Smart Scotland is a high profile innovation support grant scheme in Scotland aimed at small and medium-sized firms. It supports commercially viable projects which represent a significant technological advance for the UK sector or industry concerned.
The grant supports technology development through:
* Technical and Commercial
Feasibility Studies
A feasibility study is an assessment of the practicality of a project or system. A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats pr ...
. These should involve early stage
R&D, the outcome of which will enable informed decisions on the technical and commercial feasibility of a new
product
Product may refer to:
Business
* Product (business), an item that serves as a solution to a specific consumer problem.
* Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution
Mathematics
* Produ ...
or
process
A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic.
Things called a process include:
Business and management
*Business process, activities that produce a specific se ...
.
* Research and Development Projects that aim to develop a pre-production prototype of a new product or process.
Criteria
Applicants must be based in
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 ...
or planning to set up in Scotland and must meet the
European Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
definition of a small and medium-sized enterprise which in summary means they must:
* have less than 250 employees (full-time equivalent world-wide, including partners and executive directors) and have either
* an annual
turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million and/or
* an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million.
Awards are judged according to technological, intellectual property, financial and commercial aspects of the application as well as the management expertise available to the business. In addition other aspects such as the project's implications on society such as environmental impact,
sustainability
Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...
and
health and safety
Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...
may be taken into account.
History
The grant was launched in Scotland as SMART in 1999. By April 2007, grants had been given to almost 400 businesses across Scotland amounting to some £14.7 million funding. In April 2007, SMART was relaunched as the "SMART:SCOTLAND" Programme.
See also
*
Scottish Government
*
*
Economy of Scotland
The economy of Scotland is an Open economy, open mixed economy which, in 2020, had an estimated nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $205 billion including oil and gas extraction in Scottish waters. Since the Acts of Union 1707, Scotland's ...
References
External links
Official website
{{Improve categories, date=December 2022
Credit
Business in Scotland
Innovation in the United Kingdom
1999 establishments in Scotland
Research and development