We are also providing funding of around £14m in academic year 2026-27 to support a portfolio of knowledge exchange and innovation investments to maintain a strong platform for innovation collaboration and for attracting further investment.ClustersIn 2025-26, the Scottish Government committed and spent £2.1m through the NIS Innovation Clusters programme, to lay the foundations for the systematic cluster development approach and to accelerate the development of seven of Scotland’s key innovation clusters in Critical Technologies, Space, Robotics, the Built Environment, FinTech, Offshore Wind, and Life Sciences.Alongside investment into establishing and growing strong leadership in these key innovation clusters, this included spend on robust evaluation tools and methods to ensure cluster success is captured; supporting our quantum and photonics to internationalise; helping companies to understand the value and potential of adopting new robotic solutions; funding new opportunities in semiconductor technology for net zero.Building on this success, the Scottish Government is investing a further £3m in 2026-27 through the NIS Innovation Clusters programme to scale activity to grow these key clusters and their economic impact - Critical Technologies, Space, Robotics, the Built Environment, FinTech, Offshore Wind and Life Sciences.