Scotland’s deputy first minister has called for greater collaboration between all parts of society to support innovation ‘at scale’ across the country.
Kate Forbes said the collaborative ‘spirit’ must extend beyond government and industry, and into the lives of people and communities around Scotland.
Forbes, who will step down as a politician at the next Holyrood election in May, talked about the importance of networks, to bring people together, empowering them with the tools and freedom they need, and of being able to scale new innovations.
She said: “Innovation is the thread that connects progress and as a politician who represents communities in Scotland, I hear every day how desperate our people are to see that innovation, because they care immensely about the sustainability of our public services and about outcomes.
“And through these challenging times, it will be innovation that delivers what they want to see. But that progress doesn’t happen by accident. It requires intention. It requires targeted investment, and above all, it requires collaboration and often strange, unlikely alliances that don’t often happen.”
Forbes was speaking at the National Innovation Summit today in Edinburgh, hosted as part of ScotSoft, where she credited government interventions for helping to catalyse startup growth and investment in innovation-oriented businesses.
She namechecked the £42 million Techscaler programme, delivered following the recommendations of the Logan report, and the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) as important developments to support innovation.
Almost £3 million is also being invested through a Proof of Concept Fund to support researchers to develop their innovative ideas and technologies and bridge the gap between groundbreaking research and commercial applications.
“But we do need to be bold on our ambitions, because if you set your targets low, you will meet them and pat yourself on the back. But it’s not really the scale I think that we want to see,” she added.
The recently-announced DeepTech Supercluster – to support advanced manufacturing and tech prototyping – is another important milestone in providing access to markets for entrepreneurs and innovators looking to scale – particularly in high-growth new technologies such as robotics and IoT.
She said: “We’re supporting our startups and scale ups with better access to finance, to talent and to international markets. We’re strengthening the pathways from research to commercialisation.”
Business Minister Richard Lochhead, who is also standing down as a politician next year, used the occasion to announce a new digital learning programme, led by Skills Development Scotland.
