The country faces persistent economic challenges: sluggish productivity, high economic inactivity, and yawning inequalities across communities, regions and generations.
Innovation – in the public and private sector – is the only sustainable route to longterm economic growth. But mismatched incentives mean markets will under-invest in innovation, and the public sector may not prioritise it. Realising the full benefits of innovation requires subsidy, coordination and co-location; and active efforts to ensure benefits reach all corners of society. That in turn requires active partnership between researchers, firms and the government. If it can address these challenges, Scotland can end fifteen years of productivity stagnation not by simply increasing spending or cutting taxes, but by generating and applying new ideas – especially in sectors where it already has strengths: clean energy, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing.