Enabling the Digital Economy
Enabling the Digital Economy.
Research on Scotland’s Digital Enablement Programmes.
The role of the COVID-19 pandemic in speeding the transition of business activity online has accentuated the part played by government support for business, especially SMEs. Against this backdrop, Additional Research, with Context Economics and Add Specialists, carried out an evaluation of several of Scotland’s main digital enablement programmes for SMEs on behalf of COSLA (Scotland’s local authority body), The Scottish Government and Highlands & Islands Enterprise.
The digital world continues to evolve rapidly, and businesses and support agencies need to be alive to the evolution of digital technologies and capabilities to retain and improve competitiveness. In Scotland, a recent digital strategy, ‘A changing nation: how Scotland will thrive in a digital world’, seeks to ensure that Scotland is able to take advantage of the opportunities of the digital age and build on the acceleration of the digital economy arising from the pandemic and ensure that this is sustainable.
There is indeed some evidence of a modest improvement in the digital ‘maturity’ of Scotland’s businesses. The 2021 Digital Economy Business Survey reveals a small but positive shift in the maturity of businesses, up from the previous surveys in 2014 and 2017, yet the bulk remain in what is characterised as the basic or intermediate levels of digital maturity.
Therefore, there is a vital need for Scotland’s digital support programmes to fit the needs of SMEs and to continually evolve to meet the changing demand. Unsurprisingly, recent demand for digital support has been high, with, for instance, consistently high demand for the support provided by the local authority delivered, Scottish Government funded, Business Gateway (via the ‘Digital Boost’ service) (which includes a range of online resources and 1-2-1 consultancy support) and rapid uptake of the recent rounds of Scottish Government funded Digital Development Grants and Loans (project related co-financing of up to £25k).
“A key challenge for delivery partners is helping clients identify and respond to need in a broader and deeper set of digital technologies. ”
A central finding of the research was that while digital support recipients received moderate to high levels of benefit from the evaluated programmes, these tended to focus on the ‘entry-point’ aspects of digital enablement (such as website development and social media use). A key challenge for delivery partners is helping clients identify and respond to need in a broader and deeper set of digital technologies which have a greater potential to raise business performance and productivity.
The research made use of a mixed methods approach, with a stakeholder consultation programme, beneficiary surveys and beneficiary case studies.
A number of recommendations were presented in the research report to inform decision-making in an area where the Scottish Government has committed to investing significant new funds to support businesses develop their digital capability and capacity including: further strengthening the strategic coordination of enablement programmes to avoid overlaps and gaps in provision; as well as actions to raise awareness of the benefits of investing in digital technologies and services, and of the support available; expanding the offer to meet demand; and providing increased up-front audit and advice to SMEs to inform their digital enablement journey.
Alastair McPherson, Additional Research.
amcpherson@additionalresearch.co.uk