Marine science and innovation strategy

4. Next Steps

In order to deliver the new science and innovation strategy we will need to be highly collaborative, highly communicative and use all of Scotland's resources, talent and assets that are available to us. This will entail being cognisant of where Scottish Government (SG) priorities, and the science and innovation strategy itself, sits in SG and within the national and international context. One of the first steps is mapping the marine and freshwater science and innovation capability and capacity Scotland has across the nation and we would seek to work on that with our partners as part of our next steps.

Our commitment is to proactively engage with stakeholders and partners to ensure effective and efficient data collection, management and access over the short, medium and long term. One element of that will include how we transfer the knowledge gleaned through delivery of the strategy via storytelling to the community at large to benefit from. We will also communicate our research priorities through an Areas of Research Interest (ARI) scoping exercise.

Building on the work that went into the design of this strategy from a very large number external colleagues, stakeholders and partners alongside our policy, operational and science colleagues we will now create an operational plan to deliver this strategy. An element of that operational plan will include the need for - real and virtual - horizon scanning to equip us with the skill sets (for example those such as needed for just transition and community participation), knowledge and data we will need to respond to living with ever faster environmental change against the backdrop of balancing the needs of our natural capital with those of a thriving, healthy economy.