Heat networks delivery plan - draft: consultation analysis

3. Methods

3.1 Qualitative analysis of consultation responses was undertaken by the University of Edinburgh and Ramboll UK with the purpose of assisting the Scottish Government in making effective and equitable policy. The aim of the analysis was to provide an impartial and comprehensive synthesis of consultation responses. This intends to help to ensure the development of policy has considered a wide selection of relevant views and that decisions are thoroughly evidence-based. The consultation analysis should also provide assurance to the public and relevant stakeholders about the transparency of the Scottish Government's policy-making process.

3.2 The analysis reported in this document is a qualitative analysis of the 48 consultation responses and the information collected at the online stakeholder workshop. A public consultation is self-selecting, meaning that anyone is invited to submit their views. However, this self-selection means the views represented in this document may not represent the views of the Scottish population. The analysis is thus not a nationally representative survey of public opinion, nor does it express the views of the analysts or their employers. The content of this analysis only contains the views of those who responded to the consultation (respondent breakdowns are presented in Section 4) and participated in the workshop.

3.3 In total 22 open ended questions were posed within the consultation, of which three had closed questions associated with them. Respondents were free to answer as many or few questions as they wished. Some respondents provided additional evidence in support of their responses. These have not been reviewed in full, but references and links have been included as footnotes. A full breakdown of the number of respondents to each question is provided in Section 5.

3.4 The qualitative analysis provides a thematic overview of key cross-cutting issues raised in the consultation responses and draws out the full range of views submitted by respondents. Text-based analysis of the submitted responses was conducted and summary notes from the consultation events were reviewed. This analysis method enabled two main outcomes. First, establishing of patterns across the dataset on the presence of overarching cross-cutting themes. Second, exploring individual responses in detail.

3.5 Qualitative analysis is not designed to permit the quantification of results. We do however use specific terms ('some', 'several' and 'many') throughout the report to signify the weight of a particular view. This provides a broad indication of how many respondents represented any one perspective being reported. In the reporting of the findings, 'some' is used when referring to the views of three-six respondents; 'several' is used when referring to seven-nine respondents; and 'many' is used when referring to 10 or more respondents.

3.6 Findings are reported in Section 4 as follows. A profile of the respondents is provided in Table 4.1, detailing the types of respondents. This is followed by a summary of the main cross-cutting themes which were identified from across the full set of responses to the 22 individual questions. Analysis of responses to each individual question then follows. The type of respondent expressing a particular view is identified where it was deemed informative. Section 5 contains data on the number of respondents to each question.