At a time when the issue of Scotland's economic resources is top of the political agenda, the small business voice deserves to be heard.
Big companies and inward investors account for only 25% of employment and less than 1% of companies, yet their power and visibility commands sometimes disproportionate attention from public agencies and the media.
The fragmented small business sector meanwhile has to fight for its finance, and rely on flagbearers such as the Federation of Small Businesses and Scottish Chambers of Commerce to battle red tape and regulation.
When those small businesses repeatedly complain of obstacles that disadvantage them which are within the power of government to alleviate, it surely offers an "easy win" route to a stronger Scottish economy.
That is why The Herald today launches a campaign in support of small businesses. Over the coming months, the intention is to focus on three key areas where levers could be pulled behind the scenes, rather than on spectacular political initiatives.
Sir Ian Wood's report last year on boosting Scotland's vocational education to bridge the skills gap is prompting a national debate, but there is a danger big business needs will overshadow those of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). Public authorities, schools and colleges need to build real engagement between education and the world of small workplaces, where most young people will find their jobs - 94% of companies employ fewer than 10 people.
The UK Government has made available a £200m fund to help fix the crumbling local road network - a hidden but vital element of SME costs and efficiency. But none of it may find its way into Scotland's council road budgets if the Scottish Government lets authorities pick their own priorities for the windfall. Meanwhile town-centre decline continues to exercise policymakers - but have they factored in the importance of small firms in driving real economic activity on the high street?
We begin our campaign with the often overlooked issue of public procurement. Our public agencies buy goods and services worth almost £10 billion a year, including £4bn spending by local authorities, making it their most potent direct weapon for economic development.
Scotland's councils spend only 27% of those budgets locally, less even than the 31% UK-wide, yet according to the FSB a 5% improvement would be worth almost £800m to the economy.
Little in the Scottish Government's new Procurement Reform Bill is mandatory, with much reliance on how cost-conscious local authorities behave, and no power at all over a large swathe of agencies defined as private companies though established to spend public money.
But as we show today and will detail in future reports, EU tendering rules have not prevented progressive procurers from finding ways to prioritise their local economy in many spending decisions. It is this best practice the Scottish Government should be encouraging, to power up the SME economic engine.
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