Technological innovations Scotland.

This is how independence can boost our innovation nation status

Stephen Richard — Sun, 10 Oct 2021 09:39:09 +0000

This is how independence can boost our innovation nation status

Primary Author or Creator

The National

Stephen Richard Sun, 10/10/2021 - 10:39

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Believe in Scotland

Date Published

Tue, 03/30/2021 - 12:00

Category

Research

Economy

Type of Resource

News Media

Fast Facts

One of the key drivers of a successful economy is innovation. Scotland has a proven track record of being a highly innovative nation. This can be one of the foundations upon which to build an exciting economic future. Main elements are information technology, life sciences, software and gaming, and space technologies.

Resource Address (URL)

https://www.thenational.scot/news/19198918.independence-can-boost-innovation-na…

Keywords

Research Scotland.

Technological innovations Scotland.

Language English

Back to basics: Research and Development in Scotland

Stephen Richard — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 09:53:28 +0000

Back to basics: Research and Development in Scotland

Primary Author or Creator

Picture of Ben Cooper, assistant at the Fraser of Allander Institute Ben Cooper

Stephen Richard Mon, 09/13/2021 - 10:53

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Adam McGeoch, Fraser of Allander Institute

Date Published

Mon, 01/25/2021 - 12:00

Category

Research

Climate change

Type of Resource

Assessment report

Fast Facts

Investment in Scotland's R&D has evolved over the past few years. The challenges and opportunities for R&D in Scotland, and the future of R&D are reviewed.

More details

Scotland’s spend on research and development has increased in the past decade but its total spend on R&D lags behind the UK and other leading OECD countries. However, within the UK, London, and surrounding areas significantly skew the UK average and Scotland actually performs fairly well out of the 12 regions.

There are opportunities for Scotland to grow its R&D activity through additional funding and tax relief but to address questions surrounding how to incentivise R&D, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of the data available.

There are some limitations of the BERD data such as the under-coverage of small businesses and businesses in some industries such as finance. However, by looking at Scotland’s growth sector database we were able to analyse R&D activity in Scotland’s financial services sector. This sector, along with Scotland’s other growth sectors account for a large share of Scotland’s R&D and there are a lot of opportunities for growing Scotland’s research and development within these industries.

Continued growth in these sectors will require significant investment and policies that incentivise R&D activity must be in place. However, as this article has highlighted, decisions must not be based solely on data that has as many caveats as the GERD data.

Resource Address (URL)

https://fraserofallander.org/back-to-basics-research-and-development-in-scotlan…

Keywords

Research Scotland.

Technological innovations Scotland.

Research & Development investment

Language English

Scottish Space Agency – A discussion on Scotland’s place in the space industry

Stephen Richard — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 17:08:47 +0000

Scottish Space Agency – A discussion on Scotland’s place in the space industry

Primary Author or Creator

Craig Berry

Stephen Richard Mon, 09/06/2021 - 18:08

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Common Weal

Alternative Published Date

July 2017

Category

Research

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

This paper proposes a Scottish Space Agency and Spaceport to make Scotland a world leader in industry sector of the future.

More details

― Scotland should develop a Scottish Space Agency to drive the Scottish space industry in the right direction.

― Scotland needs to invest in the Scottish space infrastructure by developing a Scottish Spaceport, the first in the European Union before such infrastructure and jobs are developed elsewhere.

― 18% of all employees in the UK space industry are based in Scotland (7,000 jobs).

― UK labour productivity in the space sector is 2.7 times higher than the UK average, with Gross Value Added at £133,233 per employee.

― The space sector currently provides £134m net value to the Scottish economy.

― Investment in Research & Development as a percentage of total income has decreased sharply, from 90% in 2012/13 to 3% in 2014/15.

― The Brexit and Scottish independence transitions may cause problems, but it is difficult identify the exact nature of these problems until negotiations are completed.

― Cooperation is vital to keep the Scottish space industry healthy, working with the ESA, UKSA and many other space industries.

― Glasgow has recently sold the largest number of satellites out of all European cities.

― To further enhance the Scottish nanosatellite market, the Scottish Space Agency should look to develop a Federated Satellite System.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Scottish-Space-Agency.pdf

Keywords

Scottish Space Agency

Research & Development investment

Aerospace industry

Technological innovations Scotland.

Language English

Disruptive Technologies: the impact on workers in Scotland

Stephen Richard — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 09:01:53 +0000

Disruptive Technologies: the impact on workers in Scotland

Primary Author or Creator

Craig Berry

Stephen Richard Sun, 09/05/2021 - 10:01

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Common Weal

Date Published

Sat, 02/24/2018 - 12:00

Category

Service industries

Manufacturing

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

Automation and other disruptive technologies are being rapidly deployed into economies and planning is required to adapt economic policies so as to avoid job losses.

This paper by engineer and independent Common Weal researcher Craig Berry examines the impact of these disruptive technologies and offers solutions that will protect workers and allow Scotland to capture the benefits of new technology and innovation.

More details

― Many jobs in Scotland are or will soon be highly automatable. A new wave of development in computation puts many managerial and service jobs at risk.

― Up to a third of Scottish jobs may be replaceable by disruptive technologies such as automation.

― Whilst there is a strong correlation between the risk of disruption and media salary (with lower paid jobs at higher risk), the risk of replacement exists even for some highly paid jobs.

― There is a significant gender imbalance in automation risk. 34% of male workers are at risk of losing their job to automation compared to 26% of female workers.

― Several policies are proposed to mitigate the risk of disruption or to help people transition as jobs are replaced. These go beyond the normal political offer of “retraining” such as targeting investment to allow innovation, developing a cohesive industrial strategy for the 21st century, better workplace democracy to foster worker-led transitions, the creation of a Diversification Agency to reduce the risk of disruption across the economy and a Job Guarantee Scheme to support workers who do lose their job.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Disruptive-Technologies.pdf

Keywords

Automation

Technological innovations Scotland.

Service industries

Language English