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Event roundup: Scotland’s Digital Strategy – webinar

11 March 20264 min read
News
Event roundup: Scotland’s Digital Strategy – webinar

Chaired by Stephanie Barr, Programme Manager for SME Engagement and Nations & Regions at techUK, the session brought together senior leaders from across the Scottish Government and local government to provide insight into the most topical strategies and delivery plans shaping Scotland’s digital future.

Our speakers:

  • Becca Fairless, Head of Digital Strategy & Policy, Scottish Government

  • Dr Colin Birchenall, Chief Technology Officer, Digital Office for Scottish Local Government

  • Chris Boyland, Head of AI & Digital Growth, Scottish Government

Stephanie opened the session by outlining the purpose of the webinar and the significance of Scotland’s national digital vision. With digital transformation at the heart of Scotland’s approach to economic growth and public service reform, this conversation offered members a chance to understand current and upcoming priorities, and how to engage with future policy development and implementation.

The refreshed Digital Strategy

Becca and Colin began by setting out the rationale behind refreshing Scotland’s 2021 digital strategy. Several key drivers shaped the update:

1. Technological Change – especially AI

The pace of innovation since 2021, particularly the rise of generative AI and advanced analytics, has created new opportunities for public services to increase productivity, improve outcomes and operate more sustainably.

2. Post‑pandemic realities

Public services now face increased demand, constrained budgets and a need to find more efficient, preventative and person‑centred ways of working.

3. Alignment with the First Minister’s Public Service Reform agenda

Digital is positioned as a core enabler of reform - helping to build integrated, outcome‑focused services that are efficient, resilient and built around users.

4. A stronger focus on delivery

Political leaders have placed a strong emphasis on transparency, accountability and making demonstrable progress - leading to a clearer delivery plan with defined actions, timelines and ownership.

A major theme across Becca and Colin’s presentations was collaboration. The strategy is jointly owned by the Scottish Government and local government - an approach they described as unique in the UK. Rather than high‑level aspirations, the partnership is now underpinned by:

  • shared goals

  • defined responsibilities

  • joint reporting

  • clearer pathways for industry engagement

This approach aims to reduce duplication, pool expertise and ensure more coherent public‑sector demand for digital and data capabilities.

Structure of the new Strategy

Becca walked attendees through the architecture of the updated strategy:

1. A high‑level Vision (already published)

This concise document sets long‑term ambition across three thematic pillars:

  • Empowering people through inclusion and digital skills

  • Driving innovation and growth through a strong digital economy

  • Delivering trusted, high‑quality public services

2. A series of nested delivery plans

These will be updated every 2 - 3 years and will cover:

  • Digital public services (already published)

  • Economy and AI (next to be published)

  • Inclusion

  • Education and skills

3. A commitment to transparency and progress updates

Annual reports will track delivery against the plan and keep stakeholders informed.

Digital Public Services Delivery Plan: key priorities

Colin outlined several core areas within the Digital Public Services Delivery Plan:

Common solutions and reuse: A renewed push to “build once and use many times,” supported by a new catalogue of reusable solutions to help public bodies adopt existing tools rather than create new ones.

Data access and interoperability: Improved data sharing and streamlined information governance to support preventative services, analytics and the adoption of AI.

Advanced technologies: Through CivTech and regional innovation programmes, the public sector will partner with industry to explore AI, Internet of Things and digital twin technologies to drive better outcomes, not just efficiencies.

Workforce and Leadership: Ensuring leadership capability, digital skills, and organisational culture keep pace with technological change.

Scotland’s upcoming AI strategy

Chris Boyland then set out plans for the new AI Strategy for Scotland, which is expected to be published (before the Scottish parliamentary elections) on 20 March.

Key points included:

  • Purpose: harness AI for good to drive sustainable economic growth across all sectors.

  • Scotland’s strengths: academic leadership in AI research, a trusted public sector, strong renewable energy potential for infrastructure, and a highly connected innovation ecosystem.

  • Economic opportunity: AI could add £19.3 billion to Scotland’s GDP by 2035.

  • Three-phase delivery:

    • Phase 1: foundational and readiness

    • Phase 2: scaling and deepening

    • Phase 3: mainstreaming and sustainable impact

  • The AI Stack: an eight‑layer model covering everything from semiconductors to end‑users, supported by data and regulation.

Chris emphasised ongoing engagement with industry and a commitment to continuous iteration given the rapid development of the technology.

Engagement, procurement and SME involvement

During the Q&A, attendees raised important questions about:

Procurement predictability: Suppliers expressed interest in early visibility of tender pipelines to support more strategic preparation. Colin committed to taking this back to procurement colleagues.

SME engagement: Chris highlighted plans for ongoing consultation, including monitoring frameworks and user/experience panels to capture qualitative feedback from SMEs over time.

Bringing digital strategies to life across government: Becca and Colin described ongoing work to embed digital thinking across leadership groups, elected members, and non-digital teams through clearer communication, storytelling and strategic engagement.

Closing remarks

Stephanie wrapped up the session by thanking speakers and attendees, noting techUK’s continuing work on AI regulation and engagement with governments across the UK. Members were encouraged to share feedback on the strategies and any ideas on what they would like to see techUK work on in the future.