E-business Policy
The Government's vision for ' A Smart, Successful Scotland' includes the challenge to the enterprise agencies of creating 'more e-business' by providing 'advice and support, to improve the awareness and take up of E-business amongst Scottish companies in order to accelerate business take up, accelerate supply development, create the right environment for change, and support the development of the right skills'. Other policy steers have also been provided by recommendations from groups such as the Scottish Parliament's Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee's report of their enquiry into the New Economy. In the European context, this direction is in keeping with the e-business objectives of the eEurope 2005 Action Plan.
Strategy
The Enterprise Agencies, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands & Islands Enterprise, are largely responsible for the provision of the support described in the policy above. Scottish Enterprise's strategy is set out in 'Connecting Scotland' which aims to accelerate uptake, accelerate supplier development, create the right environment, and develop the right skills. Most of Scottish Enterprise's e-business advice and assistance is delivered to businesses locally through the network. Around 1,400 businesses are assisted with e-business adoption issues each year by Scottish Enterprise.
Highlands & Islands Enterprise's e-business support programme is currently in its third and final year. It is funded by ERDF Special Transitional Programme and aims to advise and assist businesses to progress up the e-adoption ladder. Its stated target of assisting 750 existing and new companies was reached within the first year of the programme.
Impartial e-business advice is also available from other organisations including some Scottish Chambers of Commerce, notably Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, that have established E-business clubs in partnership with the DTI's UK online for business initiative and private sector partners.
Measurement
The Scottish E-Business Survey, undertaken by Scottish Enterprise in partnership with Highlands & Islands Enterprise and sponsored by private sector partners, is undertaken annually in order to measure progress towards agreed targets and ambitions, and to help tailor the forms of assistance available. The Scottish sample of the DTI's international benchmarking survey is also boosted to provide a more robust measure to compare Scotland with a range of comparable countries on various e-business measures.