Consultation on a new Enterprise Agency for the South of Scotland

I disgaree with the objectives set out as they do not indicate how they will do things differently to actually improve the economy of the South of Scotland. If there's to be a seperate South of Scotland Agency, it's objectives should be based on the challenges which are specific to the South of Scotland. The objectives above do nothing to outline what these specific issues are, and how a seperate South of Scotland Agency would deliver against these objectives.

There a number of agencies already established (e.g Scottish Enterprise, Local Authorities, etc) which aim to fulfil the objectives outlined - a South of Scotland Agency should have a clear remit for addressing problems specific to the South of Scotland - why will it be better than what's in place currently?

Consultation responses to the Enterprise and Skills Review reveal that the Enterprise Support landscape in Scotland is already complex and confusing for some business and adding another Agency with simlar objectives only further complicates the landscape. The perception that Scotland's economic development landscape is already over-complicated was reiterated in a recent Fraser of Allander Institute paper, which gathered a lot of publicity for comments made about the "clutter" of economic strategies in Scotland.

The South of Scotland is already supported by agencies which aim to:
- invest in people
- invest in infrastructure
- foster a culture of innovation, research and development
- promote inclusive growth
- boost international trade
- leverage investment
- develop industry networks and collaorations

The new objectives are therfore much of the same - raising the question as to why a new South of Scotland Agency would make any difference, except to further complicate the landscape.

A new South of Scotland Agency should be based on evidence that the current bodies are not sufficiently addressing these issues in the South of Scotland or that tyere other issues not addressed by these agencies AND objectives for a new Agency should outline HOW a South of Scotland Agency would deliver improved outcomes in these areas - currently this is far from clear. If the purpose of setting up a new agency is to improve outcomes, it should be clear WHY a new Agency and a different approach is required. This is not at all articulated by the currrent objectives and raises questions about how it was established that a South of Scotland Agency was required.

The proposed objectives are not SMART objectives and it would therefore be difficult to monitor or Evaluate the Agency's success and whether any difference in approach (if there is any) has any impact for the area. There's a need to tie objectives to planned objectives and I find it troubling that there seems to be little consideration for how the new Agency will actually be more effevtive in achieve what are essentially the same objectives that a range of current partners currently deliver.

You highlight the "natural advantages" of the South of Scotland, e.g. land assets and energy resources, but fail to outline how a new agency would develop or utilise these more effectively.

You also highlight that it has growing and innovative businesses, but this is true of locations across Scotland, so why not have seperate enterprise agencies for each? what makes the South of Scotland's unique? You desperately need to include this in the strategy.

Similarly you say you want to encourage innovation, ambition and creativity in the South and stimulate an international, outward-looking perspective. These are not objectives specific to the South so why is there a need for a South of Scotland Agency?

We definitely do need to understand the assets and opportunities of the South, to make informed decisions and to act differently, but this should be done before establishing a seperate agency for the south rather than beforehand. The current approach is back to front - establish an Agency then work out why and what it should do? I would suggest that a broader mapping of the landscape across scotland and not just the South of Scotland be conducted to identify the range of supoort currently available and potential market failures by geography - (see answer to q2 below)

Prior to setting up a South of Scotland Agency, there should be a comprehensive mapping of the busienss support landscape in Scotland. Currently, the landscspe is poorly understood. When desiging new projects, programmes or even Agencies, staff planning should have a clear understanding of ALL the organisations (public ans private) engaged in delivering similar support with a view to:
- understanding market failures and the extent to which they are being addressed by current initiatives
- identifying areas of duplication, and minimising inefficiency
- improving partnership working, and referrals between partners in economic development
- improving customers' experiences of engaging with Agencies by having a clearer understanding of the support available, who's offering it, eligibility criteria, etc.

The South of Scotland has many small, rural communities, which may feel disconnected from services located in the central belt, however, these are issues faced by other locations in Scotland - most notably in the Highlands and Islands, but also areas South Ayrshire, Perthsire, etc) so would a more inclusive approach not be to put together a rural economic development strategy or agency which looked across Scotland's rural communities and their shared issues.

sse q2. This appears to be a very backwards process, with little thoyght given to how a new Agency can deliver more before agreeing to establish one. This should be an evidence based approach but the evidence has not been presented. is there any evidence that suggests a regional enetrprise body woyld yield better results, or even that the issues faced by the South of Scotland are different to those faced by bysinesses and entrepreneurs elsewhere in Scotland? Could a clearly articluated workplan for adressing the specific issues of the South (which have not been articulated) not be achieved mote quickly with the current framework? If not, you should clearly outline why. Is there a published long list of options similar to the approach taken by the Scottish government toward setting up a new energy company and if not why not, why the difference in approach?

Should be established before deciding you are setting up an Agency and should compare south of scotland with other areas in scotland to establish if there's a legitimate south of scotland specific issue. for example, the borders has lower average wages than scottish average, but greater % of people in employment. are there other areas outside of south of scotland which share this trend?

Should be a detailed comparison of any perceived issues for south of scotland vs other scottish regions and local authorities and this should have been done before deciding to establish a south of scotland agency.

Much of what you describe is already delivered by exisiting agencies. Why would a seperate South of Scotland Agency deliver these things better? Given the predominantly rural composition of the South of Scotland, the focus should be on communities and inclusive growth, based on evidence of specific community challenges

deliver more entrepeneurship courses in universities and encourage young people to set up businesses

the question should be turned around. most key services should be delivered through exisiting bodies or centralised, but a south of scotland agency should focus on issues particular to the South of Scotland (which needs a lot more research to establish).

should depend on the specific issues faced

should be based on south of scotland specific issues - e.g. if focua is on communities a more dispersed model would be appropriate.

Accessibility via digital communications, telephone and potential to speak to someone face to face if necessary/beneficial.

People with experience of working in economic development, people with understanding of economic climate in south of scotland and representatives for small businesses (representing vast majority) in South of Scotland.

More services and facilities in rural areas. cities are a natural draw for young people not only because of employment prospects but because there's often a greater diversity of things to do in cities. Home working and lower house prices away from the city centre may present opportunities to get young people staying in rural communities, but the areas themselves need to be attractive with activities tailored to young locals (not just tourists).

Personally I question the need for a South of Scotland Agency given the diverse range of organisations operating in the South of Scotland already. If a new agency is established it should only deliver services similar to those of partners where it is trying a new approach (e.g. minimise duplication). There would be little benfit in having seperate agencies delivering the same services but with different geographic boundaries.