Research, evaluation and insight

The Scottish Enterprise Technology Park (SETP) was set up in East Kilbride over fifty years ago as the National Engineering Laboratory, and taken over by the Scottish Enterprise Network in 1994, with responsibility for its management lying with Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire.

Scottish Food and Drink is an industry led strategy designed to achieve a sustainable and profitable food and drink sector that is consumer focused, market led and internationally competitive.

The initiative known as scottishfoodanddrink.

The Institute for System Level Integration (ISLI) aimed to become a centre of excellence in System in Chip research, education and training, with a focus on new systems, products and applications.

Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire (SER) commissioned EKOS to undertake an evaluation of the Internationalisation Programme aimed at examining its performance against targets, achievement of objectives and outputs, and to assess the economic impact at the local and national level.

The SEDG Telecommunications Strategy (Broadband Programme) aimed to: ensure that the Dumfries and Galloway region’s businesses and communities had access to appropriate levels of affordable broadband services to meet their needs; keep the region abreast of developments elsewhere and on a level playing field economically and socially with other regions; and increase broadband uptake and use.

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.