ICT Industry Strategy For Consultation
ICT Industry Strategy for Consultation
Scottish Enterprise has established six Priority Industries - key sectors where Scotland has world class technology, natural advantage or an existing critical mass. One of these is Digital Markets and Enabling Technologies (DMET), of which Scotland’s ICT sector is a key component.
Around a year ago, Scottish Enterprise tasked an Industry Advisory Group (IAG) with developing a strategic framework for development of the ICT industry in Scotland. The IAG has around 20 members, drawn from small and large organisations in the software and IT sectors, academia, and the public sector.
The IAG's target has been to create a strategy for development of the Scottish ICT sector that will be adopted by public and private sector alike. The strategy will be used to inform and focus public sector interventions in support of the ICT industry in Scotland. Implementation of the strategy will be taken forward jointly by industry, academia, and a number of public sector organisations.
The Process to date
The ICT IAG has examined the strengths and weaknesses of the Scottish ICT sector, taking into account international comparisons, and the challenges of competing in a global market. The group has concentrated on identifying those areas where interventions could make the greatest difference to the economic health and impact of the industry in Scotland. The attached document outlines a framework to address these, and is a final draft.
Consultation
On behalf of the IAG, ScotlandIS is facilitating a consultation around the strategy, and we invite you to contribute your views. The Strategy has the endorsement of the ScotlandIS board. The ICT Strategy document can be downloaded here, and should be read in conjunction with the Strategy Implementation Ideas paper.
The Strategy Implementation Ideas paper is very much a work-in-progress document, included for background purposes only at this stage (i.e., not for review), which we hope will help you to understand some of the thinking behind the “headlines” of the strategy document. It identifies a number of detailed interventions that could contribute to the main areas of development outlined in the strategy document. The group is currently working on these ideas, with the aim that we will produce an initial Implementation Plan shortly, covering the first year of work following publication of the strategy.
The Scottish ICT Industry Strategy paper identifies the five main areas for development, which the group believes will have maximum impact. Our plan is that a refined version of this document will be published in the near future, to be reviewed and re-published on an annual basis thereafter. This is the document we would like you to review, and to comment on.
If you have any questions on any of the above, please don't hesitate to contact the ScotlandIS team on 01506 472200.