“… prosperity on a national scale – mass flourishing – comes from broad involvement of people in the process of innovation: the conception, development and spread of new methods and products – indigenous innovation down to the grassroots.” – Edmund Phelps

 

The SUII call for proposals in autumn 2015 focused on the theme of fostering cultures of innovation – one of the strands in Scotland’s Economic Strategy published in March 2015. Applicants were asked to address one or all of the following questions:

  • What are the main features of vibrant and effective innovation systems and cultures, which combine both creativity and practical implementation?
  • How best can these features be stimulated and developed?
  • What are the most effective ways of assessing progress in developing cultures of innovation?
  • What are the implications for policy makers and practitioners (in the public, private and third sectors), who are trying to foster a culture of innovation and be more innovative themselves?
     

The five successful programmes were:

Rewriting the rulebook of landownership: analysing and assessing the economics of community land ownership

Adoption of stroke rehabilitation technologies by the user community

Understanding, forming and fostering a culture of transformative innovation in health and social care 

Progressive and creative practice in workplace innovation 

Fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation to drive the circular economy in the Scottish bioeconomy
 

SUII is grateful for the support of the following organisations which were part of an informal steering group for the programme:
Scotland’s Futures Forum, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Parliament, Scottish Government, Audit Scotland, SCVO, Oxfam Scotland, Volunteer Scotland, Cultural Enterprise Office and EDAS.

 

The findings from each of the programmes were presented at a final workshop hosted by Scotland's Futures Forum at the Scottish Parliament in November 2016. Videos of the talks given by each programme are available on the right. SUII Director, Charlie Woods, draws out some of the common themes that emerged across the programmes in the clip below.