Scotland the Hydro Nation: annual report 2015

Section 3: Towards a Water Economy - Taking Scotland The Hydro Nation Forward

We are continuing to develop the Hydro Nation programme to build on the success achieved to date. With our partners, including Scotland's enterprise agencies we are engaging with ever more stakeholders in the Hydro Nation agenda, working closely with the sector, sharing knowledge and expertise to identify opportunities to promote and drive Scotland the Hydro Nation forward. Our aim is to maximise the contribution of the Hydro Nation agenda to the development of a vibrant water economy in Scotland, by focusing on the following key themes:

• Wealth creation - growing the profitability of existing and new water sector businesses, with a particular focus on supporting SMEs through innovation and exploiting export potential;

• Scotland's international reputation - we will continue to identify networks and opportunities for international collaboration and communication, supporting Climate Justice and knowledge sharing with the Malawi Government in particular, and as an active contributor to other global forums in water technology, skills and governance, as set out elsewhere in this report;

• Education including research excellence - we will build the scale and reputation of the Hydro Nation Scholars Programme. We will look to better connect SMEs in the sector with key emerging research findings, and we will explore potential new areas of work in key overseas territories, including India, Pakistan and China, which can add value to the Hydro Nation agenda and the Scottish economy;

• Delivering for customers - with a particular focus on rural communities we will continue to develop a comprehensive workplan to deliver sustainable provision options for the Scottish Ministers - the work of the Sustainable Rural Communities Group is a significant element of this programme;

• Sustainable development in the water sector - we will continue to promote and support the development of more efficient resource use, and low-carbon service delivery across the sector, building on the impressive efforts made by Scottish Water, thereby developing and growing the value of our water resources;

• Communication - we will work with our partners including the Hydro Nation Forum to develop, inform and engage more people with the Hydro Nation agenda, with a focus on young people, building on the Young Water Professionals session at the World Water Congress 2015 in Edinburgh and Ooska News' AquaNow series of seminar / webinar events, which were supported by Scottish Government and delivered across Scotland, and webcast to the world, in the period covered by this report.