Scotland's Digital Future: supporting the transition to a world-leading digital economy

1 Foreword

We are on the cusp of a new digital revolution which will transform economies around the world. We want Scotland to be at the forefront of that revolution and to have cemented its place as a world-class digital nation by 2020.

Scotland's Digital Future - The First Annual Progress Report and Update 2012 states that: "We need to build on existing partnerships to create a genuine 'Team Scotland' approach to promoting Scotland's digital economy with a clear shared strategic direction and understanding of our respective roles within the team. Scottish Government is committed to putting this in place by April 2013. We invite our partners to work with us to review our collective efforts to date and to consider how we should position ourselves for the future."

This report marks the initial outputs from this process. It has been put together by a team of partners from Scotland's enterprise and skills agencies, along with representatives from the digital industry. It sets out a series of ideas and proposals for building upon current activity and better supporting Scottish businesses to make the most of the opportunities of the digital age.

The document includes a set of recommendations to meet our shared ambition. These recommendations are offered as a contribution to Scotland's Digital Dialogue, the national debate about how we achieve our world-class ambitions by 2020. They are offered in the hope and expectation that stakeholders across Scotland will use this process of dialogue to refine and build upon them and help map out a strategy for ensuring a world-class, vibrant and successful digital economy in our country.