New Zealander Lowe has been director of performance rugby at Murrayfield for three years, and is taking a job with the Melbourne-based Australian Rules side Western Bulldogs to be closer to his family.
The 41-year-old became closely associated with the idea of boosting homegrown resources by bringing players in from other parts of the British Isles and further afield.
In recent months, Edinburgh have been strengthened by Wales duo John Yapp and Richie Rees, Georgia forward Dimitri Basilaia and former All Blacks centre Ben Atiga. Glasgow have gained New Zealand flanker Angus Macdonald, Canada wing Taylor Paris and Fiji scrum-half Niko Matawalu.
The most controversial part of the strategy has been bringing in uncapped players with a view to them becoming qualified for Scotland on residence grounds over three years. Edinburgh prop Willem Nel and Glasgow No 8 Josh Strauss both fall into that category. But Lowe has now suggested the flood of imports could dry up soon to give native Scots more opportunities.
"We look around the world at other opportunities, and the door is definitely not closed to those," said Lowe, "but the key part is that we keep supporting and driving the young talent that is coming through our system."
Lowe has been credited with forging stronger ties between Scotland's professional and amateur sides.
He said: "With the two [professional] clubs, it becomes really important that those not involved on the weekend have a genuine competitive structure that allows them to continue to develop- a lot of work has been done by [amateur] clubs in supporting these players and making them want to stay involved and the SRU is committed to facilitating that."
He added: "It's important to have development opportunities for players. Having a third or fourth team is desirable, but only if you have the resources to support them. There is no point in having [teams] and filling them with players who won't come through to the highest level."
A worldwide search for Lowe's successor has been announced. He says it doesn't have to be a rugby person, but adds: "The rugby part is important because you are interacting with various stakeholders."
