We are in the grip of a nationwide housing crisis, yet recent figures reveal that the timescale for average planning application is four times longer than the Government target. While this is clearly an issue for developers, why should this be an issue for those beyond the industry?

As a female founder of a consultancy specialising in science communications, we are always keen to walk the talk, so have established Senior Women in Science, a network to help inspire and support women in this key sector.

This week celebrates World Science Day on 10 November. Working with many science clients, this is a sector close to our hearts. This date gives a chance to celebrate the incredible advancements in science, including Scotland’s achievements and ambitions in precision medicine.

As a female founder, it was a welcome opportunity to be a panellist at an event at the Scottish Parliament encouraging the diversity of contributions at Holyrood. Organised by Women's Enterprise Scotland and the Institute of Directors is event is part of a wider mission to ensure all voices are heard at the Scottish Parliament, including at Cross Party Groups (CPGs).

In these tough economic times, it is vital to ensure that every penny and minute spent on marketing counts. An organisation’s success is increasingly shaped by how it’s represented online, particularly on social media. But the world of social media is constantly changing. Getting your organisation’s voice heard in the face of frequent algorithm changes, platform updates and jam-packed news feeds can be a challenge.

Many business leaders are in planning mode at the moment, determining organisational goals and making plans to achieve these.  Marketing and communications can play a vital role, but only if properly aligned with these goals and performance is carefully monitored, so it’s clear what’s working. Often organisations rush into activity without being clear on how this supports their organisational goals or how they will measure success. This leads to resources being wasted and potential impact lost. 

In the last few weeks, the ever-changing nature of the social media landscape has been brought into sharper focus after Elon Musk’s buyout of Twitter and the global reaction.

For two decades now social media platforms have been part of the fabric of modern life. What started with Bebo, MySpace and Vine has now graduated to ever more sophisticated platforms...

On Thursday The Scotsman will host its annual Life Sciences conference with the theme of “Growing Global”. As a global leader in the life sciences sector, Scotland has much to offer both start-ups and more established organisations. With its highly skilled workforce, world-class universities and research and development facilities, Scotland is well placed to continue to lead the way in this rapidly growing industry. 

From the sixties all the way through to the noughties, my Dad used his skills as a professional drummer at an annual outing for disabled children to the seaside organised by Glasgow taxi owners. Self employed, it meant a day’s less pay for everyone involved, but every year, come rain or shine, that outing went ahead. 

What three words are on your mind? The location identifier words? The three words that keep popping up in my mind, as they seem to pop up day after day in a variety of situations, are Environmental Social Governance, also known as ESG.

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".

The UK is gearing up for its next set of elections where, on 5 May, voters will head to polling stations. In England, the outcome of local and mayoral elections will be decided, and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) will be elected to the Stormont. In Scotland and Wales, the makeup of councils will be determined in local elections.

What’s the best business advice you’ve ever had? Mine was: “Work is a thing you do, not a place you go”. I heard this from Gordon Thomson, one of our technology clients, of Cisco in 2006, who opened my mind to the possibility of remote working in our first year of Perceptive. Little did I know then how instrumental it would be, both in growing our business and throughout the pandemic. While others had to shift their way of working, we were already well prepared and used to working from home so adapted very easily.