Realising Scotland's full potential in a digital world: a digital strategy for Scotland

Ministerial Foreword

As Cabinet Secretary with overall responsibility for our Digital Strategy, I am determined to ensure that Scotland continues to prosper in an increasingly connected and competitive world. This demands that we look outwards, learn from international experience and assess our progress against that made by other progressive countries. It requires us to work with experts to monitor the development and implications of new and emergent technologies such as the internet of things, cloud computing, sensors, artificial intelligence and machine learning. It also demands that we challenge old ways of thinking about the services we offer and the organisations that deliver them.

Back in 2011, the Scottish Government published a Digital Strategy designed to extend connectivity, promote the digital economy, digitise public services and promote digital participation. Good progress has been made in delivering this agenda and we are now in a position to develop and describe future actions and priorities that build upon a platform of success.

Realising Scotland's full potential in a Digital World sets out our plans for ensuring that we put digital at the heart of everything we do - in the way in which we deliver inclusive economic growth, reform our public services and prepare our children for the workplace of the future. It's a strategy for Scotland, not just the Scottish Government. It recognises the profound challenges that digital poses for the nature of work, for society and for both the world and domestic economies. It also accepts that no single organisation can hope to have the answers to these questions and therefore looks to create a culture and environment of partnership in which we take collective action to ensure that nobody is left behind and we all remain safe, secure and confident about the future.

I have been really encouraged by the creative and innovative ideas that people across Scotland, and indeed beyond, contributed to the development of this plan. It suggests to me that there is great confidence in Scotland's future in a digital world and a collective determination to ensure that we reap the benefits of the digital age. I hope that this document provides a vision around which we can build the collective action that this demands.

Derek Mackay
Cabinet Secretary Finance and the Constitution