Chair of Highlands and Islands Enterprise William Roe has identified six key drivers for economic development in the term of the next Scottish Parliament.

In a speech delivered to around 50 delegates in Edinburgh last week, Mr Roe highlighted greater equivalence for people in the Highlands and Islands to ensure the costs of living and running a business in a rural community are comparable with other parts of Scotland; continued investment in modern infrastructure; building enterprise into all tertiary education; increasing the 'sales' ability and confidence of people in the region; supporting the creative industries; and building institutional and professional capacity, as the principal economic drivers.

The 'Encouraging Enterprise' speech was presented by Mr Roe during the Holyrood Manifesto Series - a nine conference series - which was held at the Royal Museum in Edinburgh on Monday 26 February.

Entitled 'Economic Development: smart and successful?', the penultimate one-day conference was attended by a broad cross-section from the public and private sectors including politicians, businesses, development agencies, students, academics, investment companies and civil servants.

William Roe said: "Talented people with clever ideas are the real drivers of the economy. The challenge for Highlands and Islands Enterprise and its partners is to create the conditions and provide the infrastructure and support to enable people and businesses to flourish."

In addition to the economic drivers, key points covered in the speech included the importance of achieving university title for UHI Millennium Institute and developing research capacity; making global connections to enable businesses to trade in international markets; supporting women and young people in enterprise; and the importance of social enterprise to the future of sustainable economic development.

Other speakers on the day included director of CBI Scotland Iain MacMillan, venture capitalist entrepreneur and business angel Iain Ritchie, and director of Glasgow: Edinburgh Collaboration Laura Gordon.