CDS unveils £200,000 boost for collaborative companies

An arm of Scottish Enterprise supporting company growth via collaboration is to invest £200,000 into developing services for SMEs, saying working with others is 'increasingly an imperative in the face of rising global competition'.

CDS chief executive Sarah Deas. Picture: Contributed

Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) said the funds, provided over the next three years, will boost its consortium development services, helping businesses grow their collaborative proposition.

CDS will also set up two new services due to launch later this year – “collaborate to export”, helping businesses take their products or services into international markets, and “best practice in collaboration”, providing specialist support to help established tie-ups with growth potential to improve operational effectiveness.

CDS chief executive Sarah Deas said: “As competition for talent, resources and business across many sectors continues to rise, businesses are finding it necessary to look at new ways of tackling old challenges, and business collaboration can be the secret ingredient by enabling access to new ideas, assets and the combined strength which a collaborative venture offers.

“For SMEs looking to increase productivity, collaboration is increasingly a must-have, not a nice-to-have, which is why we’re developing new services. We aim to work with businesses across all sectors to promote collaboration in a way which drives profit and innovation.”