Scottish Enterprise : the basis of a Scottish solution to Scottish problems?

The Prime Minister's speech to the CBI in Scotland in September 1988 heralded the start of the most radical change in Government policy towards the sponsorship of economic development in Scotland for a generation. Like many such changes it commenced with much noise and little that was in any way cerebral. Of course, many radical policy changes do not stem from an in-depth analysis of the issues and the options, and this was no exception. Since that date, the due process of debate and consultation have been conducted with more heat than light, but with no little trauma for the two merging bodies namely the Scottish Development Agency (SDA) and the Training Agency (TA), as they have endeavoured to continue to fulfil their responsibilities. That they have managed to do so effectively is no small tribute to the commitment of those working in these organisations as they move towards the end of the thirty one month process leading to the final emergence of Scottish Enterprise in April 1991. This paper attempts to stand back from these changes and reflect on some of their characteristics and implications. It is written from the perspective of someone closely involved in the process of taking the concept (1) and helping to shape it in a way which would be to the benefit of the Scottish economy