Research, evaluation and insight

Although Scotland has nine per cent of the UK's population, it only has four per cent of the UK's companies with a turnover in excess of £100 million.

Scottish Enterprise commissioned an independent review of the Scottish Enterprise and Royal Society of Edinburgh Enterprise Fellowship Programme, to evaluate the performance of businesses which emerged as a result of Enterprise Fellows' participation in the programme and to assess those businesses' economic impact on the Scottish and UK economies.

The High-Growth Start-Up Unit was established as an integral part of Scottish Enterprise (SE) in 2002 with the aim of supporting the creation and development of new businesses which would grow at a significant rate.

The South of Scotland Loan Scheme (SoSLS) aimed to deliver economic added value, by offering soft loans as part of a wider package of funding support for businesses identified as having job creation and growth potential.

West Lothian Strategic Action Plan (WLSAP) aimed to provide a three-year programme of actions to help the West Lothian economy ‘back on the growth track’.

The Women in Business (WIB) Mentoring Programme supports female-led businesses and act as a catalyst to achieving growth and development.

Rosyth Europarc Business Innovation Centre (REBIC) was developed with the aim of regenerating the Rosyth Royal Navy Dockyard and surrounding area.

The Scottish Enterprise (SE) Financial Services Newsletter, ‘Investing in Our Future’ aimed to publish articles about the financial services sector.

As a means of supporting high-technology start-ups from within the Scottish industrial base, the Industrial Fellowships Programme was a pilot scheme intended to provide financial assistance to individuals who had presented new business proposals which were perceived to offer strong potential.

Scottish Enterprise’s contribution to economic inclusion aimed to narrow the gap between the Scottish and other comparative economies; and spread the benefits of growth.

The Scottish Seabird Centre (SSBC) opened in North Berwick in May 2000.

Phase One of the Skills for the Future project aimed to: increase the uptake of training amongst SMEs within the Borders area; allow companies to develop a greater understanding of the value of improved skills to business growth; facilitate the definition of training needs; and encourage greater investment in people and skills.

The Skills Pipeline project aimed to provide customised training for jobs in the financial sector and increase the pool of skilled people in the Glasgow area to supply local companies.

The High Growth Start-up Programme (HGSP) and the related Discretionary Grant scheme, aimed to support new, potentially high growth businesses.

The Small Companies Innovation Support Scheme (SCIS) aimed to provide wholly integrated project support to SMEs for their product or process development, from market research to product launch.

The Small Company Innovation Support (SCIS) project in Western Scotland (and the related Technology Development Programme (TDP) and Prototype Development Funding (PDF) programme) aimed to create growing businesses by improving the abilities of organisations to generate new ideas and products, and to use best practice in design and development.

The Smart Farms project aimed to address relevant support issues relating to profitability and standards of practise in Scotland’s farming industry.

The Smart Successful Ayrshire (SSA) programme aimed to: create a balanced economy; enhance connectivity to markets; develop a positive workforce; reduce unemployment; and foster pride in Ayrshire.

The pilot Social Economy Growth Programme (SEGP) aimed to strengthen the existing social economy and act as a as a transitional ‘year’ of support to help Scottish Enterprise Glasgow (SEG) move closer to mainstreaming support services for the social economy.

The Optocap Project, implemented by Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian (SEEL), and associated company Optocap Limited, aimed to establish a centre of excellence in optoelectronic packaging to: provide environmental test, reliability and qualification services; assist with the commercialisation of Research and Development; and develop new device packaging technologies.

Investors in People (IIP) aims to provide a national framework for improving business performance and competitiveness, through a planned approach to setting and communicating business objectives and developing people to meet these objectives.

The Student Enterprise Incubator (SEI), at the University of Stirling, aimed to support student entrepreneurs and increase the success rate of resulting businesses.

The Digital Champions project was set up to tackle Scotland’s increasing digital divide (the social divide between those with access to computers and the Internet and those without), specifically targeting SIP (Social Inclusion Partnership) areas.

The High Growth Start up Programme (HGSU), contracted out to the Maitland Partnership (TMP) by Scottish Enterprise (SE) Ayrshire, aimed to target new businesses where, by year 3, employment is expected to be 15 jobs or more, or the targeted turnover is in excess of £750,000.

The world-class golf Open Championship takes place in the Fife town of St Andrews at least four out of every seven years and it is the aim of Scottish Enterprise (SE) to make St Andrews a world-class tourist destination for this event.