Page Loading

Research, evaluation and insight

Search our publicly accessible collection of evaluation and research reports. These reports cover all aspects of Scottish Enterprise's economic development activities and are available for download at no cost.

  • Benchmarking measures for Scottish pharma services (2017)

    The aim of the research was to provide Scottish Enterprise with recommended measures to benchmark Scottish pharma services against comparative/best in class regions in Europe.
    Evolution Bioscience
    Research
    Supporting key sectors
  • Benchmarking Scottish research in life and chemical sciences sectors (2017)

    The aim of the report was to provide an evaluation of Scotland’s competitive standings in the life and chemical sciences sectors, through a comparison of research and intellectual property indicators of strengths with competing countries or regions.
    Scottish Enterprise; Clarivate Analytics
    Research
    Supporting key sectors
    Chemical sciences
    Life Sciences
  • Actions required to develop a roadmap towards a Carbon Dioxide Utilisation Strategy for Scotland (2016)

    Scottish Enterprise (SE) commissioned this report to better understand the required actions in developing a roadmap towards a carbon dioxide (CO2) utilisation strategy for Scotland.
    University of Sheffield
    Research
    Chemical sciences
    Energy
    Sustainable development
  • Entrepreneurial leadership in SE account managed firms (2017)

    The study focused on entrepreneurial leadership, its presence in Scottish Enterprise (SE) account managed firms and its impact on business performance and growth.
    Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship
    Research
    Entrepreneurship/new firm formation
    Leadership/management development
  • Fast-growth companies in Scotland (2016)

    The aim of the research was to develop a better understanding of fast-growth companies in Scotland, in order to contribute to Scottish Enterprise’s (SE’s) evidence base on their contribution to productivity performance.
    Scottish Enterprise
    Research
    Support to existing/growth businesses
  • Tracking the performance of high growth entrepreneurs (2016)

    Existing evidence suggests that despite the provision of a high volume of free or low-cost support for entrepreneurs, the performance of Scottish high growth firms (HGFs) continues to lag behind that of other areas in the UK in terms of competiveness.
    Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, University of Strathclyde
    Research
    High growth entrepreneurship
  • Automation and sector impacts research 2016: financial & business services sector outlook (2016)

    The objective of this report is to provide an overview of the current level of adoption of automation in the Scottish/UK financial and business services (F&BS) sector and identify how this might change over the period to 2025.
    Optimat
    Research
    Digital markets and enabling technologies
    Financial and business services
  • Automation and sector impacts research 2016: summary report (2016)

    The analysis of the three sectors identified four broad benefits from the increased adoption of automation technologies in Scotland
    Optimat
    Research
    Digital markets and enabling technologies
    Financial and business services
    Food and drink
  • Mid-term review of REIF: final report for Scottish Enterprise (2016)

    The report presents the findings of the mid-term review of the Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF).
    Ekosgen
    Evaluation
    Supporting key sectors
    Energy
  • Access to notified bodies research and market engagement 2016 (2016)

    The report outlines a research project undertaken for Scottish Enterprise (SE) between July and October 2016, which sought to understand the challenges faced by Scottish companies around securing the services of notified bodies.
    Innova Partnerships Ltd; Compliance Solutions
    Research
    Supporting key sectors
    Life Sciences
  • Scottish manufacturing research study: executive summary (2014)

    The aim of the research was to develop an understanding of the key factors which companies believe impact on manufacturing in Scotland, as part of a wider programme of work to develop a Scottish Manufacturing Action Plan that will underpin and promote a competitive and sustainable high value manufacturing sector in Scotland.
    Upper Quartile LLP
    Research
    Supporting key sectors
    Sector-level support
    Support to existing/growth businesses
  • Estimating the holistic value of Scotland’s mountain bike sector (2016)

    The purpose of this paper is to provide an estimate of the current total size of the Scottish mountain bike sector, and how large the sector is likely to be in five years’ time, based on current trends.
    Frontline
    Research
    Supporting key sectors
    Tourism
  • Broadcast and Television Production Strategy Research (2016)

    The aim of the report was to provide the Broadcast and Television Working Group with an assessment of the broadcast and television production sector in Scotland over 2014/15 and 2015/16, in order to inform the group’s strategy development work.
    Broadcast and Television Working Group
    Research
    Supporting key sectors
  • Visitor attraction best practice (2016)

    The aim of the research was to identify and investigate best practice in a range of key areas of visitor attraction development and operation in Scotland, in order to support the growth and development of the visitor attraction sector.
    Tourism Resources Company
    Research
    Supporting key sectors
    Tourism
  • Oil and gas finance market gap analysis (2016)

    In response to the challenges Scottish Enterprise commissioned a finance market gap analysis to explore the finance issues faced by companies within the oil and gas industry, in particular in supply chain companies, to consider if there are any gaps in appropriate finance supply.
    Anderson Anderson & Brown
    Research
    Support to existing/growth businesses
  • The risk capital market in Scotland: annual report 2015 (2016)

    The 2015 report is the latest in the series to be published by Scottish Enterprise.
    Young Company Finance
    Research
    Support to existing/growth businesses
    Inward investment
  • Evaluation of the ‘Event Ready Producers - Road to 2014 and beyond’ project (2016)

    The Event Ready Producers (ERP) project was launched to “provide practical guidance to support food and drink companies to successfully enter and benefit from the events market”.
    Stewart Brown Associates Limited
    Evaluation
    Supporting key sectors
    Support to existing/growth businesses
    Food and drink
  • Evaluation of the ‘Experiencing Scotland - supplying a quality food and drink offer’ project (2016)

    The Experience Scotland (ES) project was launched to support tourism companies to provide and promote the high quality food and drink produce Scotland offers, thereby improving the food experience for visitors to Scotland.
    Stewart Brown Associates Limited
    Evaluation
    Supporting key sectors
    Support to existing/growth businesses
    Food and drink
  • A strategic review of innovation support (2016)

    The aim of the review was to understand attitudes to innovation among Scottish companies, including how and why they invest in innovation and how important they feel innovation is to their future growth and performance.
    IFF Research
    Research
    Business innovation
  • FinTech scoping review: establishing Scotland as a FinTech centre (2016)

    FinTech (Financial Technology) is defined in the report as “the consideration, application or provision of support to new or repurposed technology that creates efficiency, reduces costs, manages risk or generates new insights to organisations working within, or supporting, the Financial Services industry”.
    Deloitte
    Research
    Supporting key sectors
    Digital markets and enabling technologies
    Financial and business services
    Support to existing/growth businesses
  • Scottish Enterprise business events study: executive summary (2016)

    The aim of the study was to understand if and where further significant opportunities exist to attract additional business events revenues into Scotland.
    IPW
    Research
    Inward investment
  • Productivity and tourism (2015)

    The aim of the report was to examine some of the issues around productivity levels of the tourism and hospitality industry in Scotland.
    SQW
    Research
    Tourism
  • Hyperbaric and wider subsea testing market assessment (2015)

    The aim of the study was to examine the potential for a range of subsea testing facilities in Scotland, covering: large scale hyperbaric testing; vibration table testing; environmental chamber testing; test pit access; hyperbaric rescue services; and additional qualifications for trained divers.
    Scottish Enterprise
    Research
    Supporting key sectors
    Digital markets and enabling technologies
    Energy
  • Leadership and management skills challenges within life and chemical sciences sectors (2016)

    The report presents the findings from a study commissioned by Scottish Enterprise (SE) to help understand the current leadership and management skills gaps within two of their priority sectors – life and chemical sciences.
    Frontline
    Research
    Supporting key sectors
    Chemical sciences
    Life Sciences
    Leadership/management development
  • The Ophthalmology Market (2015)

    The report presents the findings of a review of the ophthalmic market which covers a wide range of industries and technologies including: contact lenses; optical instrumentation and devices; gene therapy; drug delivery systems; computer software for diagnostic and rehabilitatative testing; and research services.
    Stratagem Intellectual Property Management Limited
    Research
    Supporting key sectors
    Support to existing/growth businesses

Impact appraisal and evaluation guidance

Read our impact appraisal and evaluation guidance to learn more about how we create these reports.

This guidance helps us ensure that any impact assessment for our projects and programmes uses consistent methodologies and is undertaken in a transparent way.

The full guidance is available as a PDF.