The momentum following the recent Parliamentary debate on Scotland’s games sector is translating into action.
The next meeting of the Cross-Party Group (CPG) on Scotland’s Games Ecosystem will take place on March 18th, from 18:00 – 20:00. Interest from across the industry and academia has already been exceptionally high. With the committee room in the Scottish Parliament restricted to a strict capacity of only 26 people, the available in-person places are expected to be fully allocated.
The Implementation Scrutiny
The primary focus of this session is the promised line-by-line review of the Level Up Scotland Action Plan. During the recent debate at Holyrood, the Minister for Business and Employment, Richard Lochhead MSP, gave a public assurance that he would engage with the plan’s recommendations in detail.
We have formally invited the Minister to join us on 18 March to begin this process. While we are currently finalising the specific diary arrangements with his office, the session is being prepared as the definitive technical review of our implementation roadmap – including the proposed Chief Games Officer role and the Pilot Investment Fund.
Open Agenda
In addition to the Games Action Plan, the CPG can discuss all issues relevant to the games ecosystem in Scotland. If you have a topic you’d like covered, or a question for any of the stakeholders responsible for games in Scotland, please submit it here. The agenda will be published the week before the CPG meets.
A Roadmap Built on Evidence
This session is not a call for further discussion, but a move toward institutional delivery. While other voices have recently suggested a new task-and-finish review of the sector, the Scottish Games Network remains firm: that work has already been completed.
The Action Plan is the result of years of rigorous, audited evidence. It is the direct implementation of the 2022 Scotland’s Games Ecosystem study by the business schools at the University of Glasgow and the University of Stirling, combined with our own 18-month consultation involving 22 technical workshops with over 300 stakeholders.
The review phase is now complete. This was an extensive, expert-led undertaking that engaged hundreds of stakeholders from every corner of the ecosystem to ensure the final blueprint is unassailable. We have the data, we have the community consensus, and we have the roadmap ready for the Minister to examine.
Securing Your Attendance
The in-person capacity for this session is extremely tight. If you are a studio founder, a researcher, or a key stakeholder in Scotland’s games economy who wishes to be present for this review, we encourage you to register immediately.
The “secret weapon” is out of the shadows. On 18 March, we show the Government that the industry is ready to transition from strategic vision to national delivery.
Register to attend Scotland’s Games Cross-Party Group here (in-person and online tickets available).
If you’ve not yet read Level Up: Scotland’s Games Action Plan, or left a comment supporting it, you can do so here.
Image courtesy of: Cassandra Harrison Art.