Scotland CAN DO action framework: building on our vision to become a world-leading entrepreneurial and innovative nation

We will support an exciting new Challenge aimed at exploring and exploiting the entrepreneurial potential of Scotland's town centres. Through a staged creative process, participating groups will have the opportunity to explore, refine, develop and market their ideas. It is not a competition. It is about connecting people and knowledge in order to innovate and get things done.

The first round of the CAN DO Innovation Challenge will run from May 2014 to October 2014; the second from October 2014 to March 2015. The programme will be managed, run and delivered by the Scottish Business Resilience Centre, who will work with Scotpreneur, the designer of the methodology.

Our investment: £150,000

• The Scottish Business Resilience Centre
• Scotpreneur
• RBS
• Architecture + Design Scotland
• Business Improvement Districts Scotland
• Federation of Small Businesses
• Business Gateway
• West College Scotland
• Young Enterprise Scotland
• Carnegie Trust
• Creative Scotland
• Scotland's Towns Partnership
• Bad Ideas Inc
• The RSA
• East Renfrewshire Council Economic Development

The CAN DO Innovation Challenge is about putting the focus on community-based groups to identify opportunities and tackle them in an entrepreneurial way. The aim is to enable inspire and inform such groups, with an emphasis on their maximising the entrepreneurial opportunities presented by footfall in Scotland's town centres.

This Challenge is delivering directly on the commitment made in our Town Centre Action Plan to support vibrant local economies.

As part of our work on promoting sustainable growth, we are considering how Scotland's business mentoring offer can be enhanced.

During the Spring and Summer, three work-streams, involving a range of partner agencies, will look into:

• what mentoring is, what it is not and what it can offer;
• ensuring that mentoring provision in Scotland is joined-up so that we have 'no wrong doors'; and
• the use and sharing of best practice and new techniques.

• The Scottish Chambers of Commerce
• Scottish Enterprise
• Highlands and Islands Enterprise
• Saltire Foundation
• Firstport
• Scottish Business Resilience Centre
• The Prince's Trust
• Scottish Institute for Enterprise
• Power of Youth
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
• Women's Enterprise Scotland
• Association of Scottish Businesswomen
• Entrepreneurial Exchange
• Bridge 2 Business
• Federation of Small Businesses
• Business Gateway
• Skills Development Scotland

Envisaged potential outputs from this work include:

• A Team Scotland 'declaration' on the value of mentoring;
• An online mechanism that will allow customers to see the offer now and as it develops; and
• A 'think-tank' approach to exploring and promoting the mentoring ecosystem.

To take forward the recommendations in the Digital Economy Strategy, we have recently established the Digital Scotland - Business Excellence Partnership, which is spilt into Business and Skills Programmes - hosted by Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland.

Our investment:

Between 2013-14 and 2015-16, £7 million of partnership funding will be managed and distributed by Scottish Enterprise and £6.6 million will be managed and distributed by Skills Development Scotland.

• Scottish Government
• Scottish Enterprise
• Highlands and Islands Enterprise
• Skills Development Scotland
• Scottish Funding Council
• Technical Advisory Group
• ScotlandIS
• Education Scotland
• E-Skills UK
• Local Authorities
• Federation of Small Businesses

The Digital Scotland - Business Excellence Partnership is designed to help businesses of all sizes across all sectors, and will enable our agencies to learn from one another, share ideas and provide seamless world-class support across Scotland. The Partnership is split into Business and Skills Programmes which are hosted by Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland. Both host organisations are responsible for developing their programmes; prioritising and managing partnership funding; and seeking partnership opportunities.

Both programmes/organisations are accountable at a strategic level to the Digital Scotland Business Excellence Partnership Board and an update on the performance of both programmes is expected in a year's time.

We will sponsor a series of regional seminars, starting in September 2014, to promote the sharing of good practice in applied entrepreneurship across Scotland's Universities.

• Converge Challenge
• Scotland's Universities

To help staff in Scotland's Universities to network and share good practice around the theme of promoting entrepreneurial skills, mind-sets and behaviours amongst their students.

We will support Power of Youth to run a series of residential events in 2014-15 and 2015-16 that aim to support the development of young Scottish entrepreneurs with international scope. Each year the residential events will support 30 high growth entrepreneurs and 30 high growth potential entrepreneurs.

Our investment: £40,000 over two years

• Power of Youth
• Big Lottery Fund
• Entrepreneurial Exchange
• Prince's Trust Youth Business Scotland

To support the development of talented young Scottish entrepreneurs through the building of strong and effective networks with an international dimension.

We will continue to support Scotland's engagement in European research and innovation funding, particularly Horizon 2020, and promote Scotland's strengths and capabilities in Europe.

• Scottish Government
• Scottish Enterprise
• Highlands and Islands Enterprise
• Scotland Europa
• Enterprise Europe Networks

Increased engagement of Scottish organisations in European research and innovation activities. This will help our organisations build on their competitiveness and compete at the highest level, leading to potential new partners, international markets, job creation and economic growth.