Business which have sought assistance from international office: FOI release

Information requested

• How many businesses have sought assistance from the (i) international office in Beijing, (ii) international office in Berlin, (iii) international office in Brussels, (iv) international office Dublin, (v) international office in London, (vi) international office in Ottawa, (vii) international office in Paris, (viii) international office in Washington DC, and (ix) international office in Copenhagen?
• What were these queries regarding?

Response

Scottish Government international offices do not record every enquiry they receive from businesses or any other external organisation. Information of this type is however gathered through a range of activities to support a monitoring and evaluation process.

Scottish Government international offices measure activities, output and successes using a range of qualitative data, such as feedback provided by stakeholders (including business and other external organisations), media articles or case studies, and quantitative data such as social media performance, event statistics and investment data.

The Scottish Government’s international offices use five shared strategic objectives to inform the activity and evaluation of their work which include a focus on businesses. These are:

• Scotland's international reputation is improved;
• Scottish businesses are trading internationally more effectively;
• Scottish research and innovation capability is promoted and further partnerships and funding secured;
• Investment to Scotland has increased
• Scotland's interests in the EU and beyond are protected and enhanced.

Links to respective monitoring and evaluation reports which contains information on statistics and performance for all international offices can be found here. This contains an overview of a number of businesses and external organisations which Scotland’s international network has worked with and supported.

2019/20 Microsoft PowerPoint - International - Analysis - Monitoring and Reporting - All papers for International Board plus one pager [Read-Only] (www.gov.scot)
2020/21 PowerPoint Presentation (www.gov.scot)
2021/22 (attached)

Additionally Scotland House London and Scotland House Brussels differ from the other international offices as they are joint initiatives with other Scottish organisations, are co-funded and have both provide membership services to businesses as well as other external organisations. They are also stand-alone offices whereas the other international offices are on the FCDO platform (co-located within an Embassy or a High Commission). Both Scotland House London and Scotland House Brussels also offer event space, meeting rooms and workspace facilities as well as support services for businesses who are members of their hubs.

Scotland House London is a joint initiative of the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and VisitScotland to provide a base for Scottish organisations looking to expand their horizons which will in turn facilitate increased trade, investment and collaboration opportunities for its members in London and beyond.

Scotland House London provides a base in an important city for Scotland, helping to build relationships and strengthen our links both within the UK and internationally. It provides a great opportunity for growing Scottish business, public sector organisations, academic institutions that are looking to expand into London or if an organisation/company is already well established in London and would like to utilise the space to bring in clients, network or host an event.

There is a community of hundreds of Scottish private and public sector organisations developing new trade, investment and partnership opportunities at the distinctly Scottish co-working, meeting and event pace in central London. For more information see link here Home - Scotland House London.

Scotland House Brussels provides the window to Scotland for EU and wider European and international partners in Brussels. It is a deeply integrated presence providing services to support Scotland’s economic growth, diplomatic engagement, and cultural promotion at the EU level. It also provides a conference centre, hot desks, meeting space and co-working spaces for its members.

The partners of Scotland House Brussels are:

• Scotland Europa
• The Scottish Government
• Scottish Enterprise

Scotland House Brussels has well established teams covering diplomatic engagement, economic development, and cultural promotion.

Their work in Brussels includes promoting Scotland’s expertise across a diverse range of policy areas. These include areas such as research and innovation, renewables, equalities and other key topics. We also host a range of events at which we showcase Scotland’s reputation for cultural excellence and renowned food, drink and hospitality. For more information see link here Scotland Europa.

Collectively Scottish Government’s international offices work alongside Scottish Development International - the trade and inward investment agency arm of Scottish Enterprise - and its network of trade and investment offices. For more information on SDI you can find this here Invest and Trade Scotland - Scottish Development International (sdi.co.uk)

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202200335022 - Information released

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