Joint bilateral review of the relationship between Scotland and Ireland - public engagement: analytical summary

Annex A: Questionnaire 

Strategic Review of Ireland - Scotland Relations

The questionnaire below is extracted from the Scottish Government Consultation Hub Citizen Space. The questionnaire is optimised for online usage. The presentation and design of the questionnaire below therefore does not reflect the user experience Citizen Space offers. It does however follow the same structure. 

Question in sections 3 are exclusively posed to respondents based in Scotland wishing to express their views on Scotland, whereas section 4 only applies to respondents based in Ireland. 

All other sections of the questionnaire will be posed to respondents regardless of whether they are based in Scotland, Ireland or somewhere else. 

Overview

As part of the joint review of the Scotland – Ireland relationship—a collaborative first for both our Governments—this questionnaire is intended to gather the views of all those interested in how Ireland and Scotland associate, cooperate, and collaborate as close neighbours. Whatever your interest in Ireland – Scotland relations, we are keen to hear your views on how we work well together, what we might improve on, and how key aspects of the relationship might be suitably developed over the next 5 years.

The questionnaire is one strand of a broader engagement exercise being conducted by Scottish Government and the Government of Ireland to draw in a rich variety of experiences, views and ideas. Capturing the different views among the diversity of our peoples and residents will be a crucial step in guiding our conclusions. The results of this questionnaire will inform the ongoing joint review of Ireland - Scotland relations and will be incorporated into the joint report in due course. We anticipate that this review will be the beginning of an on-going dialogue between our countries, and in the first instance we are focusing on 5 main areas of activity:

• Business and economic interests
• community and diaspora links
• culture experience and exchange
• rural, coastal and island communities
• Academic, educational and research links

The questionnaire begins with some basic information about you, as a respondent, and then directs you through a range of questions focusing on our review themes and your experience of Ireland – Scotland relations. We invite both selected and open responses to hopefully allow you to contribute as much as you wish to share.

1. Respondent Information

What is your name or your organisation's name? 

Name/organisation name

Are you responding as an individual or an organisation? 

Individual or Organisation

2. Ireland-Scotland relations

The questions that follow begin with matters that relate jointly to the Scotland – Ireland relationship, followed by more detailed, country-specific inquiries, and open questions related to our review themes. Please contribute to the questions most relevant to you/your organisation.

How would you characterise relations between the two countries?

Very positive

Fairly positive

Neutral

Not great

Poor

How important is the Scotland-Ireland relationship in terms of: 

Very^[5]

Quite^[6]

Not really^[7]

Shared business and economic interests - including tourism 

Very

Quite

Not really

Shared community and diaspora and links – including sport 

Very

Quite

Not really

Shared cultural experience and exchange 

Very

Quite

Not really

Shared interest in sustaining rural, coastal and island communities 

Very

Quite

Not really

Shared academic, educational and research links 

Very

Quite

Not really

Shared government, official and policy links 

Very

Quite

Not really

Thinking of the next 5 years – the agreed timeline for this review - do you see the relevance of the Ireland-Scotland relationship: 

Increasing

Remaining about the same

Decreasing

Looking ahead, where would you expect to see the Irish-Scottish economic relationship expand? 

Energy

Tourism

Services and expertise

Tech and ICT

Finance

Agri-food

Other (please specify)

From what perspective do you wish to contribute your views for the rest of the questionnaire: 

Based in Ireland

Based in Scotland

Based elsewhere but with an interest in the Ireland-Scotland relationship

All respondents based in Ireland will be taken forward to section 4, whereas respondents based in Scotland will be taken forward to section 3. If respondents are based somewhere else, they will be directed to section 5.

3. Scotland (for all respondents based in Scotland) 

Thinking of Ireland’s image in Scotland over the past few years would you say it has: 

Improved

Remained stable

Deteriorated

What in your view has led to that change: 

(open response)

Generally, what makes Ireland most visible in Scotland (tick all that apply) 

Irish business and economic activity

Irish cultural events and organisations

Irish community and diaspora

Sporting activity and events

Media coverage

Irish government/official activity

Other (please specify)

Personally, how do you engage with Ireland?
	Aware of, but not active	Already active/ involved	Would like to do more	Not interested/ relevant
Watch or read film/literature/media
Attend live performance of Irish music/theatre/dance/comedy
Participate in Irish arts/culture/sport
Attending St Patrick’s Day events
Attending or playing sport
Gather socially with Irish diaspora
Gather with Irish relatives
Other

As an individual or an organisation, how do you engage with Ireland?
	Aware of, but not active	Already active/ involved	Would like to do more	Not interested/ relevant
Consumer – choose Irish products and goods
Academic – through education/academic/ research links
Business – through Business with Irish firms
Business – through connections with Irish colleagues and counterparts
Business – through investment/property in Ireland
Official – through dealings with local or national government/agencies in Ireland
Other

Would you consider yourself as a member of Ireland’s diaspora in Scotland? 

Yes 

No

Not relevant (responding as an organisation)

Where are you/your organisation mainly based? 

(drop down menu)

Have you had recent contact with the Consulate General of Ireland in Edinburgh? 

Yes

No

If so, what was the nature of this contact?

Passport

Citizenship

Consular assistance

Attendance at an event

Organisation of an event

Other (please specify)

Have you had recent contact with the Scottish Innovation and Investment Hub in Dublin? 

Yes

No

If so, what was the nature of this contact?

4. Ireland (for all respondents based in Ireland) 

Thinking of Scotland's image in Ireland over the past few years would you say it has:

Improved

Remained stable

Deteriorated

What in your view has led to that change: 

(open response)

Generally, what makes Scotland most visible in Ireland? (tick all that apply)

Scottish business and economic activity

Scottish cultural events and organisations

Scottish community and diaspora

Sporting activity and events

Media coverage

Scottish government/official activity

Other (please specify)

Personally, how do you engage with Scotland?
	Aware of, but not active	Already active/ involved	Would like to do more	Not interested/ relevant
Watch or read film/literature/media
Attend live performance of Scottish music/theatre/dance/comedy
Participate in Scottish arts/culture/sport
Attending St Andrew’s Day/ Hogmanay/Burns events
Attending or playing sport
Gather socially with Scottish diaspora
Gather with Scottish relatives
Other

As an individual or an organisation, how do you engage with Scotland?
	Aware of, but not active	Already active/involved	Would like to do more	Not interested/relevant
Consumer – choose Scottish products and goods
Academic – through education/academic/ research links
Business – through business with Scottish firms
Business – through connections with Scottish colleagues and counterparts
Business – through investment/property in Scotland
Official – through dealings with local or national government/agencies in Scotland
Other

Would you consider yourself as a member of Scotland’s diaspora in Ireland? 

Yes 

No

Not relevant (responding as an organisation)

Where are you/your organisation mainly based? 

(drop down menu)

5. Shared themes (for all respondents)

The online design and experience of this section aims to allow respondents answer the three main questions on the themes most relevant to them. The themes are questions are captured in the table below but the online experience is sequential, rather than presented as a table.

Please provide comments on the themes below. You can comment some or all.
	Business and economic interests	Community and diaspora links	Culture experience and exchange	Rural, coastal and island communities	Academic, educational and research links
From your experience, what connections and associations currently exist between the two countries with reference to this theme? What influences these connections today?
From your experience, what connections and associations currently exist between the two countries with reference to this theme? What influences these connections today?
From your experience, what expertise can the two countries share with regard to this theme? Are there exemplars or best practice collaborations you can identify?

6. Ireland and Scotland (for all respondents)

Are there other areas where Ireland and Scotland should collaborate, or could usefully increase their collaboration? 

(open response)

7. Almost Done… (for all respondents)

You are about to submit your response. By clicking 'Submit Response' you give us permission to analyse and include your response in our results. To find out how we handle your personal data, please see our privacy policy. After you click Submit, you will no longer be able to go back and change any of your answers.

If you provide an email address you will be sent a receipt and a link to a PDF copy of your response. (for all respondents)

8. Your response has been submitted (for all respondents)

Your response ID is XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-X. Please have this ID available if you need to contact us about your response. 

Thank you for completing the consultation.