Scottish Overseas Development

Who we are

In 1999 Scottish Enterprise decided to restructure and concentrate on core objectives. This resulted in closing down several operations including Scottish Development Overseas (SDO) which was a major player in the international projects business.

The directors of TAS International Ltd which had a long history of successful project management in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union formed Scottish Overseas Development to take over the functions of SDO (but minus its operations in the equatorial regions). The two companies had worked together so the changeover was smooth. The input from TAS International Ltd took the form of all of its international development work which was funded by the European Commission and all of the management for the new company.

Moreover, it was agreed that the commercially financed operations would remain with TAS International Ltd. The remit of Scottish Overseas Development has been extended beyond the original remit of SDO. In recognition of the experience in assisting the promotion of social and economic transition in Scotland, the company has through its subsidiary, Scottish Consultants Partnership, undertaken the development of projects within Scotland mainly funded by the ESF and the Scottish Executive.

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What we do

The core management of Scottish Overseas Development has long experience in the management and implementation of both commercial and technical assistance projects, particularly in the transitional societies of Central and Eastern Europe. Our experts bring a wealth of experience from many years work in senior positions in government, the commercial world and the social sector in Britain.

The combined experience of SDO and TAS has created a specialist contractor for Technical Assistance projects which is the premier organization in Scotland with the capability of carrying out large scale projects.

Our senior managers have all occupied senior management roles on Tacis and Phare projects and collectively have extensive knowledge of almost all countries within these areas.

The areas of project activity in which the company can demonstrate considerable competence include :

Business Development

Management training
All aspects of SME support and development (start-ups, incubators, business centres , business clubs)
Inward investment
Tourism and hospitality industries ( a specialist area ) - training at all levels for the tourist and hospitality industries, modernising hotels, development of regional reservation systems

Economic Regeneration, Employment Creation and Social Inclusion

multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary projects aimed at promoting the regeneration of economically depressed and socially deprived areas
programmes to assist employment creation and to promote employability among the long-term unemployed and to develop Entrepreneurship among school and college students

Good Governance and Civil Society

Strengthening the capacity of national and local government
Institution building -particularly promoting NGO and community development

Social Development

institution building to assist vulnerable groups
delivery of social services through social partnership

Education and Vocational Training

modernising curricula of vocational colleges and schools
continuing education
lifelong learning
Enterprise in Education

Programme and Project Management

Management of large complex, multi-site projects, project design and development. Project preparation for funding agencies and tender preparation for individual clients.
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Our Approach

Our approach to project management, training and technical assistance is quite distinctive and is drawn from many years of experience of working in different environments and cultures.

Internationally, our primary focus lies in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe where the management of Scottish Overseas has more than 20 years of experience in both commercial and technical assistance projects. The long association with these countries has enabled the company to build a structure of representative offices in the individual countries and develop not only an exceptional degree of expertise and understanding of local cultures but also long-term partnerships with major organizations and institutions in each country.

Our project management and implementation is therefore based upon the following principles :

an understanding of the importance of participation of all stakeholders and recipients
design and delivery of technical assistance and training based upon the particular needs of clients and recipients
social awareness based upon a combination of experience in economic regeneration and economic development with the promotion of social inclusion, good governance, democratic values and genuine community ownership
working with and training local and national government officials from a wide range of political and social cultures to improve governance, to accept and actively develop social partnership and training in the understanding and development of the management of change at all levels in administrations
a long-term commitment to partners and to recipients of projects. Many of our current relationships in individual countries have been founded upon the institutions and people with whom we have been involved in the implementation of projects
a commitment to constant evaluation and monitoring to ensure consistent quality in delivery
Scottish Overseas Development has a comprehensive set of employment policies designed to promote equal opportunities and protection for all employees. These are compliant with and go beyond the United Kingdom Government legislation and Codes of Practice on Employment and Equal Opportunities. We are committed to ensuring that these policies are observed in the implementation of projects.

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Quality Assurance

The quality we offer

Several of our senior consultants are experts in Quality Assurance and our managers have all been engaged in projects to monitor and evaluate other projects. Our systems are therefore of the highest quality.
All directors and senior managers combine high academic qualifications with substantial experience in the field and a practical approach to project implementation.
We also maintain quality through the highest standards of project management combined with our own rigorous policy of internal evaluation and monitoring of each individual project or assignment.
All experts and consultants have been carefully selected through a rigorous and consistent recruitment policy.
We combine high quality with very competitive pricing since we are a Scottish based company where costs are lower.

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Clients

Scottish Overseas Development and TAS International have carried out Technical Assistance projects for the European Commission's Tacis and Phare programmes and the UK Government programmes in Eastern and Central Europe. From these projects many long-term relationships and additional contracts have developed.

Our clients include numerous State Ministries and local authorities in Russia, the Baltic States , Bulgaria and Hungary. TAS International during its operations since 1985 has also carried out a large number of commercial projects throughout Eastern Europe and Russia. These have varied from modernization projects for the Izmailova Hotel Complex in Moscow, the largest in the world to conversion projects for defence plants in Samara and Ekaterinburg, modernization of hotels and sanatoria and development of tourism in Sochi region and many manufacturing enterprises in various parts of Russia and the former Soviet Union.

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