Equally safe: delivery plan

Next Steps

Governance

The steps we have outlined in our ‘Moving Forward’ section and under the Priority Actions constitute an ambitious programme of work that, if effectively delivered, will constitute a real step change in responding to and ultimately preventing violence against women and girls. Our focus over the next period will therefore shift to ensuring effective implementation of these actions, and that this happens in a strategic way through collaboration between partners. In order to ensure that this is taken forward effectively, we will institute refreshed governance arrangements to identify emerging issues, drive progress, scale up participation, and maintain rigorous accountability. This will include:

• A refreshed Joint Strategic Board, co-chaired at Ministerial/Spokesperson level by the Scottish Government and COSLA, with a greater focus on influencing strategic direction and identifying major emerging issues in relation to gender based violence
• A Joint Delivery Group, co-chaired at official level by the Scottish Government and COSLA, with a focus on ensuring that every agency is delivering its commitments in this Plan and that multi-agency working nationally and locally is embedded
• A Stakeholder Advisory Forum, to harness the expertise of organisations and academics in this field and ensure that partners receive the best possible advice
• An Experience Expert Panel, building on the learning from our pilot participation projects to ensure that women, children and young people who have lived experience of gender based violence shape and influence the implementation of this Plan

Monitoring Progress

Through the outcomes framework and the associated evidence, evidence will be gathered of progress made. A progress report will be published on an annual basis over the lifetime of the Plan, updating on relevant activity and progress towards achieving these outcomes. As the reporting process develops, we will seek to identify the short and medium term outputs that contribute to the achievement of the outcomes within the performance framework.