About Us - Focus North

Focus North

Focus North is a partnership of the main public sector bodies and key private sector organisations seeking to diversify and grow the economy in the North of Mainland Scotland.

The partnership co-ordinates the inputs to the Major Projects and Infrastructure that are believed to have the greatest impact on the future of the area and then communicates this to the stakeholders and the general public.

Goals

Focus North concentrates on maximising local benefits from the significant opportunities identified in the Regional Opportunities.

Our three-year regional goals are detailed below. Economic Growth, People and Communities and Sustainability should be seen as the 3 pillars that must be in balance for Focus North and the region to succeed.

  • Economic growth – The area will undergo a Just Transition to a sustainable resilient, Low Carbon economy offering its increased working population Fair work and higher average household incomes than in 2022. Successful attraction of employment opportunities in key new, and sustaining existing, sectors will increase the number of private sector businesses operating and enable the regional economy to be more diversified and larger than it is now.  Investment in the area will increase compared to 2022.
  • People and Communities – The growing population will support a thriving, wellbeing economy where school rolls are rising, school leaver destinations are broadening, and apprenticeship uptake is higher than today and covering all of the professions that matter to our region.  The workforce will benefit from Fair Work values, such as the Real Living Wage, have both higher levels, and a more diverse range of skills, supporting the transition to a net zero economy and the diverse opportunities in the region.
  • Sustainability – The area will be a leader in the transformation to a low-carbon economy. Sustainable economic growth will be driven by projects underpinned by the principles of a Just Transition, the circular economy and leveraging renewable energy production and consumption. Communities will benefit by engaging and investing with the opportunities presented by the transition to net-zero, and partners will look to develop and strengthen local supply chains through supporting local procurement.
  • Partnership Effectiveness – We will demonstrate progress against our goals.  We will publish key targets, measure progress and report against these.  We will regularly check in with our stakeholders on how they see our progress and make the results of this public.