Smart successful Perthshire? Have your say

by Paul Kyle

The Scottish Executive recently launched a refreshed Smart Successful Scotland which sets out the strategic direction to the Enterprise Network and an enterprise strategy for Scotland. Further details of this can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/enterprise/sss.pdf. The document sets out the priorities for Scottish businesses as:

• Growing Businesses - innovative companies growing in scale
• Skills and Learning - developing skills to make best use of our human capital and prepare for tomorrows labour market.
• Global connections - world class locations, part of Europe and connected to the global economy.

Smart Successful Scotland also stresses the importance of working in partnership, allowing resources financial and otherwise to be pooled. It also sets out a spatial direction and how the policy can contribute to Economic Growth through three main areas.

• City Regions and rural development
• Regeneration - a coordinated approach to regeneration of infrastructure, skills and services
• Strengthening communities - role of public sector in enabling capacity building within communities

The Perth & Kinross Economic Partnership operates on a partnership basis in line with Smart Successful Scotland. The Partnership is currently revising the local Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan to ensure it is aligned with Smart Successful Scotland.

The current local strategy recognised the following Economic challenges

• To diversify the business base - increasing the size number and range of businesses in the Perth & Kinross area.
• To maximise our assets - including central position and location branding
• Develop a 'must see' tourist attraction for the area.
• To benefit from technology
• To help more people into better quality employment
• To make more effort to grow indigenous businesses and attracting new talent and experienced skilled people to the area.
• To sustain and develop a rural economy

In the light of the amended Smart Successful Scotland, the question arises are these still the challenges facing the area or do they need to be amended and revised.

A draft version of the Perth & Kinross Economic Development Strategy and Action plan is now available for consultation - comments would be very welcome prior to the next meeting of the Economic Partnership. If you wish to download the strategy, visit www.perthshire.com/business, click on Perth & Kinross Economic Development Strategy and Joint Action Plan 2005 - 2010 and send your comments to iscott@pkc.gov.uk who will collate them and ensure your views are heard by the Perth & Kinross Economic Partnership.