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1 - Introduction and Context
1. The Government's Economic Strategy ( GES) defined the Purpose 1 and confirmed plans to "develop a new science strategy for Scotland, outlining how science will underpin Scotland's success as a nation through:
- developing knowledge exchange between academia and business;
- increasing the flow of overseas investment into Scotland's R&D base; and
- developing the science base".
2. The clear focus of the GES text has roots in earlier work by (the Office of) the Chief Scientific Adviser and others, notably:
3. The responses and subsequent stakeholder dialogue (combined with published Scottish, UK and international research and analysis) provide a substantive and valid body of evidence and ideas from which to craft a new strategic framework for science. As such, work on the early development of the strategic framework has been taken forward by three internal Scottish Government Working Groups (chaired by a nominee of either Scottish Enterprise or the Scottish Funding Council, to link policy development with implementation and delivery) required to take account of:
- The Purpose and the 5 strategic priorities 3 of the GES (and the National Performance Framework 4);
- prior formal engagement with stakeholders in Scotland (updated in 2008 through informal ongoing dialogue with stakeholders);
- the aims and objectives of Skills for Scotland, the new International Framework;
- the interim report of the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities; and
- parallel development of innovation policy as envisaged by the Government's Economic Strategy.
It is particularly important to recognise and understand the way in which these strategies and frameworks integrate to produce a complex but holistic system of support for higher and sustainable economic growth.
4. Skills for Scotland is about a smarter Scotland with a globally competitive economy based on high value jobs, with progressive and innovative business leadership:
- Where people can work in teams, are creative and enterprising, motivated to contribute to Scotland's future and are confident that they can do so.
- Where people are entrepreneurial and innovative and small businesses are encouraged to grow by strong, coherent support for businesses of all sizes, and where migrant workers and overseas students play a valuable role in an expanded workforce and economy.
- Where employers improve productivity by investing in their own staff
- Where learning and training providers work as one system and thanks to wider use of technology and e-learning, barriers of geography and rurality have been reduced.
5. That will be delivered by:
Individual Development
- Developing a distinctively Scottish approach to skills acquisition, balancing the needs of employers and individuals, aligning employment and skills and placing the individual at the centre of learning and skills development.
- Developing a coherent funding support system for individuals of all ages and in all forms of education and training that encourages participation in learning and work.
Economic Pull
- Stimulating increased demand for skills from employers, both public and private.
- Improving the utilisation of skills in the workplace.
- Understanding current and projected demands for skills to help prepare for future skills needs.
- Challenging employers, learning providers, awarding bodies and others to use the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework ( SCQF) as a tool to support learning, specifically to facilitate the recognition of learning and for enabling individuals to move smoothly through learning environments, getting credit for learning they have already achieved.
Cohesive Structures
- Simplifying structures to make it easier for people to access the learning, training and development they need, including formal and informal learning by merging a number of bodies into one, focussed on skills.
- Ensuring that Curriculum for Excellence provides vocational learning and the employability skills needed for the world of work and is the foundation for skills development throughout life.
- Achieving parity of esteem between academic and vocational learning, recognising that vocational learning is a valuable alternative to the academic pathway and important to all.
- Challenging our funding bodies to use their budgets to help achieve a step-change in skills development and use.
- Encouraging providers to see themselves as part of a continuum of provision - links in a chain - which helps individuals to see the relevance of learning to them, progress in their learning and make full and effective use of the skills they have acquired. Judging that system by how well it serves those who need the most support.
6. The International Framework is designed to place Scotland as a responsible nation and partner on the world stage. It aligns public sector international activities to the Government's purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth by:
- Creating the conditions for talented people to live, learn, visit, work and remain in Scotland - so that Scottish population growth matches EU average;
- Bringing a sharp economic growth focus to the promotion of Scotland abroad - so that the Scottish GDP growth rate matches the UK's by 2011; and
- Managing Scotland's reputation as a distinctive global identity, an independent minded and responsible nation at home and abroad and confident of its place in the world.
7. Those goals relate to Scotland's performance as a nation. Work under the Framework will focus and align the actions and policies of the Scottish Government and other public sector actors to maximise their role in contributing to that performance, including:
- The work of Scottish Development International in more than 20 offices overseas to promote international trade and inward investment;
- Fresh approaches to existing relationships with:
- a revised more proactive approach to the EU and key EU priorities as set out in the Action Plan on European Engagement;
- The US and North America are key trade and tourism markets - there will be a sharper more focused programme of events representing our interests in the US and Canada;
- China as set out in a refreshed China Plan;
- the Arc of Prosperity (Norway, Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Denmark); and
- The Commonwealth in India, Pakistan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, We will in particular look to further work we can do to strengthen links with India, recognising its tremendous potential research ability and capability that exists within this developing economy and the strong and growing educational links between Scotland and India.
8. Particularly relevant to SET is the commitment to continuing to position Scotland as a great place to live and work; take action to understand and remove the barriers to attracting high quality talent to Scotland and ensure that we are taking steps to retain the talent we have already attracted by improving the integration of new Scots into our society and ensuring that our young people understand what Scotland has to offer them. The Government's National Performance Framework includes an indicator to improve perceptions of Scotland's reputation. The main tool for measuring that is the Anholt Nation Brand Index, which measures perceptions of 35 different nations and their reputations using a panel of respondents from across the world. The initial data from this survey showed that, while respondents showed a strong awareness of Scotland's reputation in terms on tourism, people and culture, awareness and knowledge was much lower in relation to exports (which included awareness of Scotland's reputation for innovation in science and technology).
9. The interim report of Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities " New Horizons - responding to the challenges of the 21 st century" was published on 24 June 2008. It proposes major modernisation of the relationship between the Scottish Government, Scottish Funding Council ( SFC) and Scotland's Universities and the way in which universities are funded, including:
- In return for the substantial public funding they receive, universities must clearly demonstrate that Government funded activities are aligned with the Government's purpose of delivering sustainable economic growth for the benefit of all;
- a new funding system for universities, including a more flexible General Fund for mainstream activity and a Horizon Fund to provide new opportunities and incentives which support delivery of the Government's priorities and also each university's own mission and strengths;
- All universities should undertake research as well as teaching with rejection of the 'teaching only' universities proposed in England and
- SFC regulation should be significantly relaxed to give universities greater autonomy. This will free up the council to work on implementing key strategic initiatives in partnership with universities and Government, such as improving the links between Scottish business and Scottish higher education.
10. The Horizons report is outcome-driven, setting out ambitions for a university sector:
- which is widely recognised within and outwith Scotland as shaping, preserving and developing our country, our economy, our culture and our society with the result that the substantial Government investment in universities is widely understood;
- which is nationally and internationally competitive, is regarded as 'world class';
- which is an attractive and welcoming place for students outwith Scotland to come and study; which actively supports a changing learner demographic and assists learners to access university and progress through the education system, returning throughout their lives to upskill, re-skill or develop new skills for life and work;
- which develops entrepreneurial capacity and makes a significant contribution to graduate employability;
- where learning, teaching and research continue to be the cornerstone of university activity and are increasingly carried out as collaborative activity across these boundaries;
- which willingly engages with the micro, small and medium sized business base of Scotland, playing a key role in increasing demand side 'pull' for new knowledge created in universities and delivering knowledge into the Scottish economy which creates additional wealth;
- which produces 'curiosity driven' research that advances the frontiers of knowledge (for global benefit) which may contribute directly to Scotland's people, economy, society or culture; and
- which works actively with employers to ensure the skills of graduates can be utilised to best effect in the workplace and where employers are engaged in the development of the curriculum, influencing its content and participating in its delivery.
11. The Innovation Framework, while not yet finalised, is expected to be structured by three key principles:
- Current emphasis on science and technology-based innovation and R&D is necessary but not sufficient
- An effective innovation policy should adopt a systemic view of Scotland's innovation ecosystem - understanding how the parts work together
- An effective innovation policy depends on an effective skills and human resources strategy.
12. As such it will address issues around:
- System Alignment - making sure that all the major players are working towards the same outcomes and that the various roles fit together, with no obvious duplications or gaps
- Skills - following on from the Skills for Scotland strategy, identifying the types and mix of skills that will be needed to enhance Scotland's innovative capacity, e.g. collaboration, team working, management skills
- Science Push versus Demand Pull - making sure that our support for innovation is more balanced to reflect the clear weakness in the area of demand pull and the issue of absorptive capacity of the industry base versus the perceived strength of our science base. Use of intermediaries such as lawyers, bank managers, accountants to communicate message to industry
- Manufacturing/Services - there is a clear understanding that public sector support is biased towards manufacturing, and the framework will examine the importance of the services sector to the Scottish economy and, in any case, the quality of support for manufacturing; and
- Public Sector - the role of the public sector play in fostering innovation; through example, by being innovative itself; through use of procurement to encourage innovation
13. This report captures the work of the International Group, which focused on
- Enhancing international connections; and in particular
- increasing the flow of overseas investment into Scotland's R&D base.
14. It provides:
- A brief baseline description of current or planned activity and the impact this is expected to have on sustainable economic growth (see also Paper 1 and 3 for statistical data and reference materials reviewed as part of this process;
- An assessment of the key strategic issues still to be addressed;
- Options for changes or incentives required to better support the Purpose; and
- Conclusions and recommendations.
15. This report will - with corresponding reports from the other two Groups be used to inform advice to Ministers and the development and drafting of the strategic framework for science in Scotland.
16. Finally it is important to emphasise that this report is about science, engineering and technology ( SET). The term "science" should always be viewed in that broader context and with regard to the definition used in the original consultation document:
We do not intend to limit the term "science" in future strategy to a particular set of disciplines or areas of the economy. "Science" should therefore be taken to include all activity in the pursuit of systematic knowledge which benefits, or is likely to benefit, the economy or society in some way.
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