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CBI: 50 YEARS OF BUSINESS INNOVATION | BRITAIN AND BEYOND


SOWING THE SEEDS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH


SCOTTISH ENTERPRISE www.scottish-enterprise.com


thinks of when you mention the word, is technological innovation.” Scottish Enterprise certainly plays its part in assisting cutting-edge technological innovation. “However, innovation doesn’t just mean science and technology,” he continues. “At its most basic, innovation is primarily about the development of new products and services. It can take many different forms.” Watson identifies four key strategic areas in


which companies can innovate. “Innovation can be wider, deeper, customer-led, or it can involve sector innovation. All four of these categories overlap with each other, but it helps to identify the characteristics of each.”


“European Commission research suggests that, over the past five years, more than 60 per cent of sustainable growth is primarily down to innovation,” says Jim Watson, Head of Innovation at Scottish Enterprise. “The maxim of ‘innovate or die’ has never been more relevant. You really do need to continually think about how to develop your products and services.” As Scotland’s main economic development agency, it is the role of Scottish Enterprise to


help ambitious companies to develop in a rapidly changing global marketplace. And key to that development is innovation – something that Scottish Enterprise is fostering through the use of research-and-development grants, leadership assistance and strategic partnerships.


INNOVATE OR DIE “The most obvious form of innovation,” says Watson, “and the one that everyone immediately


WIDER AND DEEPER Wider innovation, says Watson, is simply about developing the broadest possible market for your product. “We have a Make It To Market grant for companies hoping to develop a new product or service,” he says. “The idea is to get them to sell that product or service internationally, so that they’re not just restricting themselves to local markets.” Eribé, a knitwear label based in Galashiels, was given support with ICT, hiring and training by Scottish Enterprise to help develop its market overseas, while its founder Rosemary Eribé (pictured, opposite) attended Scottish Enterprise’s Leadership for Growth programme. Eribé’s hand-knitted clothing is now stocked in New York, Paris, Milan, Moscow and Tokyo. The second strategy is deeper innovation.


“This is about working closely with companies and getting them to think at a strategic level,” says Watson. “How do they measure success when they’re innovating? How switched on are they to the generation of ideas from staff? Do they embrace external partners? Do they have expertise in selling? Does the response experienced by the sales force feed back to the people who are doing the innovation in the company? So we help them come up with an in-depth diagnostic with the company, so that they can benchmark their performance with hundreds of other companies of their size, in their sector, in their region or across Europe.” Dozens of firms have benefited from such strategic help, including Galloway & Macleod, a family-run animal feed »


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