The Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal Joint Committee approved a delivery plan in March which has now been published on its website.

The document – the Regional Prosperity Framework Delivery Plan – sets out the ways in which the £1 billion investment generated by the deal will be used to deliver its various ambitions – Green Regeneration, Infrastructure for Recovery and Prosperity, Visitor Economy and Culture and Data Driven Innovation Economy. It follows the Framework published in 2021, and states that the regional partnership has flourished since the deal was signed in 2017. Since then many “acute external pressures” have strained the partnership and this delivery plan is a form of response to these.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, Peter Mathieson explained to a press gathering recently it is the university which is at the forefront of the last target – to make Edinburgh and the surrounding areas the data capital of Europe.

  • The Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) Initiative is being worked upon in Edinburgh and Midlothian. (There are two other key parts – Green Regeneration and Visitor Economy and Culture.)

The DDI is a group of innovation hubs at both University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University bringing researchers together to find ways of making data help with innovation. The website explains: “Innovation starts with an idea. Turning an idea into reality needs partnership. So the DDI initiative is striving to help researchers collaborate with businesses, charities, and the public sector, at the crossroads of data science, research, and real-world challenges – where exciting innovations take place.”

This 20-year economic framework has a lofty vision: “to become the data capital of Europe. We will ensure the social and economic benefits of this capability extend to all. All sections of the community will have the opportunity to develop the key skills that will help to end inequalities in our society. We will protect our environment and make best use of our extraordinary built and natural assets, ensuring that the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region delivers a just transition to a net zero economy. Our institutions, ancient and modern, will deliver positive outcomes that enhance our local, national, and international reputation“.

Read the report here:

Phyllis Stephen
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.