The VisitScotland Business Events' Transformation Protocol is a network of contacts in key organisations across Scotland who have pledged to support VisitScotland elevate business events in Scotland to a new level.
Business events are a catalyst for social and economic transformation
Business events are key sector for the Scottish economy. Annually Scotland attracts and hosts thousands of events from the rest of the UK, Europe and Internationally. These events have a significant economic impact on our towns and cities, in our conference centres and world class hotels and resorts.
But business events offer more to Scotland than just this economic benefit. Business events are gatherings of professionals and experts from around the world. World leading academics and policy leaders attend business events to share new findings and progress their fields of study. Technology is unveiled, new ideas are discussed, collaborations begun and global areas of concern in everything from medicine to data science are shared amongst selected and informed communities.
When these delegates are in Scotland, we have a chance to engage with them, to learn as a country, and to capture the moment for change and collaboration. We know conferences are well regarded and supported in Scotland by our universities, innovation centres and national bodies - but there is always a chance to do more. To bring together groups of people and organisations, from academic circles to the government, we can foster new relationships and help Scotland develop our own industries and policy objectives.
Create new connections and ideas, and make an impact
The Transformation Protocol is an initiative managed by VisitScotland that will help create these new connections. By working with partners across Scotland and with incoming conference organisers, we will identify those events and those opportunities where we can look to do more.
The opportunity for partner organisations is huge. Through the Transformation Protocol we are proposing to create connections between your organisations and the most senior levels of European and International membership organisations and professional bodies. Associations are the life blood of so many professions, and vital repositories of knowledge and learning. Where these new connections might lead will be different for every opportunity, but we do know that there is a wealth of opportunity to be seized, for Scottish organisations to internationalise, attract investment, to start new projects and to share Scottish expertise to new audiences.
To truly realise the potential of the Transformation Protocol we need the support of partner organisations and institutions across Scotland. From university research units, innovation centres, third sector organisations, government departments, and private businesses - if your organisation is able to support this initiative and is ready for the opportunities it can offer, we want to hear from you.