The Scottish Innovative Actions Programme Is a Result of the Creation of a Partnership

Delivering Radical Regional Innovation across Scotland (EN) by Ken Gordon, Strathclyde European Partnership Ltd, United Kingdom

The Scottish Innovative Actions Programme is focused on creating an innovative and competitive Scotland by improving the innovation performance of Scottish organisations.

The Programme has broken new ground in piloting a range of leading-edge projects aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the Scottish economy by developing and delivering radical actions and mechanisms to stimulate innovation.

It is the first European Funds Programme to operate across the whole of Scotland and is driven by a partnership of the main economic development organisations and key representatives from the private sector, ensuring that the Programme of higher risk projects that cannot be supported under the other Structural Funds programmes, has maximum impact across public policy, innovation support and drives innovation in SMEs across Scotland.

A total of £4 million is invested in the Programme. 50% of this investment is provided by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the rest by key Programme partners.

Radical Pilot Projects

The Programme is funding 21 exciting and significant pilot projects which will be completed by the end of 2006. Each project is testing radically new ideas and methods concentrated on four key areas or Action Lines:

1.The Scottish innovation system – pilot projects are exploring a new systems based approach towards innovation in Scotland

2.SME demand for innovation – examining business attitudes to innovation and piloting new methods to stimulate demand within small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs)

3.Knowledge transfer and management – introducing new methods to help Scottish SMEs access knowledge and learning and to manage and exploit knowledge within their business

4.Marketing and product launch – testing new mechanisms to support Scottish SMEs to create new markets and turn innovation into value

The focus is firmly on new approaches and fresh perspectives A key criterion in project selection was that there had to be an element of risk associated with the project. This encouraged radical and in some cases unconventional projects.

In order to improve the innovation performance of Scottish organisations, the pilot project outcomes must be utilised to influence change –in public policy, in companies andin other organisations. While the Programme is running, the pilot project outcomes are already making a permanent change in the Scottish Innovation Environment.

Delivering Change Now!

First we need a map…

As one of two projects in action Line 1 sponsored by the Scottish Executive, a recently completed pilot project mapped the entire Scottish Innovation system, identifying the key actors, their roles in the system and the level of interactions.

This is the first time a mapping exercise on this scale has been implemented, and the effectiveness of the Scottish system measured. A second follow-on pilot project is examiningthe best practices across Europe that address the weaknesses found in the firstmapping project. The output from these pilot projects have already been used to influence strategic forward thinking on innovation policy, including questions on organisational infrastructure and changes to the roles of innovation system actors. Following these projects an evaluation is taking place of the current approach to innovation policy and how a systems approach would change and potentially improve Scotland’s economic performance.

Distance is no problem…

Motivating and supporting SMEs to innovate is a major problem we all share. The MIT MediaLab model is well known for building partnership between SMEs and research resources in the areas of science, technology, digital media and the creative arts. The sponsor of one of the pilot projects from Action Line 2, Highlands and Islands Enterprise,have been working with MediaLab to pilota new model for supporting SMEs and micro-businesses in remote areas of the Highlands and Islands.

The model being tested is new to MediaLab and one that could be applied throughout Scotland and across Europe if successful.

On 15th August it was announced that Distance Lab will be formed to carry out research into how digital media and information and communications technology (ICT), can help manage the impact that distance has on individuals, communities and businesses in the north of Scotland and other areas of the world. The project will see an overall investment of £5million over the next five years with around £3million coming from the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) network which is driving the project.

The Innovative Actions MediaLab Pilot project allowed Highlands and Islands Enterprise to test different methods of engagement that have now been crystallised into Distance Lab. In addition, over the project lifetime 6 new start-up companies have been formed. (PICTURE AVAILABLE)

Hold onto your assets…

Over two-thirds of Scottish companies have no awareness of the potential importance and value of Intellectual Assets (IA) to their business. The Intellectual Assets Centre Limited is developing and piloting a number of new tools to enable SMEs to make full commercial advantage of their in-house knowledge base and other IAin 2 projects under Action Line 3. One of these projects is now complete and the tools are available on-line. The tools are being further developed and the web resources are receiving a great deal of interest from both inside and outside Scotland. (PICTURE AVAILABLE)

Radical approaches

Across the Programme there are pilot projects examining new techniques and applying them to innovation.

Play the game to learn…

Raising awareness and competence of Scottish SMEs in marketing is the focus of fourlinked pilot projects focussed on marketing innovation in Action Line 4. The projects are testing methods of improving the understanding of marketing and selling skills in successful innovative businesses. The pilot projects will test methods of improving awareness of marketing using Game Based Learning and expose SMEs to best practice Product and Channel Marketing. The outcomes from these pilot projects are being developed to ensure that Scottish SMEs can improve marketing and selling skills in the future and increase commercial returns from innovation. (PICTURE AVAILABLE)

SIT to Innovate…

Did you know that there are five thinking patterns behind 70% of all successful innovations?

One project in Action Line 2 sponsored by Targeting Innovation trains SMEs to apply the five thinking patterns to their businesses to generate ideas for cost reductions, simple process improvements and new products. Results have been spectacular, with one company, Blair’s of Scotland generating 65 new ideas for sash and case windows (PICTURE AVAILABLE)

Up the creek with a bright idea…

Action line 3 has a project sponsored by the Caledonian Family Business Centre focussed on developing a culture of innovation in family owned enterprises As part of the recent Family Business Workshops, the participants were given an opportunity to develop a new product or process using an innovative approach to product and process development called Matrix Thinking.

Already one product (a luminous kayak paddle) is being tested for the market by one of the participating companies, Lendal Products Ltd of Prestwick.

Give me Backchat…

The Action line 2 pilot project has developed a product called Backchat. It was developed as a result of a Media Lab project called ‘Tex Tales’. Richard Wilson, En-Tier Solutions was exposed to Media Lab's Tex Tales project and then came up with the concept that became Backchat.

Backchat was then developed as an R&D project locally in the Highlands & Islands as a fun and alternative way of obtaining feedback for events, exhibitions and conferences. (PICTURE AVAILABLE)

Sharing learning and experience …

We are committed to using the lessons we learn from the pilot projects and the Programme to permanently change the innovation support environment in Scotland. In effect we aim to leave a “learning legacy”.

A marketing development programme has been awarded and a range of workshops and events will be organised during 2006 and early 2007 to ensure the results and learning is disseminated to a wide audience of interested organisations and individuals across Scotland.

In the coming year our challenge is to maintain the strength of the partnership and continue to develop the community of practice among project sponsors.

Through this to ensure that the exciting and challenging project outcomes continue to influence Innovation Policy and enhance the performance of Scottish SMEs.

Find out more…

To receive the monthly email newsletter, and find out more about the EU networking activities and learning dissemination events planned for 2006, contactKen Gordon, the Programme Manager on +44 141 572 4422, or email him at

Please visit our web site to keep up to date with the latest news on the pilot projects and other Programme news.

The Scottish Innovative Actions Programme is managed and administered by Strathclyde European Partnership Ltd on behalf of the Scottish Executive.

Author details:

Name: Ken Gordon,

Job Title: Programme Manager, Scottish Innovative Actions

Organisation: Strathclyde European Partnership Ltd.

KEYWORDS: INNOVATION, PARTNERSHIP, RADICAL APPROACH, SCOTLAND

Abstract (less than 1000 characters)

The Scottish Innovative Actions Programme is focused on creating an innovative and competitive Scotland by improving the innovation performance of Scottish organisations.

The first European Funds Programme to operate across the whole of Scotland, driven by a partnership of the main economic development organisations and key representatives from the private sector, the Programme of higher risk projects that cannot be supported under the other Structural Funds programmes, is designed to ensure maximum impact across to drive innovation in SMEs across Scotland.

The project action lines are briefly outlined and examples are provided of recent pilot project outputs that are already effecting permanent change. Future plans are described.