Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE; gd, Iomairt na Gàidhealtachd 's nan Eilean) is the

development agency An aid agency, also known as development charity, is an organization dedicated to distributing aid. Many professional aid organisations exist, both within government, between governments as multilateral donors and as private voluntary organizatio ...

for the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1 ...

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 ...

. is an

executive 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 ...

of the Scottish Government. Its role is to "help build a prosperous, sustainable and inclusive economy across the Highlands and Islands, attracting more people to live, work, study, invest and visit."

History

HIE is the successor body to the Highlands and Islands Development Board (HIDB), which was launched on 1 November 1965, and was responsible for distributing government grants for economic and cultural development of the Highlands. The first chair of the HIDB was Professor

Robert Grieve Robert Cuthbert Grieve, VC (19 June 1889 – 4 October 1957) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Early life Born ...

. Retired diplomat Sir

Andrew Gilchrist Sir Andrew Graham Gilchrist (19 April 1910 – 6 March 1993) was a British Special Operations Executive operative who later served as the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Ireland, Indonesia, and Iceland during the Cold War. Early career in Fore ...

was its chairman from 1970 until 1976. In 1991 HIDB was replace by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which also took over responsibilities from the

Training Agency Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance ...

to form HIE. Iain Robertson, appointed as Chief Executive of the HIDB in 1990, continued to chair the new body. The new organisation aimed to be more decentralised, with decision making and budget control being develoved to a network of 10 Local Enterprise Companies, each with their own CEO. A major reshaping of the organisation in 1993 saw the number of divisions reduced from seven to five. In 2008 a further major restructure occurred, with careers advice and national training programmes transferred to a new national body- Skills Development Scotland. In 2014, HIE provided funding for the construction of the Harris distillery. Charlotte Wright was appointed as chief executive in June 2017, after holding the position of interim chief executive since the previous August.

Area covered by HIE

The HIDB originally covered the area defined as

crofting counties A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural ar ...

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the n ...

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded ...

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later c ...

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting ...

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in popula ...

and

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

. In 1975 the are covered was expanded to include the islands of Arran and Bute and those parts of the newly-formed

Highland council area Highland ( gd, A' Ghàidhealtachd, ; sco, Hieland) is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It shar ...

that were not already within its remit. In 1979 the HIDB area extended to also include the Clyde islands of

Great Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

and

Little Cumbrae Little Cumbrae ( sco, Wee Cumbrae, gd, Cumaradh Beag) or Little Cumbrae Island is an island in the Firth of Clyde, in North Ayrshire, Scotland. The island is known locally as Wee Cumbrae. Etymology The Gaelic name ''Cumaradh'' means "place of th ...

, and in 1986 it was extended again to cover

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland (council area), ...

. The current areas covered by HIE are: *Argyll and the Islands, covering

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...

except for the Helensburgh and Lomond area, plus Arran and the Cumbraes in

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east a ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

: ** Caithness and Sutherland **Inner Moray Firth (including

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histor ...

) **

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creatio ...

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

and Wester Ross *

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

Strategy

Highlands and Islands Enterprise's approach to economic and community development centres on working to build sustainable economic growth in all parts of the region. They are guided in this by the Scottish Government Economic Strategy, and by the Scottish Economic Recovery Plan. HIE operates across 13 offices throughout the Highlands and Islands including 10 Area Offices, from Benbecula to Forres and Lerwick to Lochgilphead. HIE's purpose is to deliver the Scottish Government's Economic Strategy which aims to create a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth. The strategy sets five strategic objectives, for Scotland to become: *Wealthier and fairer *Smarter *Healthier *Safer and stronger *Greener The HIE Operating Plan outlines the investment priorities for its annual budget in line with the national economic strategy. The Scottish Government's skills strategy, Skills for Scotland, also informs HIE's remit. The skills strategy highlights the importance to economic growth of equipping people with skills, expertise and knowledge, and ensuring their full and productive use. While Skills Development Scotland is the leading body in this field, HIE continues to have a strong interest in aspects of skills in the region. In particular, it supports workforce development. HIE also helped to create learning infrastructure and assisted

UHI Millennium Institute The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) is an integrated, tertiary institution encompassing both further and higher education. It is composed of 12 colleges and research institutions spread around the Highlands and Islands, Moray and Pe ...

in becoming the University of the Highlands and Islands. HIE are now based on the new university campus at An Lochrann. The equivalent organisation for central and eastern Scotland is

Scottish Enterprise Scottish Enterprise is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business. The body covers the eastern and central parts of Scotland whilst similar ...

; the development agency for the south of the country is South of Scotland Enterprise. The three development agencies jointly operate Scottish Development International, which seeks to support Scottish companies to grow their exports.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Highlands And Islands Enterprise Executive non-departmental public bodies of the Scottish Government Highlands and Islands of Scotland Community-building organizations Development agencies of Scotland Organisations based in Inverness 1991 establishments in Scotland Government agencies established in 1991