In the press this week it was revealed that a new study will look into the economic benefits of Burns the Brand. In 2003, for example, it was estimated that world icon Robert Burns generated £157 million for Scotland. Now a team headed by Professor Murray Pittock of the Centre for Robert Burns Studies, University of Glasgow, will receive government funding to research how far Burns contributes to Scottish jobs, local economies, and the ways in which this could be further developed. For example, the Robert Burns Birthplace museum in Alloway, Ayrshire, is among the most visited places connected with a writer in the whole UK.

The study will continue into 2019 and a website will be established to inform others who would like to make the most of the Robert Burns legacy.