UK innovation survey 2023 – results for Scotland

Innovation Activity

The headline measure of innovation activity used in Scotland and the UK is the percentage of businesses (with 10 or more employees) that are ‘innovation active’. Innovation active businesses are those that are engaged in any of the following activities listed 1 to 3. Broader innovators are businesses that are engaged in any of the following activities 1 to 4.

1. The introduction of a new or improved product (goods or services).
2. Business processes used to produce or supply all goods or services that the business has introduced, regardless of their origin. These innovations may be new to business or new to the market.
3. Engagement in innovation projects not yet complete or abandoned.
4. Investment activities in areas such as internal research and development, training, acquisition of external knowledge or machinery and equipment linked to innovation activities.

Figure 1: Between 2018-2020 and 2020-2022 the share of businesses that were innovation active decreased in both Scotland (from 39.0% to 32.4%) and the UK (from 44.9% to 36.3%).

Percentage of all businesses (with 10+ employees) that were innovation active, Scotland and the UK, 2010-2012 to 2020-2022.

Source: UK innovation survey 2023 – results for Scotland - tables from the Scottish Government. For Figure 1 data see Table 1.

Business process innovators introduce new or improved business processes for one or more business functions that differ significantly from the business’s previous business processes. Product innovators bring to the market or into use by the business, new and improved products, including both tangible goods and the provision of services.

The UKIS 2023 definition of business process innovator is broader than the definition of ‘process innovator’ used in previous surveys. To provide an approximate time series for business process innovators in our tables, we have made the assumption that business process innovators in UKIS 2023 is roughly equivalent to businesses in previous surveys that were either 'process innovators' or 'wider innovators'. 'Wider innovators' were businesses that developed new or significantly improved forms of organisation, business structures, practices or marketing concepts/strategies. 'Process innovators' were businesses with significant changes in the way that goods or services are produced or provided. Users should note that the UKIS 2023 includes methods of organising HR management and marketing methods for after sales services in the definition of business process innovator, these were not included explicitly in earlier surveys' definitions of either 'wider innovators' or 'process innovators'. Therefore caution is advised when looking at the change between 2018-2020 and 2020-2022.

Figure 2: Between 2018-2020 and 2020-2022 the share of businesses that were business process innovators fell in Scotland, whereas the share that were product innovators remained largely unchanged.

Percentage of all businesses (with 10+ employees) that were business process innovators or product innovators, Scotland, 2010-2012 to 2020-2022.

Source: UK innovation survey 2023 – results for Scotland - tables from the Scottish Government. For Figure 2 data see Table 1.