Fife businesses set to benefit from pioneering Data-Driven Innovation programme

L to R: Jarmo Eskelinen, Director of the Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) initiative and Gordon Mole, Head of Service- Business and Employability, Fife Council

Tackling business challenges and opportunities through Data-Driven Innovation 

Fife businesses have started on a journey that will enable them to reap the vast benefits of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) programme that is set to boost economic growth. Business leaders and managers from across Fife recently attended an industry event on how best to drive improvement through data on 26 February, at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel, Inverkeithing.

Delegates were given new insights into how data can expand the contribution of research to the region’s economy, and increase entrepreneurial activity. Fife businesses were also shown how companies are already using data technologies to enhance commercial performance and the profound impact data innovation is making across diverse sectors.

Jarmo Eskelinen, Director of the Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) initiative, shared his experience of working with businesses, universities and city leaders in the UK and Finland to drive improvement and tackle their growth challenges with data.

The 15- year £661m Data-Driven Innovation programme is a key part of the City Region Deal, and is designed to reach out to the whole City Region, so that businesses, public sector bodies and other organisations can use data to improve productivity and develop new products and services.

The University of Edinburgh is collaborating with Heriot-Watt University to create five DDI ‘hubs’ targeting 10 industry sectors across the public, private and third sectors - from creative industries and healthcare to fintech and robotics. The ambitious programme is designed transform the city region into the Data Capital of Europe through better data skills. It aims to train 100,000 people in data skills over the next decade, from computer science specialists to traditional jobs that will increasingly use data.

Gordon Mole, Head of Service- Business and Employability, Fife Council, said: "We are starting to explore the potential for Data Driven Innovation to improve our region’s economy by creating more and better jobs, improving services, while helping some companies to start-up and others to grow.

"This ground-breaking City Region Deal Data-Driven Innovation initiative is enabling a diverse range of organisations to develop and test new services to meet the needs of our communities.

"A number of businesses looked into how data can ensure continuous improvement in your business, and drive economic growth, social change and public services."

Jarmo Eskelinen, Director of the Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) initiative, said: “The DDI Programme is committed to supporting local businesses as they experiment and embed data driven innovation into their business processes. This pilot project will allow Fife Council and the University of Edinburgh to support the input of cutting-edge research and expertise into Fife-based businesses, through a new integrated approach to innovation funding support. There is already interest from other City Region local authority partners to trial the approach if this pilot is successful.”

Through this, and other events, the City Region Deal will ensure that organisations from across the region fully benefit from the fast-developing field of Data-Driven Innovation and drive innovation through big data and artificial intelligence.

It is estimated that Scotland needs around 13,000 extra workers each year with data skills as the workplace transforms. Together, the two universities will increase the provision of data science teaching for their students, and support schools and colleges across the region to provide digital skills teaching and training. The region’s supercomputing capabilities will also be strengthened with investment in a data analysis facility, which will help 1,000 organisations use data to innovate.

Companies attending the event included CoorsTek Ltd, Diageo, FLEXCon, Subsea International Ltd, Scott Group, Interface and Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS).

Work starts on Fife’s flagship City Region Deal programme

Fife’s flagship Industrial Innovation Investment programme is now taking shape as construction work starts on nine new business units at Queensway Industrial Estate, Glenrothes. 

L to R: Cllr Altany Craik, Fife Council Modern Apprentice, Matthew Fleming, Bell Group Modern Apprentice, Michael McManus, Cllr Fiona Grant.

Fife’s ten-year £48.4m Industrial Innovation Investment Programme will deliver much-needed new buildings and serviced sites in key locations in Mid and South Fife. It will create 1,000 new skilled permanent jobs and almost 600 short-term construction jobs over the 15-year lifetime of the City Deal. Joint working between the region’s universities, Fife businesses and Fife Council will deliver high value jobs.

The programme forms part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal, a partnership of the Scottish and UK Governments, local authorities and universities that will transform the regional economy. Through the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal, regional partners will secure more than £1.3 billion of investment for the city region over the next 15 years. 

The programme is already boosting the economy through construction activity.

Infrastructure Secretary, MSP Michael Matheson, said: “Since 2014 we have committed £1.8 billion to deals and associated investment to drive growth that will deliver significant and lasting economic benefits for individuals, businesses and communities across the country.

 “These deals benefit Scotland as a whole, creating thousands of jobs and upskilling local labour markets. They truly have the power to build on the area’s significant strengths and expertise, as we are witnessing first-hand in Fife with the start of this flagship industrial innovation investment programme.”

The City Region Deal is ensuring skilled local jobs for local people.  Michael McManus, aged 19, from Glenrothes, who is in his first year of a Modern Apprenticeship, with Bell Group, Kirkcaldy, is set to work on the site.

The Bell Group, Kirkcaldy, is a branch of UK's largest commercial painting and decorating contractor. Michael said: “Through my apprenticeship I have been able to work on, and improve, my painting and decorating skills. I’m confident in my role and I've learnt new skills. In the future I’ll continue to improve to be the best painter and decorator I can possibly be.”

Fife Council Modern Apprentice Matthew Fleming, age 25, from Leven, will be involved in fitting the plumbing inside the nine units. Matthew will fit the mechanical plumbing fixtures and fittings. Now in his fourth year of his Modern Apprenticeship, Matthew has developed skills in plumbing installations and maintenance, installing and servicing gas appliances, as well as bathroom repairs and replacements.

Cllr. Fiona Grant, Convener, Glenrothes Area Committee, said: "The units are a huge step forward in offering businesses accommodation fit for the future and will help will boost economic development across Mid Fife. The development includes a connection to the district heating plant, a new access road and car parking on land to the north of Flemington Road."

Cllr. Altany Craik, Convener, Economy, Tourism, Planning & Transportation Committee, said: “Our focus in Fife is firmly on fairer economic growth, where everyone benefits from good employment opportunities and regional investments. Work starting in Glenrothes is the first visible sign of the many positive changes that the City Region Deal will bring.

 “The Deal is set to help grow the regional economy through collaboration and building on the region’s existing strengths in key sectors and industries.

"Through the wider City Region Deal Fife businesses will have increased opportunities to build-on the value they generate from their data by adopting digital technologies, and use this to create new products, and generate both new supply chain arrangements and new business models - creating and safeguarding jobs."

Fife's Industrial Innovation Investment programme will increase the supply of serviced employment land and new industrial, office and business space in Fife. This is an important step forward in delivering the programme that will encourage more businesses to locate and grow within Fife, and secure a further £30m of investment by the private sector.

City Region Deal boosts inclusive construction and engineering skills supply

Over 2,000 people in south east Scotland are set to benefit from the first wave of skills and career support from the new Housing, Construction and Infrastructure (HCI) Skills Gateway.

Supported by the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal and funded by Scottish government, the HCI Skills Gateway – worth £6million over the next seven years – will provide multi-level support to schools, new entrants to the sector and upskill the existing workforce.

The HCI Skills Gateway includes an exciting and diverse range of short work-ready courses in renewable energy for homes, installing electric vehicle charging points, highways and roads infrastructure, environmental technologies and engagement with school pupils.

According to the UK government Foresight report on future cities, south east Scotland is the fastest growing region in Scotland and fifth fastest in the UK. With an anticipated 145,000 new homes to be built over the next two decades, it marks a 40% increase in new housing supply compared with the 20 years prior to the recession.

The HCI Skills Gateway is being delivered by the region’s universities and colleges. Professor Sean Smith of Edinburgh Napier University, who leads the HCI Skills Gateway, said:

“This is the start of a step change in support across the region to enable and support our future workforce and net-zero ambitions. This inclusive growth support will provide an attractive route into future job opportunities and career pathways and we are particularly keen to support unemployed entering this sector, attracting more women into construction and engineering and supporting existing employees with new skills”.

Napier’s Institute for Sustainable Construction has forecast a construction skills supply shortage of over 3,500 in south east Scotland in the coming years. The HCI Skills Gateway aims to help reduce this gap and support inclusive growth for people across the region.

The HCI advanced skills pathway also includes the award winning Built Environment Exchange (BeX), which is undertaken in partnership with industry and Saltire scholarships. This provides an accelerated knowledge pathway and students working with industry innovation projects. 

According to Smith, a key opportunity will be to “enable the region’s low carbon ambitions, embedding new technologies and clean-tech approaches for future homes and buildings”. Further waves of HCI support will be announced later in 2020 for offsite construction and advanced skills.

CEO of Fife Council, Steve Grimmond, who chairs the City Region Deal's Integrated Regional Employability and Skills Board said: “The HCI project demonstrates the regional reach for both urban and rural areas of this City Region Deal. This is one of seven flagship projects to support inclusive communities and regional growth and it is positive, given our sustainable development ambitions, that so many of these work-ready courses are aligned to our future low carbon infrastructure”.

Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure Michael Matheson said: “The Scottish Government’s £300m investment to the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal includes a £25m commitment to improving skills within the region. I’m delighted to see that the HCI skills gateway is set to benefit thousands of people in the years to come, helping to create the expertise that we need in the Housing, Construction and Infrastructure sectors in order to achieve a sustainable, carbon-free future for Scotland.  

“This is further demonstration of the wide-sweeping benefits of City Deals and Growth Deals, which the Scottish Government has now committed more than £1.8 billion to, including our additional investment.”

In addition to the new skills and jobs pathways, the region also needs an increased supply in site trades including bricklayers, joiners, electricians and plumbers. Much of the HCI wave 1 support will be provided through further education partners including Edinburgh, West Lothian, Fife and Scottish Borders colleges working in collaboration with industry and public sector.

City Region Deal makes key appointment for data skills targets

The City Region Deal is gearing up to help people across Edinburgh and South East Scotland improve their data skills.

The Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) Skills Gateway has appointed Anna Scott as its Project Delivery Manager, to take the lead on Data Education for Work activities.

ANNA SCOTT - project lead manager

Anna will be based in The Data Lab, Scotland’s Innovation Centre for Data and AI, but will work with a wide range of stakeholders from across the region, including employers and training providers.

The Data Education for Work project will develop a suite of programmes to help empower at-risk employees and low-paid workforce across the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region to prepare and equip themselves with the skills to take advantage of jobs that will be shaped by data-driven innovation.

Commenting on her new role, Anna said: “I am delighted to be joining the programme at this exciting time and look forward to working with the DDI Skills Gateway team and colleagues at The Data Lab to bring the Data Education for Work programme to life. Automation is changing the way organisations operate and I'm really excited by the opportunity to lead on the development a new employee-focussed skills programme that aims to empower workers in Edinburgh, South East Scotland and beyond to take full advantage of the changing world of work and the data training opportunities available to them to upskill or retrain.”

The DDI Skills Gateway programme is aiming to enhance data literacy across the skills pathway, including working with school pupils, college and university learners and those in work. A range of approaches are being developed including working alongside teachers to enhance the data curriculum in schools, developing short courses for college learners including women returners, and embedding data skills in undergraduate courses.

Anna joins the DDI Skills Gateway from the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science (Scotland's ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership), where she led on programmes of activity designed to connect doctoral research with policy and industry. This included working closely with the Scottish Government and Skills Development Scotland on a national internships programme, the creation of a mentoring scheme with the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the delivery of industry-focused skills training initiatives to increase business engagement with the social sciences.

Relevant links:

• Data Driven Innovation website

• The Data Lab website

How does Fife benefit from the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal?

blog from FIFE COUNCIL CO-leaders cllr david alexander and cllr david ross

Our job is to improve the quality of life for people who live in, work in or visit Fife. We want Fife’s economic performance to be exceptional, not just average. Despite all the changes and uncertainty in the world at present, we are forward-looking and ambitious for Fife.

Our participation in the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal is long-term, focused on creating opportunities for Fife’s people and communities to thrive and to play a full and active part in the region’s economy.  We share - with regional partners - the commitment to create a region without poverty, and improved well-being for all.

Through the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal regional partners will secure more than £1.3 billion of investment for the city region over the next 15 years.  We believe that this can create clear opportunities for genuine inclusive economic growth and investment in Fife.  The Deal focuses on growing the regional economy through collaboration and by being outward-looking, building on the region’s existing strengths in key sectors and industries.  Our focus is firmly on fairer economic growth, where everyone benefits from good employment opportunities and regional investments.
The approval of the business case for Fife’s ten-year/£48.4m Industrial Innovation Investment Programme by the regional Joint Committee will deliver much-needed new industrial buildings in key locations in Mid and South Fife.  This is a major economic boost through the construction activity, and the businesses that will be able to expand into the new units and private sector investment.

We believe it will also make it easier for the region’s universities and Fife’s businesses to work together to drive up competitiveness and productivity in local businesses and crucially deliver higher paid, skilled permanent jobs.

Common questions that we get asked about the City Region Deal are:

How does the regional collaboration improve outcomes for all partner local authorities?

We want to ensure that we make a positive difference to those living in our most deprived communities by creating access to skills and jobs. The Fife Industrial Innovation Investment Programme will invest in key business locations across Fife.

The Integrated Regional Skills and Employability Programme will provide access to new opportunities at all stages of education and training, linking into Fife schools, colleges and training providers.  We are working with the region’s universities to agree how we will work with them. We know that by supporting the growth of innovative businesses, the City Region Deal collaboration will help improve the region’s economy for everyone.

Some communities in Fife – particularly mid Fife – are still recovering from the demise of mining and other traditional industries throughout the UK and beyond, so these are a priority for us.

We know that although employment levels are good - they are higher in Fife than across Scotland - the distribution of jobs, particularly highly skilled jobs, is not equal, and some communities in Fife have fragile economies where some people worry about finding work.

We believe that the City Region Deal represents a significant step forward in regenerating the areas with the most potential for economic development, helping to reverse the unemployment and social exclusion caused by the collapse of the industrial and manufacturing economy.  Alongside the Industrial Innovation Investment Programme, the regional focus on developing skills and making sure there are routes to securing fairly-paid employment for everyone. 

We believe that Fife is a resilient region, but we also recognise that the economy needs to diversify further.

How will the deal work?

This Deal promises a new approach to economic development, strategic planning and transport, planning, backed by a fresh approach to city regional governance to empower the region.

The Governments and regional partners are embarking on a new relationship and vision. The first phase is underpinned by the activities set out in the Deal, and we will continue to work together to transfer further powers, policy and resources to strengthen the city region.

This Deal is breaking down barriers by promoting collaboration between local authorities, universities, the private sector and other public services. Through working with partners we can better realise the economic potential of the city region by unlocking economic assets, harnessing local strengths and responding to local issues.

The new governance framework empowers Fife, and the other local authorities, to create a different, more tailored, approach that enables us to better meet the needs of our communities and businesses together. Crucially this approach retains the link between regional strategy and local accountability, back through the partner councils to their local communities.

For example, often those who are disadvantaged in the job market face a range of barriers to employment, and progressing when in work. By working together – aligning stakeholders and services - we can create real change to benefit everyone, including the most vulnerable in society.

How do we make sure that there is a fairer distribution of the benefits of growth?

The Fife Industrial Innovation programme will be delivered in three phases. Over the next three years new industrial premises will be developed across four sites in Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy, Lochgelly and Dunfermline.

Seven hectares of new serviced employment land in Dunfermline and Dalgety Bay will be made available for immediate investment by new or existing businesses. During this phase, we will work up the plan for the next three years. Over the ten-year programme, we expect to deliver:

• Important investment in progressive industrial modernisation that will encourage more businesses to locate and grow within Fife.

• The creation of 1,000 new skilled permanent jobs, and 600 short-term construction jobs.

• A diverse range of companies with a growth outlook.

• A further £30m of further investment by the private sector.

 We are proud that Fife was recently crowned the ‘Most Enterprising Place in Britain’ by the UK Government, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in the Enterprising Britain Awards, Fife is already rightfully recognised for economic successes within mid-Fife and in developing our young workforce.  This is because we’re already closely linking education and learning with employers to get more young people into education, training and employment and empower our future business leaders.

 What about north east Fife? 

We are also part of the Tay Cities Deal – a programme backed by the UK and Scottish Governments, along with Angus, Dundee City, and Perth & Kinross councils - designed to reduce the economic inequality gap and boost productivity. Late last year, we agreed Heads of Terms to confirm what will be included in that Deal. Under the Deal proposals, around £30m will be invested in the University of St Andrews’ Eden Campus in Guardbridge that is estimated to create around 500 new jobs as the former paper mill is redeveloped into a global research and innovation hub.

Cllrs David Alexander and David Ross, Co-leaders, Fife Council