SCOTTISH Development International (SDI) is looking to hire a specialist to deliver thought leadership seminars.
SDI’s objective is to sharpen its officers as they seek to attract fresh investment to Scotland.
Outlining the brief, SDI said: “It is recognised that in an increasingly challenging global foreign direct investment environment, being viewed as a ‘thought leader’ or ‘sector expert’ will provide companies and countries who succeed in doing so with a competitive advantage.”
The deadline for contract bids was August 22.
SDI is keen to engage a global audience in specific industry or academic sectors, in order raise Scotland’s profile as a centre of innovation and scientific leadership and progress potential inward investment and sales leads.
The aims of the project are to secure at least 60 sales meetings with potential inward investment prospects (companies outside of Scotland), and to secure more than 600 new company contacts to which SDI can communicate on an ongoing basis.
SDI says that, in order to achieve these aims, the successful supplier will be expected to identify an appropriate sector-specific global target audience, and set up, promote and run up to three global online thought leadership events towards this audience.
The programme of events would be recorded and made available as online podcasts.
It is not known at this stage whether SDI sees companies in the energy sector as potential targets for inward investment.
However, an influential industry contact told Energy that, once again, the Scottish government had got its priorities wrong, and that SDI should be concentrating on helping Scottish companies win business overseas, especially in the energy sector.