Research and Innovation

Research

Our ambition is to maintain – and improve – Scotland’s world-leading position in university research, and maximise its impact through a combination of strategic investment and innovative policies.

Scotland’s universities have an outstanding reputation and record of success in research, appearing prominently in international rankings of research and attracting high levels of funding. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework – which measures the quality of research in UK universities – 84% of research in Scotland’s universities was assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent.

We support the competitiveness of Scotland’s research base through a range of investments and the training and development of postgraduate teaching and research students. We aim to develop and sustain a dynamic and internationally competitive research sector that makes a major contribution to economic prosperity, national wellbeing and the expansion of knowledge.

Innovation

Scotland’s universities are a key part of the innovation system because of the skills that their graduates bring to the economy, the quality of their research and their ability to generate new ideas, products and processes. All of which has the potential to support business growth and competitiveness.