Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE; ) is the

development agency An aid agency, also known as development charity, is an organization dedicated to distributing aid. Many professional aid organisations exist, both within government, between governments as multilateral donors and as private voluntary organizatio ...

for the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, an

executive non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of na ...

of the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

with the role to "help build a prosperous, sustainable and inclusive economy across the Highlands and Islands, attracting more people to live, work, study, invest and visit there."

History

HIE is the successor body to the Highlands and Islands Development Board (HIDB), which was launched on 1 November 1965, and was responsible for distributing government grants for economic and cultural development of the Highlands. The first chair of the HIDB was Professor Robert Grieve. Retired diplomat Sir Andrew Gilchrist was its chairman from 1970 until 1976. One strand of its work was to develop community co-operatives. In 1991 HIDB was replaced by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which also took over responsibilities from the Training Agency to form HIE. Iain Robertson, appointed as Chief Executive of the HIDB in 1990, continued to chair the new body. The new organisation aimed to be more decentralised, with decision making and budget control being devolved to a network of 10 Local Enterprise Companies, each with their own CEO. A major reshaping of the organisation in 1993 saw the number of divisions reduced from seven to five. In 2008 a further major restructure occurred, with careers advice and national training programmes transferred to a new national body – Skills Development Scotland. In 2014, HIE provided funding for the construction of the Harris distillery. Charlotte Wright was appointed as chief executive in June 2017, after holding the position of interim chief executive since the previous August.

Area covered by HIE

The HIDB originally covered the area defined as

crofting counties A croft is a traditional Scottish term for a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant ...

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a Counties of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and s ...

and

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

. In 1975 the area covered was expanded to include the islands of Arran and

Bute Bute or BUTE may refer to: People * Marquess of Bute, a title in the Peerage of Great Britain; includes lists of baronets, earls and marquesses of Bute * Lord of Bute, a title in medieval Scotland, including a list of lords * Lucian Bute (born ...

and those parts of the newly-formed

Highland council area Highland (, ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the United Kingdo ...

that were not already within its remit. In 1979 the HIDB area extended to also include the Clyde islands of

Great Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

and

Little Cumbrae Little Cumbrae () is an island in the Firth of Clyde, in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It lies south of Great Cumbrae, its larger neighbour. The underlying geology is igneous with limited outcrops of sedimentary rock. Little Cumbrae House is of 20th ...

, and in 1986 it was extended again to cover

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

. The current areas covered by HIE are: *Argyll and the Islands, covering

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

except for the Helensburgh and Lomond area, plus Arran and the Cumbraes in

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire (, ) is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and s ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

: ** Caithness and Sutherland **Inner Moray Firth (including

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

) **

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

and

Wester Ross Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to th ...

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

Strategy

Highlands and Islands Enterprise's approach to economic and community development centres on working to build sustainable economic growth in all parts of the region. They are guided in this by the Scottish Government Economic Strategy, and by the Scottish Economic Recovery Plan. HIE operates across 13 offices throughout the Highlands and Islands including 10 Area Offices, from Benbecula to Forres and Lerwick to Lochgilphead. HIE's purpose is to deliver the Scottish Government's Economic Strategy which aims to create a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth. The strategy sets five strategic objectives, for Scotland to become: *Wealthier and fairer *Smarter *Healthier *Safer and stronger *Greener The HIE Operating Plan outlines the investment priorities for its annual budget in line with the national economic strategy. The Scottish Government's skills strategy, Skills for Scotland, also informs HIE's remit. The skills strategy highlights the importance to economic growth of equipping people with skills, expertise and knowledge, and ensuring their full and productive use. While Skills Development Scotland is the leading body in this field, HIE continues to have a strong interest in aspects of skills in the region. In particular, it supports workforce development. HIE also helped to create learning infrastructure and assisted UHI Millennium Institute in becoming the

University of the Highlands and Islands The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) () is an integrated, tertiary institution encompassing both further and higher education. It is composed of 10 colleges and research institutions spread around Inverness, the Highlands and Isl ...

. HIE are now based on the new university campus at An Lochrann. The equivalent organisation for central and eastern Scotland is

Scottish Enterprise Scottish Enterprise () is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, Business, enterprise, innovation, international and investment agency, investment in business. The body covers the eastern ...

; the development agency for the south of the country is South of Scotland Enterprise. The three development agencies jointly operate Scottish Development International, which seeks to support Scottish companies to grow their exports.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Highlands And Islands Enterprise Executive non-departmental public bodies of the Scottish Government Highlands and Islands of Scotland Community-building organizations Development agencies of Scotland Organisations based in Inverness 1991 establishments in Scotland Government agencies established in 1991