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Shaping Scotland’s Economy: Scotland’s Inward Investment Plan sets out our ambition for Scotland as a leading destination for inward investment aligned with our values as a nation.

Our ambition is for Scotland to be a leading destination for inward investment that aligns with our values as a nation. This plan sets out how we are going to deliver on that ambition. It fulfils the 2019-20 Programme for Government commitment to publish an evidence-led plan for inward investment. It complements A Trading Nation – our plan for growing Scotland’s exports, published in May 2019, and it lays much of the groundwork for our Capital Investment plan which will follow.

The Inward Investment Plan sets out the rationale and evidence for actions that position inward investment to play a key role in our economic recovery. Just 3% of business in Scotland are foreign owned but account for over a third of jobs, almost half of GVA, just under two thirds of business R&D spending and three quarters of exports.

The plan is evidence led – the proposed strategic approach identifies those sectors and opportunities where Scotland can demonstrate a real international comparative advantage mapped to strong global demand (investment flows); and where these sectors and opportunities have the potential to maximise the delivery of ‘spillover’ impacts that would benefit the wider Scottish economy. We will seek opportunities that align with and support our values around fair work, net zero and sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

This Plan recognises Scotland’s existing strengths in inward investment, with our position as the top performing region or nation in the UK, outside of London, in attracting inward investment for each of the last seven years. But it also recognises that there is scope for improvement, in particular around how we maximise spillover benefits for the wider Scottish economy.

Scotland’s Inward Investment Plan: Shaping Scotland’s Economy 85 page PDF, 24.5 MB

Analytical Methodology Note 39 page PDF, 2.2 MB