National Strategy for Economic Transformation: annual progress report June 2023

Annex A – Action Progress Status

Programme 1: Entrepreneurial People & Culture

Action 1 - Entrepreneurial Learning

In progress

Action 2 - Embed entrepreneurship in Young Person’s Guarantee to cultivate the business leaders of tomorrow by exposing them to first-rate start-up techniques & experiences & presenting business start-up as an aspirational, realistic & fulfilling career choice

Complete

Action 3 - Scotland’s Apprenticeship System

Not started

Action 4 - Entrepreneurial Campus

In progress

Action 5 - Develop innovative, industry-led pathways to redirect the best entrepreneurial talent into building new companies

In progress

Action 6 - Create a national system of “pre-scaler hubs”

In progress

Action 7 - Expand the scope of the current tech-scaler programme

In progress

Action 8 - Develop and align private sector incubators

Not started

Action 9 - Attract the world’s best private sector accelerators to Scotland

Not started

Action 10 - Access to support programmes from amongst the most under-represented groups

In progress

Action 11 - Appoint a Chief Entrepreneur to ensure entrepreneurship is embedded in the economy & partnerships with industry & investors are prioritised & strengthened

In progress

Action 12 - Attract international entrepreneurs to Scotland

In progress

Action 13 - Attract entrepreneurial students

Not started

Action 14 - Enhance Scotland’s profile at key international set pieces

In progress

Action 15 - Build strategic partnerships with other key entrepreneurial ecosystems

Not started

Action 16 - Expand application of entrepreneurial thinking & approaches to public service reform & ensure staff at every level working in the public & third sectors are exposed to entrepreneurial training as part of ongoing professional development. Implement metrics to reward entrepreneurial approaches & activity within public sector bodies

Not started

Action 17 - CivTech programme a mandatory part of the way in which the big change programmes of Government are delivered

Not started

Action 18 - Build on the success of CivTech, leveraging public procurement to stimulate more business start-ups and support Scottish scale ups.

Not started

Action 19 - Proactively promote business start-up opportunities to those at risk of redundancy through Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) programme

Not started

Programme 2: New Market Opportunities

Action 20 - Deliver on our export plan which takes a targeted sector and country approach to raising Scotland international exports

In progress

Action 21 - Promote Scotland as an innovative test bed for new technologies and markets

In progress

Action 22 - Provide public sector R&D grant support & finance

In progress

Action 23 - Provide capital investment to support renewable hydrogen production

In progress

Action 24 - Deliver on the ambitions of ScotWind and future renewable energy developments

In progress

Action 25 - Expand the Supply Chain Development Programme

In progress

Action 26 - Adopt a cluster building approach to strengthen our position in new markets

In progress

Action 27 - Review our strategic approach to public ownership so that public companies are managed, developed & initiated for the public good & work collaboratively to provide support and advice to identify opportunities to establish successful public companies

In progress

Action 28 - Establish FM co-chaired investor panel to attract investment for pipeline of projects that support our transition to Net Zero

In progress

Action 29 - Improve access to private capital for business investment & growth

In progress

Action 30 - Expand and enhance our Green Investment Portfolio

In progress

Action 31 - Establish a values led, high integrity market for responsible private capital investment in natural capital

Not started

Action 78^[1] - Deliver Inward Investment Plan to attract high quality inward investment & technologies into sectors such as energy transition, tech & space

In progress

Programme 3: Productive Businesses and Regions

Action 32 - Deliver the Strategic Transport Projects Review 2

Complete

Action 33 - Provide an efficient, resilient digital infrastructure including continued investment in improved broadband, fibre & mobile coverage for residential & business premises. Enhance the resilience of digital infrastructure through direct international links to the internet & development of data centres aligned with renewable power sources

In progress

Action 34 - Establish a Digital Productivity Fund supporting business to improve firm-level productivity

In progress

Action 35 - Develop joint actions to increase digital understanding & adoption

In progress

Action 36 - Design & implement programmes on the practical actions business & leaders can take to boost productivity, at scale

Not started

Action 37 - Design & implement Team Scotland leadership programme across public & private sectors to attract & develop ambitious, skilled, empowered leaders

In progress

Action 38 - Appoint Productivity Ambassadors to promote understanding of driving productivity improvements, build international networks with their peers & deliver learning as part of the Team Scotland leadership programme

Not started

Action 39 - Establish a measure of the resilience of the economy, monitoring, assessing & identifying actions to future-proof the productivity of Scotland’s economy over the long term, including on issues such as climate adaptation, cyber security, international trade links and critical domestic supply chains

Not started

Action 40 - Launch the Centre for Workplace Transformation^[2]

Not started

Action 41 - Expand SCDI-led network of Productivity Clubs for businesses to use peer-to-peer learning to identify opportunities to improve productivity

Not started

Action 42 - Reinforce commitment to regional collaboration through Regional Policy Review & work with Regional Economic Partnerships to deliver strategies with regional economic policies & tailor interventions to evidenced regional strengths & opportunities. Identify the transformational interventions in local economies, including infrastructure investment, attracting inward investment or supporting local networks of businesses. Work with regional partners, trade unions & businesses to co-produce key sectoral & regional Just Transition plans & ensure that those impacted have a voice

In progress

Action 43 - Introduce Community Wealth Building legislation

In progress

Action 44 - Undertake & publish review of how to increase the number of social enterprises, employee-owned businesses & cooperatives in Scotland, supporting regional regeneration & the wealth of local communities. Learn lessons from others, best practice

In progress

Programme 4: Skilled Workforce

Action 45 - Develop proposals for a national digital academy focussed around the provision of SCQF level 6 qualifications including Highers, to open up access to a wide array of subjects to a wider array of learners – likely to include broadening young people’s access to subjects which may not be available locally, as well as supporting post-school learners to access learning later in life & around other commitments

Not started

Action 46 - Deliver the national strategy on adult learning

In progress

Action 47 - Deliver key actions from the Scottish Funding Council Review of Coherent Provision and Sustainability

In progress

Action 48 - Implement next phase of the Green Jobs Workforce Academy & launch new skills guarantee for workers in carbon intensive industries

In progress

Action 49 and Action 50 (Actions Combined) - Implement a lifetime upskilling and retraining offer that is more straightforward for people and business to access and benefit from

In progress

Action 51 - Develop a new Skills Pact to underpin our commitment to strong partnership working with both employers and unions

Not started

Actions 52 + 53 (Actions Combined) - Expand Scotland’s Available Talent Pool

In progress

Action 54 - Systematically address Scotland’s labour market inactivity challenges

In progress

Programme 5: Fairer and More Equal Society

Action 55 - Apply Fair Work conditionality to grants, requiring payment of real Living Wage & channels for effective workers’ voice by summer 2022

In progress

Action 56 - Deliver the commitment to require payment of the real Living Wage in Scottish Government contracts from October 2021

In progress

Action 57 - Work with employers & trade unions in sectors where low pay & precarious work can be most prevalent (i.e., hospitality & early learning & childcare) to promote sectoral fair work agreements & collective bargaining to achieve higher standards of pay, better security of work & greater union representation

In progress

Action 58 - Build on findings from the Business Purpose Commission Report to inform how businesses can deliver positive impacts on prosperity, wellbeing & environmental sustainability

Complete

Action 59 - Set out how we will support parents to increase incomes from employment within the next Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan to be published end of March 2022

Complete

Action 60 - Simplify the employability system by implementing No One Left Behind (NOLB), combining funding streams & transfer investment from national to local governance to enable delivery of person-centred, place-based integrated support. Fair Start Scotland contracts end in March 2023, offering significant opportunity for further NOLB investment

In progress

Action 61 - Ensure Every Contact Counts in delivering an aligned, integrated offer of support for those seeking to move towards, into or progressing within the labour market, & ensure that individuals & families have access to advice and services they need to thrive, including housing, health, affordable & flexible childcare & transport offers

In progress

Action 62 - Take further steps to remove barriers to employment & career advancement for disabled people, women, those with care experience & people from minority ethnic groups

In progress

Action 63 - Build on the principles of the Young Person’s Guarantee, developing an all age guarantee of support for those most disadvantaged in the labour market, with an initial focus on parents from the six priority family groups at risk of child poverty

Not started

Action 64 - Establish Centre of Expertise in Equality & Human Rights in Scottish Government

In progress

Programme 6: New Culture of Delivery

Action 65 - Restructure Enterprise &Skills Strategic Board into National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET) Delivery Board

Complete

Action 66 - Establish the Scottish Government Economic Leadership Group

Not started

Action 67 - Introduce common accountability framework with delivery partners

Complete

Action 68 - Provide multi-year budgets through Resource Spending Reviews

Complete

Action 69 - Ensure NSET Board has best available public sector, academic & private data

In progress

Action 70 - Establish a programme to transform the way in which the public sector in Scotland provides support for workers and businesses. This includes reviewing the products & services available, tailoring them & targeting grant support to delivery of aims

In progress

Action 71 - Ensure strategic guidance to key delivery agencies aligns with priorities & delivers programmes of action set out in the strategy & is consistent with multi-year budgeting to allow delivery partners to plan ahead

In progress

Action 72 - Target support effectively to businesses in every region by introducing a common business identifier to be used by every delivery partner. Work with businesses to design target operating model used by delivery partners & develop supporting technical, data architecture for future services. Improve quality & accessibility of Scotland’s business, skills & other relevant data held across the delivery landscape

Not started

Action 73 - Work with stakeholders to consider how regulation can be used to support economic & societal aims. Use to improve the approach to future regulation & guidance

Not started

Action 74 - Finalise detailed delivery plans within six months of strategy publication, setting out how programmes will be taken forward

Complete

Action 75 - Publish progress report from NSET board to enhance public accountability

Complete

Action 76 - Publish a wellbeing economy monitor

Complete

Action 77 - Ensure a consistent approach to evaluation to drive continuous improvement

In progress

Action 79^[3] - Lead work with business and across government on re-setting the relationship with business through delivering on recommendations made by the New Deal Group for Business.

In progress