Investment in Scottish innovation hits £74 million

Scottish Enterprise (SE) has revealed that investment in new research and development projects with companies in Scotland totalled £74 million in 2010/11.

The figures, announced at today’s Scottish Technology Showcase, show that through its suite of R&D and innovation funds, SE invested £20 million in 179 separate projects with companies in Scotland. This helped to leverage a further £54 million investment in the projects by the companies themselves.

The investment, through the R&D, WATERS and SMART: SCOTLAND grants, is helping companies to develop new products, increase their competitiveness and access new markets, both at home and overseas. It’s also helping sustain and create employment and is building on the strengths of Scotland in growth sectors such as renewables and life sciences.

Speaking at the Scottish Technology Showcase, Paul Lewis, managing director of sectors and commercialisation at Scottish Enterprise, said: “These are very encouraging results. Over the past twelve months, we’ve supported more projects through our R&D funds and leveraged significant investment from the private sector.

“This is helping companies to sharpen their competitive edge and encouraging them to exploit new technology to improve their business. It’s supporting growth in those sectors where Scotland can compete internationally. This is vitally important, especially when you consider that independent research has shown that companies which continually innovate grow twice as fast as those that don’t.

“If we are to accelerate Scotland’s economy and boost long term growth and employment, we need to help more Scottish companies adopt this innovative mindset and our R&D funds are one of the ways we’re doing that.”

John Swinney, MSP and Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth said: “Scotland is recognised internationally for innovation and our role in shaping our modern world. As a nation, we have a long tradition of research and development excellence and this is demonstrated through the 300 companies exhibiting their business solutions at the Scottish Technology Showcase.

“The Scottish Government recognises the economic and social value of ensuring Scotland remains a hotbed of ideas and innovation and this is why more than £74.7 million of support was granted by Scottish Enterprise to research and development projects over the past year.

“This Government’s future economic vision for Scotland has a renewed focus on our growth companies, our growth sectors and growth markets. This includes doing all we can to capitalising on Scotland’s valuable knowledge and research base to encourage new economic opportunities and growth.”

One of the largest R&D grants to be awarded in the past year was to Toshiba Medical Visualisation Systems (TMVS) for £3 million towards the development of new medical imaging technology that will make it easier for clinicians to diagnose and plan treatment for patients in areas such as heart disease and cancer.

Other examples of innovative technology being developed in Scotland as a result of SE’s Innovation grants include:

• Gigle in Edinburgh – creators of cutting-edge chip technology for multi-media home networking;
• Dundee based Dynamo Games - an award-winning games developers working within the social, smartphone and tablet gaming sectors; and
• Antoxis from Aberdeen – developers of drug compounds to lead the fight against cell-damaging free-radicals, associated with conditions such as Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

Companies operating in the energy sector secured the most number of grants with 49 projects receiving £8.6 million of SE investment, which leveraged £28.5 million from the companies. This reflects an increased focus on supporting the growth of the renewables sector and supporting the development of low carbon technologies.

Almost 60% of the projects supported over the past year were with companies operating in Scotland’s central belt. However, the number of projects in Aberdeen doubled in 2010/11 compared to the previous year, rising to 31.

Paul Lewis continued: “We know that embracing innovation is a key driver of growth and companies that innovate are more productive, they trade more overseas and they employ more people.

“Our goal at Scottish Enterprise is to help create a culture of innovation within all companies and all sectors across all parts of Scotland. Our R&D funds are one way we’re addressing this but so too is our wider innovation support and specific programmes for key sectors such as the Food and Health Innovation Service, Interactive Scotland and our Tourism Innovation Fund.

The Scottish Technology Showcase is Scotland’s largest cross-sector technology event and will provide innovative and practical technology solutions for companies to help them address real business challenges while a range of Scottish technology companies will be showcasing their innovative technology in action.

Up to 1500 local and international businesses and technology leaders from various industries are set to attend to network with key technology experts and learn how to improve their productivity and competitiveness.

Also speaking at the event was Christian Torkington, Group Information & Operations Director at Standard Life. He said: “Technology has reshaped the business landscape. It has forced companies to rethink how they operate and the manner in which they interact with the new digital consumer. All businesses, regardless of size and sector, must ensure technology innovation is part of their business model because if they don’t they risk being left behind.

“A flourishing technology industry is crucial to Scotland’s economic growth. And it is vital it gets the right investment decisions to allow businesses to flourish in this sphere. If we get this right, there is no reason why Scotland can’t be pioneers in technology innovation across the world.”

Ends

Read David Smith's commentary about the importance of innovation for Scotland's economy

Hear how Dyanmo Games benefited from SE's innovation support to grow its business