Scottish Enterprise is a

non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of n ...

of the Scottish Government which encourages

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

, innovation and

investment Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...

in business. The body covers the eastern and

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

parts of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

whilst similar bodies,

Highlands and Islands Enterprise Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE; gd, Iomairt na Gàidhealtachd 's nan Eilean) is the development agency for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. Its role is to "hel ...

and

South of Scotland Enterprise South of Scotland Enterprise ( gd, Iomairt Ceann a Deas na h-Alba) is the development agency for southern Scotland, covering the council areas of Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the ...

, operate in north-western and southern Scotland, respectively.

History

The body is a successor in part to the wide-ranging Scottish Development Agency which was established in 1975. The first Chairman of the SDA was Sir William Gray former Lord Provost of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. and the first Chief Executive was Dr, later Sir Lewis Robertson. The first year of its operation was 1977/78 with its functions described here in its first Annual Report 1978. Scottish Enterprise was created on 1 April 1991 under the Enterprise and New Towns (Scotland) Act 1990. That act dissolved the Scottish Development Agency (SDA), created in 1975 and the Highlands and Islands Development Board forming Scottish Enterprise alongside

. Scottish Enterprise was created with a structure of Local Enterprise Companies (LECs). Initially these were Limited Companies with boards led by local businesspeople, but from 2000 they became wholly owned subsidiaries of Scottish Enterprise and were subsequently wound up. International trade and investment arm

Scottish Development International Scottish Development International (SDI) is the international arm of the Scottish Government and Scotland's enterprise agencies, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise. The agency supports interna ...

was established in 2001 by merging the export promotion agency, Scottish Trade International (STI; 1991–2001) and the foreign direct investment and inward investment agency, Locate in Scotland (LiS; 1981–2001). It is jointly operated by Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise. On 1 April 2008, the skills function of Scottish Enterprise moved out of the organisation to the newly formed

Skills Development Scotland Skills Development Scotland (SDS) is the national skills agency of Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. History Created on 1 April 2008, SDS is a merger of former organisations and services which ...

. Lena Wilson became the Chief Executive in 2009. She had previously led Scottish Development International. Lena Wilson left Scottish Enterprise in October 2017 after she was awarded a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for her contribution to Scotland in 2015. Wilson had also lead the government's "Scottish Oil & Gas jobs taskforce" whose task was completed in 2017. She had received criticism from the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

over taking a paid, non-executive directorship with the multinational product testing and certification company

Intertek Intertek Group plc is a British multinational assurance, inspection, product testing and certification company headquartered in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History I ...

. Wilson had been paid £214,000 a year and she was replaced by Steve Dunlop, Chief Executive of

Scottish Canals Scottish Canals is the Scottish Government body responsible for managing the country's inland waterways. Formerly a division of British Waterways, it became a stand-alone executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government on 2 J ...

, who was offered £168,000. Steve Dunlop was still one of the top paid civil servants in Scotland. Dunlop resigned in 2020 and Linda Hanna became the interim CEO in the same month.

Structure

Former Waterloo Street Post Office, Parcels Office

Scottish Enterprise has around 1,100 staff based in fourteen offices across the UK and a further 33 overseas. Organisational structure consists of a board headed by chairman, Bob Keiller to oversee fulfilment of the objectives established by the Scottish Government and an executive leadership team responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation. The leadership team consists of: *Adrian Gillespie - Chief Executive *Linda Hanna - Managing Director, Strategy and Sectors *Jane Martin - Managing Director, Customer Operations *Iain Scott - Chief Financial Officer *Carolyn Stewart - Managing Director, People *Paul Lewis - Managing Director, International Operations

Finances

Scottish Enterprise is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, although it also raises part of its budget from other sources such as property rental and disposal of assets. The Scottish Government's draft spending plans for 2018/2019 allocated £256 million to Scottish Enterprise and

Partners

Scottish Enterprise works with a range of other local, national and international strategic partners, from industry and the public sector to help deliver its wider range of services and sector-specific support across international trade, innovation, investment and

inclusive growth Inclusive growth is economic growth that raises standards of livings for broad swaths of a population. Proponents for inclusive growth warn that inequitable growth may have adverse political outcomes. The definition of inclusive growth implies dire ...

. These include: *

Scottish National Investment Bank The Scottish National Investment Bank is a Scottish state-owned investment and national development bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Although referred to as a bank, it does not do normal banking operations nor accepts deposits. The bank uses ...

(since 2020) *

VisitScotland VisitScotland, formerly the Scottish Tourist Board, is a national tourism organisation for Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, and other ...

Business Gateway Business Gateway is a Scottish Government resource that offers advice and guidance to startup companies and established companies across Scotland. Business Gateway is the Scottish equivalent of Business Link Business Link was a governm ...

Scottish Funding Council The Scottish Funding Council (Scottish Gaelic: '; SFC), referred to more formally as the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, is the non-departmental public body charged with funding Scotland's further and higher education i ...

Department for International Trade The Department for International Trade (DIT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Government responsible for striking and extending trade agreements between the U ...

Scottish Enterprise's international trade services are supported by

, the international arm of Scotland's enterprise agencies.

References

{{Authority control Development agencies of Scotland

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

1991 establishments in Scotland Government agencies established in 1991 Organisations based in Glasgow Business in Scotland