Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands IndexSM: 2016 report for Scotland

2. Introduction

2.1 The Scottish Government's National Performance Framework ( NPF) sets out in the Purpose and the National Outcomes, a clear, unified vision for Scotland. The Purpose is to focus government and public services on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth. A wide range of indicators (55) are used to assess progress towards this and the National Outcomes. These provide a broad measure of national wellbeing, incorporating a range of economic, social and environmental indicators and targets. One of these indicators aims to assess and monitor how Scotland's reputation is perceived around the world.

2.2 The way a country is perceived can make a difference to the success of its business, trade and tourism efforts, as well as its diplomatic and cultural relations with other countries. Given a changing global context, there is a need to better understand how Scotland is seen and thought about by other countries.

2.3 Since 2008, the Scottish Government ( SG) has used the Anholt-GfK Roper Nations Brands Index ^SM to measure Scotland's reputation internationally. The NBI ^SM is an analytical tool which attempts to measure and rank a country's broad reputation along six dimensions of national competence: Exports, Governance, Culture, People, Tourism, and Investment and Immigration. These together provide an overall indication of a country's reputation.

2.4 The data allow for an understanding of how Scotland is perceived in 20 panel countries around the world, how Scotland perceives itself, and how it compares to 49 other countries included in the NBI ^SM.

2.5 While being the best available measure of Scotland's reputation for the purpose of the NPF, the NBI ^SM does not provide an evaluation of the Scottish Government's policies.

2.6 NBI ^SM data should be viewed as a snapshot of people's attitudes and perceptions of Scotland. Attitudinal data of this kind are, however, useful in helping us to understand more about Scotland's international reputation.

2.7 Scotland subscribed to the survey in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and thereafter biennially, in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Scotland did not subscribe to the 2011 and 2013 surveys, but was included in the sample of 50 evaluated countries in both of these years.

2.8 This report will compare the 2016 data to the most recent previously available data of 2014, as well as previous years where relevant.