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The Scotland of the future could be a global leader in the next phase of development: a bio-led industrial revolution.

The country has a unique set of strengths that leave it well-placed to play such a role and it has the environment to be the test bed for solving some of the world’s biggest problems.

Paul Copland, a partner at Big Four accountancy firm EY, sees the assets that could give the country such a place to develop and lead the future.

He points to three major strengths which, be believes, make Scotland uniquely placed. “We have phenomenal university and research base, we have incredible strengths in our private sector – we have got a great history and totally continued future in taking it from the lab and commercialising it.”

The third jewel in the crown is the National Health Service. He says: “I think most developed countries in the world would probably bite off your right arm to have the NHS. They would just bite your arm off.”

He added: “I personally think we’ve got world class capabilities in all three of those. The single biggest thing is getting that together so it’s working as one.”

Copland believes that if a way could be found of coordinating the different strengths from those three elements then a system could be developed that produce discoveries and products that could be sold around the world.

He says: “As a country, we’re getting to the point where we need to grasp what the future of Scotland’s going to be and we need to commit to it. It’s not going to be something like oil and gas which falls into our laps. There is going to have to be some real thought put behind it and some weight put behind it.”

He says that the geography and different dynamics of Scotland mean that it is well placed to be a laboratory or a test bed for the world. It has everything from isolated rural communities such as island communities and more remote Highland habitations to cities of a range of sizes.

Copland says: “We’ve got a little test bed here where you could genuinely look to try and deal – and this sounds grandiose – but deal with some of the world’s big problems.”

He cites the example of finding new ways to feed the world. Developments in salmon farming, he believes, could be applied in innovative ways to help tackle this problem. “We’re world-leading when it comes to salmon farming. That’s not just because of the geography, because we’ve got the lochs and water, there’s a hell of a lot of science goes into that.

“I deal with businesses that do the feed, to those that do the actual farming. If you take all of that together and come up with a concept of being able to do that farming enclosed, so you don’t need a loch.”

Copland believes that companies working together could create environments in which farming could be done. “Create a capsule that is not impacting the environment. You don’t then have the challenges with all the natural issues of climate or disease and you can actually produce the food that is needed and wanted at its best. Why could you not have salmon farms in Africa?”

He said such thinking is being done with the fish farming sector. “But the sector has its own challenges around publicity and what it’s doing to the environment, so you would need to think about how you counteract and balance that.”

He stresses: "I’m not talking about genetically created animals this would all be still using the natural historic way of rearing these animals, but done in the most effective way.”

Scotland’s geographic make up also provides another challenge which exists in many parts of the world and which it could develop a new way of solving. Namely: “How do you get the right level of medical support when you are in a rural situation out on island. Where do you actually invest the money and the infrastructure?”

A project could be brought together to look at these issues and begin to come up with solutions.

“As a little island we have everything from the most rural of places to the biggest of cities with a population that’s impacted by pretty much all of the ailments of the world and we’ve got an NHS that’s got all of that information.

“How do you ethically use a very unique resource to actually think about identifying what are the parts of the life cycle that are most expensive and cost a lot of money. And if you can deal with those, make that area more efficient, more effective, that removes a big drain of cash on Scotland. That naturally helps the country but you’re also suddenly focusing on things that are a problem to America, to China, to everywhere.”

Copland cites the example of Silicon Valley in California, a region in the southern part of San Francisco that serves as a global centre of high technology and innovation.

He says: “What is so different between Silicon Valley and Scotland? There is the enthusiasm within Scotland, there is that entrepreneurial drive and spirit that’s here, we’ve got the expertise. To me, I personally don’t see any reason why this country couldn’t be leading on what I class as more of a bio-type industrial revolution.

“To me it’s not even having to artificially work some of them [the attributes to achieve this], they are all just naturally there.”

What are the obstacles that need to be tackled to turn this vision into a reality?

Copland says: “The bit that’s also a challenge with thinking that far ahead is you get caught up with some of the every day commercial issues straight away: Who benefits from it?

“In my mind there’s an element that that just needs to be pushed to one side because ultimately if we start getting the flow of it right everyone benefits in some shape or form. If we start developing the research and producing the solutions everyone benefits in some way shape or form along that track.”

He stresses: “This isn’t about Big Pharma coming in and gobbling things up, this is actually about us as a country saying ‘this is what we’re going to focus on’. In my mind people would see that and say I want to be part of that.”

He explains his thinking further: “We are in the digital industrial revolution at the minute. What is next? If it is a bio industrial revolution that is not just life sciences. The technology piece is absolutely fundamental to that; everything from the whole data piece to how you utilise the data, the technologies that are needed for coming up with any of these advances, to the outputs from it.

“It could be anything from medical devices, to products to treatments. There is an absolute marrying up of that technology and the life sciences. I don’t think there’s one sector that sits out on its own any more. I don’t think you can say ‘this is the sector’.

“Financial services is exactly the same they will not continue to grow and prosper without technology coming in life sciences exactly the same, industrial exactly the same. Agriculture, aquaculture, there’s going to be a natural crossover from them all.

“You’ve got to have the sectors there because you need to understand what the resources are. But then above that you’ve got to have the vision of what everyone is pushing towards.”

Copland is calling for a more joined up overarching vision for the future development of the economy of Scotland. He says that it is important that this is not “siloed by sectors” because, he says, there is more crossover between sectors with new technology developments than was ever the case previously. Additionally the resources to deliver this are going to be intertwined and because “two heads are better than one – researchers and smart companies collaborating are going to come up with a better answer".

Copland says that in addition to having an overarching vision and better ways of combining and collaborating what is also needed to deliver this are local specialist centres in focusing on different fields in different parts of Scotland like “mini Eden projects”.

Aquaculture

“So you have a part of Scotland which focuses on the aquaculture side of things. How much of the world is covered by salt water? What could be done with the salt water around the coasts of some of these areas that probably don’t have a great agriculture? What could we be doing technology-wise and innovation-wise to help that?”

Agriculture

“When you go to agriculture, the more data we’re going to have when it comes to optimal growing. Why not use all the different kind of landscapes that Scotland has to develop the best ways of handling this. What are the optimal ways for doing feed up in the hills? Not the best vegetated areas but there’s still stuff there. What are the best ways to develop feed in different lowland areas?

“It sounds a little bit kooky but to me we’ve got all of the building blocks and personally I don’t see any reason why Scotland shouldn’t be out leading in areas like this. We’re globally recognised for having the world class knowledge and infrastructure in place, let’s just get the output there.”

Copland adds that these ‘mini Eden projects’ can be built by developing further what is already on the ground. He highlights the work that is being done in the north east of Scotland by Opportunity North East (ONE) in life sciences and food and drink and the work being done in the Advanced Manufacturing District in Scotland in Renfrewshire which includes the new Lightweight Manufacturing Centre opening in Renfrewshire and the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre. He also highlights the “world class” School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh.

Other fields that could form the basis for a ‘mini Eden project’ is aerodynamics in Prestwick. And life sciences. Copland says: “You’ve got a big hub of companies down there [in Prestwick] and there’s a real buzz about what their role in the future of air travel is going to be.

“I’ll meet numerous businesses that are in the development phase in life sciences. They will have a pretty chunky amount of cash that’s been invested in them but see the enthusiasm they have and the interest they have from so many different places around the globe. Yes they’re sitting there thinking yes we only have money for the next six months but that’s not stopping them driving forward. That’s something I don’t think you necessarily get everywhere.”

Another key to the vision he is talking about is that all these centres are combined into a single network. “When it comes to all of those great things that we’re doing, how much of an overlap is there? We could be a lot more efficient, effective if it was a big network. I will guarantee you that some of things that are being looked at in manufacturing excellence are the kind of things that are being looked at in the life sciences piece, because there is a natural link over with them.”

Copland stresses again the qualities he is seeing in different sectors in Scotland. “In my view something Scotland’s got in abundance is resilience. Look at everything that’s happened over the last ten years from the financial crash, uncertainty, through a lot of the politics that have been going on even right up to now.

"They could have just put their heads down and said what do we need to do to survive. But to be honest I see and hear more positive things, particularly in the last 18 months than I ever have. That to me is a natural face of Scotland and of what we are.”

This article is part of Scottish Business Insider’s

Reimagining Scotland series which is sponsored by Shepherd and Wedderburn