Question reference: S6W-12221
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 16 November 2022
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Current status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 23 November 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11686 by John Swinney on 28 October 2022, whether it will provide detail on what steps it will take to invest in innovation to boost productivity in Scotland.
Answer
Investing in our innovative businesses is a key priority of the Scottish Government and we are committed to becoming a world leading, innovation nation, to increasing productivity, growing our economy and creating sustainable, green jobs.
That is why this winter we will publish a new National Innovation Strategy for Scotland, that will set out our 10 year vision for Scotland to become one of the most innovative small nations in the world by 2032.
As investing in our innovative businesses is key to productivity growth, the strategy will introduce a comprehensive and joined up package of investment support.
We will build on the support already available to businesses through our Enterprise Agencies, who since 2017 have distributed around £600m directly to businesses to build their capacity and capability to innovate, and initiatives such as the Digital Development Grant, which since September 2020 has invested almost £50m to over 5,600 SMEs to help them utilise digital technologies and enhance workforce skills.
This will ensure that all of our businesses, people and institutions are ready and able to meet the global economic challenges and opportunities we face over the next ten years.