Last summer the Scottish Government published a review of the Scottish tech ecosystem [1] prepared by former COO of Skyscanner Mark Logan.
As reported in the review, the Scottish Technology Ecosystem, although vibrant, has not yet reached its “tipping point” that would allow it to operate without or with reduced external help. The review proposes a range of interventions to accelerate the maturity of the Scottish tech ecosystem and reach a critical mass of viable start‑ups and scale up companies capable of feeding into each other. Chapters 5 and 6 of the review provide a list of 34 recommendations articulated around five axes succinctly summarised as follows:
- The building of a national network of incubators centres, dubbed “Tech-Scaler”, designed to provide long‑term incubation space, free start‑up education and a social infrastructure where people can meet and collaborate with each other.
- The development and attraction of talent fostered within school, university, and activities outside the traditional academic paths, referred to as “funnel‑widener”, such as CodeClan. At school level computing science should be treated as a core subject like Mathematics. Other key recommendations include increasing university funding to create more local software engineers.
- A social infrastructure referred to as “market square” where people can meet and collaborate with each other. Learning from international best practice should be promoted by supporting tech and investor conferences. Existing networks such as Global Scot and the Scottish Business Network should also be utilised to benefit from Scottish talents based abroad.
- The establishment of four special funds to support the Tech‑Scalers, the foundation of talents, the building of an ecosystem and the social infrastructure mentioned above. For instance, a Tech‑Scaler grant fund integrated within the Tech‑Scaler network is proposed.
- A close partnership between the government and the local venture capital community to support the flow of investment funding to start‑ups.
Since the publication of the review the Scottish Government has announced [2] the establishment of five technology hubs (the “tech scalers” referred in the review) with an initial investment of £4 million to support the next generation of Scottish start‑ups. In addition, an Ecosystem Fund is being setup that will aim at facilitating strategic investment in the technology sector.
Scottish Universities are also taking actions to implement several recommendations of the review. In its response to the review [3], the University of Edinburgh has announced the deepening of its partnership with Codebase to deliver the Tech Scaler in Edinburgh and proposed additional grants and mechanisms to support student entrepreneurship.
In Glasgow, the University of Strathclyde recently revealed the appointment of eight Senior Enterprise Fellows (including Mark Logan himself) to help create a world‑leading entrepreneurship ecosystem as part of the Strathclyde Inspire Programme.
The Logan review reminds us that it is not only the creation of start-ups that should be looked after but also the ecosystem in which these companies can evolve and flourish. The management of new ideas starts with a recognition of the idea itself followed by a sound management of the intellectual property being generated. This is more easily said than done, as Entrepreneurs must consider many different aspects of their business and dedicate resources accordingly. The review includes IP management as one of the “basic operation hygiene” that should be taught as part of a high‑quality foundational start‑up education. To put it simply, we could not agree more and look forward to supporting existing and future entrepreneurs in their journey!
[1] https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-technology-ecosystem-review/pages/2/
[2] https://www.gov.scot/news/embargoed-gbp-4-million-for-technology-sector/
[4] https://www.strath.ac.uk/whystrathclyde/news/strathclydeappointsseniorenterprisefellows/
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