Publication - Progress report
National innovation strategy: scorecard - 2025 update
The national innovation strategy first published an innovation scorecard in 2023, tracking Scotland's performance against key metrics compiled from publicly available data. In the second annual update to the scorecard, Scotland’s innovation performance is compared to UK and global peers.
1. Overview
| Ecosystem | Latest Available Data | Performance Assessment | Relative Performance (Compared to UK regions) | Relative Performance (Compared to EU273 or OECDɸ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D Spending | Investment | 2023 | Performance Worsening | Incomplete data¥ | 2nd Quartileɸ |
| Patents Applications Granted | Concept | 2024 | Performance Worsening | 2nd Quartile | 2nd Quartile3 |
| Academic Income from Business & Community Interactions | Concept | 2023/24 | Performance Worsening | 1st Quartile | No data |
| Risk Capital (Deals Under £10 million) | Convert | 2024 | Performance Worsening | 2nd Quartile* | No data |
| Business Enterprise R&D (BERD) Jobs | Convert | 2022 | Performance to be Confirmed† | 4th Quartile | 1st Quartile3 |
| High Growth Businesses | Commercialise | 2023 | Performance Improving | 4th Quartile | 4th Quartile3 |
| Later-Stage Equity (Deals £10 million and Above) | Commercialise | 2024 | Performance Improving | 2nd Quartile* | No data |
| Innovation Active Businesses | Adoption | 2020-2022 | No data update this year (next update 2026) | 4th Quartile | 3rd Quartileɸ |
¥ Regional breakdown is unavailable as ONS has withheld some data due to disclosure issues.
† No change to the BERD Jobs indicator in the Innovation Scorecard 2025 Update from the 2024 Update (Due to revisions to ONS methodology)
* Data available for overall risk capital relative performance only (compared to UK regions).
Contact
Email: innovation@gov.scot