With just two weeks to go until Scotland’s annual event for innovation in business, the CAN DO Innovation Summit, I’ve been reflecting on how to best support start-ups and small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to implement innovation to boost productivity for economic sustainability and social value.

As Chair of the Precision Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre I clearly have a vested interest, but precision medicine offers a unique opportunity to save lives, improve our economy and reduce our environmental impact. Precision medicine is the opposite of a one-size-fits-all approach to treatment, instead tailoring healthcare to the individual. This powers better treatment and diagnosis, including earlier interventions, more effective medicine development and aims to prescribe the right drug, first time.

The proud architecture of Scotland has always reflected social movements, imitated prevailing ideas and influenced design trends across the world. Today, Scottish architecture has to work even harder to provide solutions to some very complex issues that we face; using design to improve this country’s health outcomes, reduce social isolation, foster learning and social mobility, and to bolster economic regeneration.

Perceptive Communicators has added to its portfolio of innovative biotechnology clients after being appointed by MiAlgae to deliver strategic public relations and social media support.

Many of us are now working on a hybrid basis, partly from home and partly in the office. I am aware of a variety of hybrid working approaches. Regardless of the working model adopted, I am hearing from both my clients that I am coaching and the coaches that I am supervising that the leaders of organisations are struggling. The psychological stamina and emotional resilience needed now is a tall order after the pandemic.

A recent survey by Price Waterhouse about the potential for precision medicine shows that global leaders in the pharmaceuticals industry are aware of its promise; 92% identify precision medicine as an opportunity and 84 percent have it on their corporate agenda.

YouTube, Zoom and Instagram have boosted the popularity of virtual exercise classes and the Couch to 5k mobile app has hit five million downloads since the pandemic started with no signs of slowing down. More people are achieving improvements to their physical and mental health through technology

COP26 has provided the inspiration to live more sustainable lives and to hopefully succeed, quickly, in halting climate change. However, a report published by environmental think tank E3G found that the heavily polluting G20 countries have so far failed to strengthen their plans since COP26 and that “none of them are on track for a 1.5C pathway". In addition, the Environment Agency in England admitted last week that it is minded to rehome at risk coastal communities “away from danger rather than try to protect them from the inevitable impacts of a rising sea level".

Some asks are big, unrealistic - a moonshot. Some are achievable with a fair wind behind them. My ask for Social Care is that we are unbridled of obstruction, allowed the conditions in which to flourish, in short, that we can function without friction.