The University of Aberdeen Business School is leading a major new research initiative designed to answer an increasingly urgent question for organisations across Scotland: are they truly ready for transformation?
The Scottish Transformation Readiness Index (TRI) is the first national benchmark to measure how prepared Scottish organisations are for major change. Focusing on areas such as AI adoption, net zero transition, digitalisation, restructuring, and workforce transformation, the TRI aims to provide the first evidence-based national picture of organisational readiness across Scotland.
The initiative is running between 1 May and 10 July 2026 through a short, anonymous 10-minute survey open to organisations across the country. Findings will be published in a national report on 5 August 2026. The project is led by the University of Aberdeen Business School in partnership with six Scottish organisations spanning the energy sector, business community, and Scotland’s data and AI ecosystem.
Dr Iva Atanassova, who will lead the research team, said: “The project addresses a significant gap in understanding how organisations manage change. While many transformation initiatives focus on strategy, technology investment, or project delivery, evidence shows that 70 to 80 percent of transformation programmes fail to achieve their intended outcomes because organisations are not sufficiently prepared to absorb and sustain change.
“This challenge is becoming increasingly important in Scotland, where many organisations are managing multiple transitions simultaneously, including energy transition, AI adoption, digitalisation, and workforce change. Without a national benchmark, organisations are often forced to make decisions in isolation, with limited visibility of sector-wide strengths, weaknesses, or readiness levels.
“The TRI seeks to change that by creating a shared national benchmark that businesses, policymakers, and sector bodies can use to better understand where readiness gaps exist, where strengths sit, and where investment is most likely to translate into successful outcomes.”
Unlike existing measures that typically track adoption rates, spending levels, or project milestones, the TRI focuses on whether organisations have the underlying organisational conditions and capacity to absorb execute and sustain change. To the researchers’ knowledge, it is the first transformation readiness benchmark produced at national scale in Scotland, including sector-level reporting where sample sizes allow.
The project is built on more than ten years of peer-reviewed research into organisational learning and strategic agility.
The TRI research programme is led by Dr Iva Atanassova at the University of Aberdeen Business School, alongside Dr Ye Li as Research Lead and Dr Yaji Sripada from the University's School of Natural and Computing Sciences as Technical Co-Lead. The wider research programme is supported by Innovate UK through the ICURe Discover and ICURe Explore programmes.
The final Scottish Transformation Readiness Index report, published early August 2026, is expected to provide valuable new insight into Scotland’s readiness for future transformation challenges. Future case studies based on sector findings and partner perspectives are also planned following publication.
To help shape the national benchmark, responses can be submitted anonymously at https://forms.office.com/e/NUrq8XKka6 (closes 10 July 2026). To hear more about the research or take part, contact Dr Iva Atanassova: iva.atanassova@abdn.ac.uk; website: thinkforwardcabas.com