The Growing Value Scotland Task Force is building momentum towards its final conclusions and recommendations, to be launched in Edinburgh on 25th May.
For Scotland, the UK and Europe, it’s a complicated and fascinating climate in which to release our final report and we are delighted that key policy, business and academic leaders in Scotland have been so engaged and keen to contribute in guiding our thinking for the Task Force.
The Second Report of the Growing Value Scotland Task Force: the Innovation Edge, recently highlighted in the Herald, is set against the background of its First Report and reveals the views of business leaders and representatives of six key sectors of the Scottish economy (creative and digital, oil and gas, life sciences, food and drink, tourism and financial services).
The report found that Scotland needs a step change increase in the scale of the interfaces between universities and business. It also outlines qualitative evidence drawn from deep-dive interviews with representatives from Scotland’s key industrial sectors, universities, policy makers and industry organisations to show that university-business collaboration is a mission-critical activity for the Scottish economy.
Many opinions on this area of vital significance for the Scottish economy have surfaced, and the National Centre’s Task Force Members are contributing to the body of work and the substantial debate on our future prosperity.
In an earlier blog post in this series, Task Force member, Siobhán Jordan (Director of Interface) said:
“Many more enterprises could benefit from exploring the possibilities of partnering with a university or research institution and all those involved in the innovation landscape need to keep reinforcing the message that these types of collaboration are a win-win situation for both business and academics”
Drawing on interviews with executives in key industries in Scotland, the report has identified a range of cross-sector themes that could lead to the research and development capability of the Scottish economy being enhanced.
Steering Group member, David Scott (Senior Director, Tepnel Pharma Services) talks about ‘building the brand of “Scotland PLC” ’ in his recent blog post in this series highlighting that “we are firm believers that closer links and collaboration between our academic, pharma services and manufacturing communities will allow us to develop the skills and knowledge that can be actively commercialised to support both Scottish and global pharmaceutical companies.
As noted in an earlier blog post in this series by Task Force member, Tim Summers (former Director of Networking Products Group Freescale EMEA): “In our final report the task force will present a set of balanced outcomes and recommendations which if implemented, will significantly improve research collaboration with the creation of industrial “competitive advantage” and the resulting economic impact for Scotland.” The Task Force is now carefully considering its final report and will publish these next month after the Scottish Elections on May 5th.
The National Centre’s Growing Value Scotland Task Force will release its final conclusions and recommendations on 25th May.
Website: http://www.ncub.co.uk/what-we-do/gvs.html
Twitter: @NCUBtweets #GrowingValueScotland If you would like further information about this Task Force, please do contact Elspeth Elliott (Project Coordinator – GVS Taskforce) at GVScotland@ncub.co.uk.
Further analysis of Scottish university-business collaboration is provided by the National Centre’s Scottish Collaboration Progress Monitor.
If you are interested in writing a blog on regional innovation, please contact info@ncub.co.uk
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