What Works Scotland closed but resources still available

What Works Scotland concluded its formal programme of work at the end of December 2019 but our resources will still be available.

This blog and the What Works Scotland website, which holds all our publications, videos, resources from events and other content will be available online, for several more years. 

For several year Policy Scotland, a research unit at the University of Glasgow, continued to look after the What Works Scotland legacy. 

Policy Scotland was discontinued in 2021 and the legacy is now managed by the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow.

You may find it useful to get bulletins from the Glasgow Social Sciences Hub for updates on continuing work related to public service reform in Scotland.

In search of effective collaborative challenge for a more equitable society

James Henderson, Research Associate with What Works Scotland, considers the final reflective learning report from the Aberdeenshire case site and the challenges of 'putting Christie into action'.

Tackling inequalities by supporting 'enterprising' communities

As part of What Works Scotland community sector inquiry work, Pauline Hinchion, Director of Scottish Communities Finance, returns to the Christie Commission's report to consider the fundamental challenge of empowering low income communities and the potential for asset-based approaches to work alongside public services.

Community-led activity: time to invest in expansion

As part of What Works Scotland community sector inquiry work, Ian Cooke, Director of the Development Trust Association Scotland – one of the advisory group for What Works Scotland’s community anchor organisation research and report – analyses the current context for community place-making and calls for a commitment to investing in the significant contribution anchors can make to building community infrastructure. 

Extending the community sector inquiry through a cross-sector learning community?

James Henderson, Research Associate with What Works Scotland (up to December 2018) and now working on the Smart Urban Intermediaries project, reflects on the potential for further shared inquiry work on the community sector role in public service reform and social change. 

He links his thoughts with three blogs generated by the community sector inquiry – from Ian Cooke of the Development Trust Association Scotland, Pauline Hinchion from Scottish Communities Finance, and Aidan Pia, Director of Senscot.

Tackling health inequalities means more than service reform and design

Chris Littlejohn, Deputy Director of Public Health with NHS Grampian, responds to At the frontier of Collaborative and Participatory Governance: Eight Discussions to support putting Christie into action, a report by What Works Scotland and Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership which reflects on the learning from their collaborative work. 

He considers some of the challenges the report raises for a public health agenda committed to tackling inequalities.

Continuing to learn from international experiences of participatory budgeting

Coryn Barclay, research consultant at Fife Council, took part in an international learning visit to Paris in December 2016, supported by what Works Scotland, to consider how Scotland could learn about participatory budgeting and public sector reform.

Two years on, she was invited to participate in an international round table discussion at the Third National Meeting of Participatory Budgeting, hosted by the City of Montreuil on 8/9 November 2018, again in Paris. Here she shares the experience.

Community social enterprises: innovators in public service reform?

Building from the recently published research report on community anchor organisations, What Works Scotland is exploring further the crucial relationship between the community sector on the one hand, and public services partnerships and public service reform on the other. 

Here Aidan Pia, Director of Senscot (Social Entrepreneurs Network Scotland), considers the potential of community social enterprise to innovate, lead and contribute in complex ways to the Christie Commission agenda of partnership, participation and prevention.

Exploring community anchors, public service reform... and the wider local community sector

What Works Scotland has recently published a research report and policy and practice briefing about community anchor organisations and public service reform. But what happen next? 

In this blog post research associate James Henderson introduces some of the key learning from the research and highlights the ongoing discussion of the developing role of the community sector across society in Scotland. 

Third sector leadership – the promise of collective accounts of leadership

James Rees, Carol Jacklin-Jarvis and Vita Terry 

James Rees, Carol Jacklin-Jarvis and Vita Terry from the Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership have provided this guest blog. 

They examine the challenges and opportunities offered by adopting collective leadership practices in third and voluntary sector organisations.

Knowing how: Putting research into practice

What Works Scotland and community planning partners in Fife have worked together on collaborative action research projects for the past three years.

Here, Coryn Barclay, Research Consultant at Fife Council, blogs about how research is the 'secret weapon in public service reform'.

Changing alcohol culture: developing our LOIP priority and what we’ve learnt about partnership working

Changing Aberdeenshire’s relationship with alcohol is a Local Outcomes Improvement Plan (LOIP) priority for Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership. 

In this blog post, Wayne Gault, Lead Officer with the Aberdeenshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership, reflects on how the Partnership approached the priority, what they have learnt from the experience, and what it means for practice.

Mapping the frontiers of collaborative governance

James Henderson and Nick Bland from What Works Scotland worked with Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership and partners from spring 2015 until early 2017 to develop action research projects and activities, with 2017 providing opportunities for further reflective work within the CPP. 

Here, James discusses the latest (but not the final) report generated by this work together, and which explores emerging multi-layered preventative partnership working, as per the Christie Commission agenda.

The future of joined-up working and integration in Scotland: Time to concentrate on collaborative practice?

In this blog, What Works Scotland research fellow Dr Hayley Bennett outlines some key ideas from her recent presentation on collaborative practice and public service reform in Scotland.

Reflections on the welfare inquiry experience: Building and enhancing partnership working

Fife is one of the four case sites where What Works Scotland has worked with community planning partnerships on collaborative action research into public service reform.

In this guest blog, Gary Smith, member of the Fife welfare reform inquiry team, reflects on the experience and impact of the collaborative action research activities. 

Digging deep and getting dirty hands! Doing collaborative action research with public services

Since 2015 Dr Hayley Bennett and Dr Richard Brunner have been creating, adapting and co-producing collaborative action research activities with various public service professionals across Scotland. 

Here they share insights on the role of professional researchers in collaborative, participatory and action research approaches. 

Meeting change-makers: connecting research and the ‘real world’

At What Works Scotland we support several PhD researchers working on topics that will deepen our understanding of different aspects of public service reform. 

Kirsty Deacon writes about undertaking an internship with the Scottish Government where she researched the role of u.lab, an online course for developing skills around collaboration and co-production, in supporting Scotland's public service change-makers.

How can place-based approaches be used in rural Scotland?

A place-based approach has become more prominent in Scottish policymaking in the last few years, particularly as a result of the recommendations of the Christie Commission on the delivery of public services and the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. 

But what does this mean for Scotland's rural areas?

Jane Atterton, Manager and Policy Researcher at Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) discusses the implications, currently also the subject of joint research by SRUC Rural Policy Centre staff and colleagues at the James Hutton Institute. The research is being funded by the Scottish Government Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment (RAFE) Strategic Research Portfolio 2016-21.

Facilitative Leadership: Involving citizens and communities in local decision-making

A new era of community participation in local democracy requires public services staff to develop skills for collaborative engagement.

Here  Claire Bynner, Oliver Escobar and Wendy Faulkner describe a What Works Scotland project to create a training course that would develop and cascade skills in facilitative leadership.

Can asset-based community development help to address health inequalities?

Assets approaches to addressing disadvantage have become popular in recent years. What does the term mean, and how do the different interpretations of an 'assets approach' impact on their outcomes?

To conclude in our short series about asset-based community development, What Works Scotland PhD student Sarah Ward discusses the benefits of using the capabilities framework to identify clear objectives for asset-based work.