband connectivity to businesses in the Aberfoyle area at an affordable cost.

The Acorn Project aimed to increase the uptake of learning in ‘harder-to-reach’ sectors and augment managerial knowledge and leadership skills in the Scottish workplace.

The main aim of the Ambassador Programme is to liaise with the business and academic communities, and to encourage and support prominent local individuals, known as ‘ambassadors’, to bring conferences to Aberdeen.

The Business Information Service aims to provide high quality business information to start up and existing companies with the objective of enabling them to identify new opportunities and new markets, improve competitiveness in existing markets and enhance potential for growth.

An evaluation was undertaken of the Business Gateway Fife Start-Up Service, which supports business start-ups in the area.

The Business Growth Initiative (BGI) aimed to support Lanarkshire’s High and Medium Impact companies to improve business performance through the development and implementation of strategic projects.

The Community Land Unit (CLU) aims to: promote community-led land purchase or management initiatives; provide advice and support for the community land initiatives, including the exchange of best practice; contribute to the research and development of policies related to community land initiatives; and deliver the Scottish Land Fund on behalf of the Big Lottery Fund (from February 2001).

The Edinburgh Ambassador programme aimed to use the expertise and contacts of local academics and industrialists to attract additional international association conferences and events.

Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian’s (SEE&L) Biotechnology team’s investment in open-access facilities, at local research institutions and universities, aimed to: enable SMEs to have access to equipment and facilities they would be unable to purchase themselves; and facilitate an awareness of the existence of such facilities to SMEs and other businesses.

The Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Tools Support Scheme for start-up companies began in 2003 with the aim of providing high quality design software to small design companies not normally able to afford such tools in their early stages, to help them grow and attract business.

The Electronics Market Diversification Programme began as an idea put forward by the director of Electronics Scotland, who believed that such a programme would make an important contribution to Scotland’s electronics manufacturing sector.

The Graduate Attraction Scheme was a three year project set up by the UK Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA), the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Scottish Enterprise (SE) Energy Team to attract high achieving graduates into the UK oil and gas industry, in reaction to the perceived shortage of young people entering technical and engineering courses at university.

The Greenock Waterfront initiatives aimed to enable the regeneration of the wider Inverclyde economy, through improvements to the physical environment and the provision of infrastructure for the development of leisure, educational and retail facilities, by undertaking environmental improvements, developing brownfield land, and creating employment opportunities.

Business Growth services have been delivered through the Business Gateway, principally in the form of a Business Development Review (BDR) through Client Management or a Healthcheck through the Universal service.

Inverclyde Business Store (the Store) was a one-stop shop for businesses in Inverclyde.