Accountability of public services in Scotland: baseline evidence review and analysis

3. Considerations for Engagement Strategy

This final Section presents some key considerations and recommendations for taking forward a public engagement strategy focused on exploring people’s perspective, and understanding of the accountability framework in place for public services in Scotland.

3.1 What is the Purpose of the Public Engagement

There are many reasons why organisations engage with people/the public, and this covers five levels of the Public Participation Spectrum (as referred to by Involve)^[9], Table 3.1. The following approach should be considered by partners:

• the first phase of public engagement (e.g. exploring challenges in accessing accountability) should take the form of "inform", "consult”, and “involve”; and
• following initial identification and prioritisation of challenges to be addressed, partners should look to scope draft solutions for consultation with people. Partners should "collaborate" with people (and wider scrutiny/regulatory bodies and public service providers) to refine/shape these solutions further, including consideration of alternatives.

The focus of the advice in this report on public engagement approaches is principally to inform the first phase of this process.

Points raised by partners that attended the Signatories Workshop included:

• it will be important to go out to consultation with a “blank sheet” – people will not engage if they think a decision has already been made;
• it will be important not to pre-empt the publics’ views – but at the same time expectations will need to be managed; and
• it will be crucial to bring people along with partners on the journey – it should not only be about asking for their views, there will be a need to “close the feedback loop” (i.e. report back on how their feedback has been used, what actions have/are being taken, etc).

Table 3.1: Levels of Public Engagement

Inform		Consult	Involve	Collaborate	Empower
Public Participation Goal	To provide the public with balanced and objective information to assist them in understanding the problem, alternatives, opportunities and/or solutions	To obtain public feedback on analysis, alternatives and/or decisions	To work directly with the public throughout the process to ensure that public concerns and aspirations are consistently understood and considered	To partner with the public in each aspect of the decision, including the development of alternatives and the identification of the preferred solution	To place final decision making in the hands of the public
Promise to the Public	We will keep you informed	We will keep you informed, listen and acknowledge concerns and aspirations, and provide feedback on how public input influenced the decision	We will work with you to ensure that your concerns and aspirations are directly reflected in the alternatives developed, and provide feedback on how public input influenced this decision	We will look to you for advice and innovation in formulating solutions and incorporate your advice and recommendations into the decisions to the maximum extent possible	We will implement what you decide

Source: Involve, Public Participation Spectrum

An “inform” piece is important because previous research (albeit somewhat outdated) has found, the public have limited awareness of scrutiny organisations and processes, and are familiar with some but not all external scrutiny bodies. While “inform” does not provide any opportunity for public participation, it does serve a useful purpose in terms of:

• providing people with the information they need to understand the accountability framework; and
• allowing people to then make their own mind up about if and how they might become involved.

This "inform", or education piece, may actually be seen as part of initial work to actually improve access to accountability. This reflects discussions held with signatories and the wider partners to Commitment 4 - it has been acknowledged that one of the key tangible delivery mechanisms and outputs of this work may include raising awareness amongst people of their rights and understanding of the accountability framework for public services in Scotland.

Remote tools will be most cost effective and are likely to achieve a greater “reach” than in-person tools, however, it should be noted that it is difficult to evaluate their effectiveness and impact, Table 3.2.

Table 3.2: Some Examples of Tools to Inform People

In-Person Tools	Remote Tools
Public meetings	Websites
Briefings	E-bulletins and e-newsletters
Exhibitions	Printed media (factsheets, newsletters)
Telephone	Press and media
Debates and talks	Social media

In line with the principles of the OGP - to be open and transparent, and to collaborate in delivery between State and civic society partners - the Commitment 4 engagement strategy should focus on creating ongoing opportunities for people living in Scotland to be directly involved in the shaping of solutions that will be piloted.

It will be important to involve people from the outset and on an ongoing basis. This level of public engagement will provide multiple opportunities to:

• gather the views, experiences, opinions, and ideas of people;
• consider their input; and
• importantly provide feedback on how their input has/will be used.

Table 3.3: Some Examples of Tools to Consult and Involve People

Surveys and questionnaires	Ballots/voting/opinion polls
Feedback forms	Advisory panels
Focus groups	Citizen panels
Workshops	Citizen juries
Steering groups

There has already been engagement activity undertaken to develop Scotland’s second OGP Action Plan ^[10], which provides a good example of what engagement activity could look like in practice. This included a programme of public discussion events, attendance at existing scheduled events/conferences, hosting informal events, and an online crowdsourcing of ideas. The outputs from all conversations were brought together at a final event to further refine the ideas into specific commitments and to prioritise the key themes for discussion with Scottish Government policy teams for agreement and inclusion in the OGP Action Plan.

Partners could also consider use of social media channels e.g. Twitter. Partners that attended the Signatories Workshop considered it important to “look at different ways to start a conversation”.

3.2 Key Civic Society Players and Influencers

Engagement with key civic society players and influencers will be crucial in order to support planning and delivery of a large-scale Scotland wide public engagement process.

The overall aim of the public engagement process will be to explore people’s understanding of the terms “public services” and “accountability”, as well as to explore key challenges in accessing accountability of public services, and how these challenges can be best overcome.

As highlighted in Section 2, Civic society is vast. In further exploring peoples’ perspectives and understanding of the accountability framework for public services it will not be feasible nor practical to engage with all civic society organisations in Scotland.

It will be crucial that the Scottish Government and partners hone in specifically on those civic society organisations who might be of most relevance and/or of most use to supporting delivery of locally based public engagement activities.

In this regard, Community Anchor Organisations (among others) are likely to be important:

“An examination of the characteristics of strong and independent communities shows that they possess the ability to unite - and `hold together` - usually around some local organisation which they own. For some reason - in certain areas - the local community sector, the fragmented array of small voluntary groups, invest authority in a local umbrella vehicle to champion their collective interests” ^[11].

The role of community anchors has gained much attention in Scotland over the last decade or so – from the role they play in building local resilience, to the design and delivery of local services, to locally-led regeneration. The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 further emphasises the important role that such organisations play in the community empowerment process.

Recent research published by What Works Scotland (2018)^[12] uses the term community anchor for community organisations that hold three broad aspirations:

• community-led or controlled: robust local community governance and community networks/connections; and financial self-sufficiency for core work sustained through community ownership;

a. holistic, multi-purpose or “inherently complex”: concerned for local economy and social capital; local services and partnerships; local environment and sustainable development; community sector development; local leadership and advocacy; and

b. responsive and committed to local community and context: responding to that context whether urban, rural, remote and experiences of poverty, deprivation and inequality, and committed for the long-term.

The same research acknowledges that the following organisations are well-placed to take on the role of community anchor organisations (note: albeit not all aspire or should take on this role).

It is these organisations, however, that might be of most value to the Scottish Government and partners in facilitating further public engagement:

1. Community Development Trusts (CDTs) – there are around 270 development trusts in Scotland^[13], with particular clusters around the central belt; and

2. Housing Associations – there are around 160 RSLs in Scotland^[14], some of which are housing co-operatives. Housing associations are likely to be of particular relevance given their strong presence in local communities. Further, all have existing mechanisms to involve and engage tenants and other customers in their work. A couple of examples are provided on the page below.

Other organisations that take on the community anchor role, include for example Community Councils. There are around 1,200 Community Councils in Scotland^[15], and they play an important role in local democracy.

Community Councils are voluntary organisations that are set up by statute by the Local Authority and run by local residents to act on behalf of its area. They get involved in a wide range of activities, for example:

a. community projects and events;

b. sharing information e.g. community newsletters;

c. gathering the views of local residents;

d. undertaking local surveys; and

e. campaigning on local issues.

The What Works Scotland research also identified six community sector organisations as exemplars of strong community anchors, namely^[16]:

f. Ardenglen Housing Association, East Castlemilk, Glasgow;

g. Glenboig Neighbourhood House, Glenboig North Lanarkshire;

h. Govanhill Housing Association and Community Development Trust, Glasgow;

i. Greener Kirkcaldy, Kirkcaldy, Fife;

j. Huntly and District Development Trust, Aberdeenshire; and

k. Stòras Uibhist (South Uist), Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles).

National (Local) Organisations

There are also a wide range of national (and local) third sector organisations that have strong connections to civic society organisations, and/or to people living in Scotland that access the advice, support and services provided by civic society organisations.

Table 3.3 provides some examples of key players. Note: this is not meant to be a comprehensive list. A separate Microsoft Excel spreadsheet has been provided that sets out some more information on organisation purpose, focus of activities, who organisations support/engage with, etc.

Table 3.3: Examples of Other Civic Society Organisations

Age Scotland BEMIS Scotland CEMVO Scotland Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights Disability Agenda Scotland Enable Scotland Engender Equality Network Fife Centre for Equalities Inclusion Scotland Involve Local CVS – e.g. Glasgow Council for Voluntary Sector	Regional Equality Councils Scottish Association for Mental Health Scottish Community Development Centre Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance Stonewall Scotland Third Sector Interfaces Voluntary Action Scotland Young Scot

Some key characteristics across the organisations include:

a. they tend to have a mix of purposes and functions – spanning direct service delivery to people and/or community groups (e.g. information and advice); activity to understand the needs and interests of key target groups/sectors; capacity building; advocacy; signposting; research, policy and practice; influencing role with local and national government; lobbying; campaigning;

b. many are membership organisations – and so have a captive audience for engagement purposes. Members are a mix of individuals and organisations;

c. some have a specific focus on a particular target group (e.g. older people, disabled people, young people, ethnic minorities communities);

d. many manage or are involved in wider networks and partnership structures;

e. there are some examples of targeted activity to increase participation of civic society in relevant strategic, policy and/or governance activities in the public sector (and wider). A good example is the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) which is undertaking activity to increase the number of applications from ethnic minorities communities to regulated public body boards; and

f. there are also a range of ways these organisations seek to engage their members/people in their activities. This spans printed media, social media, research and insights, conferences, events, membership surveys, undertake consultations and/or promote wider consultations that impact on their target audience by engaging people to “join the conversation” (e.g. the recent consultation by the Scottish Government on Scottish Charity Law), publish policy responses and briefings, etc.

3.3 Collaborative Working Group

Membership of the Collaborative Working Group comprises a range of State and civic society partners who will support delivery against Commitment 4 over the next two years. The Group’s current membership is outlined in Table 3.4. Civic society representation has expanded considerably since this research was commissioned.

Existing signatory organisations (including scrutiny and regulatory bodies), and members of the Collaborative Working Groups more generally, have existing strategies, plans and mechanisms in place to involve and engage people in different aspects of their work.

For example, the Care Inspectorate involves and engages people in its scrutiny work in a range of ways. Among other things, this includes printed media and social media at one end of the public participation spectrum, to the Involving People Group at the other. The Involving People Group is a national forum that brings together people who use care services and carers to consult and engage on the work of the Care Inspectorate to improve care and support services.

A sensible approach would therefore be to consider the various existing mechanisms for engagement across all Collaborative Working Group members. This would be with a view to identifying those that provide the best opportunity to gather depth and quality of feedback from people around, for example:

• what is understood to be the role of existing scrutiny bodies and regulators;
• what is considered to be a “successful” outcome in holding public services to account;
• who is using existing accountability mechanisms for public service provision in Scotland (and when and why);
• who is not using existing accountability mechanisms for public service provision in Scotland (any why);
• barriers and challenges faced in accessing the current accountability framework for public services in Scotland; and
• improvements people would like to see that may enhance their own capacity to seek accountability of public services and policy makers.

The Involving People Group (and other such existing mechanisms) could be a useful starting point. Civic society member organisations will also be able to provide good reach, for example into local communities and to isolated or vulnerable groups

Table 3.4: OGP Commitment 4 Collaborative Working Group Partners

State Actors Civic Society Organisations,Business, Multilaterals, WorkingGroups
Audit Scotland (signatory)	Association for Public Service Excellence
Care Inspectorate (signatory)	CEMVO Scotland
COSLA	Citizens Advice Scotland (signatory)
Scottish Government Consumer Policy (Government Commitment Lead)	Govan Community Project
Scottish Government Digital, Content Design & Strategy	Inclusion Scotland
Scottish Government Public Service Reform & Public Bodies	Individual Service Users (x2)
Scottish Information Commissioner (signatory)	Mydex CIC (Scotland OGP Steering Group Commitment Lead)
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (signatory)	Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance (Scotland OGP Steering Group Commitment Lead)
	Scottish Older People’s Assembly
	Scottish Open Government Partnership Network
	Scottish Rural Action
	Scottish Youth Parliament
	Skye, Lochalsh & West Ross CPP
	See Me
	What Works Scotland

3.4 Scottish Civil Society Network

We recommend early engagement with members of the Scottish Civic Society Network, as the Network is a key signatory to the OGP Commitment 4, and acts as a collective voice to collaborate with and challenge government.

We understand that this Network has 100+ members (individuals and organisations), and can provide a “warm” lead for early engagement activity over the summer months. The Network, which is supported by SCVO, has a number of existing engagement mechanisms and opportunities which could potentially be tapped into, including:

• discussion groups;
• member email distribution list;
• online forum; and
• various subject and project based groups.

The Network could be a particularly useful early touchpoint before a wider programme of public engagement is undertaken.

Not only should this provide useful insights into members’ understanding and awareness of the accountability framework in place for public services, it will also provide an early opportunity to explore in more detail:

• other existing engagement mechanisms, networks and opportunities to engage people; and
• how partners could engage with the members of civic society organisations (or those who access their services).

3.5 Engagement with Other Regulatory Bodies

It will also be important for partners to involve wider scrutiny and regulatory bodies at an early stage. The research has identified that other scrutiny and regulatory bodies (i.e. those who are not currently OGP signatories), also have a broad mix of approaches to involving and engaging people.

A couple of examples worthy of further note include:

• Scottish Housing Regulator’s (SHR) National Panel of Tenants and Service Users (around 500 members); and
• Healthcare Improvement Scotland, of which the Scottish Health Council is a member of – Citizen’s Panel (1,300 members) and Citizens Jury.

Regular programmes of consultation and engagement with members of these public- based groups is undertaken throughout the year – surveys, in-depth interviews, etc.

As a starting point, it is recommended that the Scottish Government and partners engage with SHR and the Scottish Health Council to:

• tell them about the work of the OGP in Scotland, including activity on Commitment 4;
• find out more about their public engagement mechanisms across the Public Participation Spectrum; and
• explore the potential for the organisations to become involved and/or how they could help support public engagement activity.

This approach will help the Scottish Government and partners to expand engagement beyond Collaborative Working Group members, and engagement activity could be progressed on a sector by sector basis (e.g. housing, health, etc) rather than on an “all public services” basis.

Communication with other regulatory bodies will be crucial, and will need to be positioned carefully. Partners that attended the Signatories Workshop felt that all communication and messaging regarding Commitment 4 would need to be set within the wider context of the OGP, Part 1 and Part 2 of Commitment 4, and Scotland’s other OGP Commitments.

Partners also recommended that communication should come under the auspices of the OGP (e.g. make use of the OGP email address, etc).

3.6 Achieving a Broader Reach

While it should be relatively straightforward to reach those people who have previously engaged in some way with scrutiny bodies and regulators of public services, the engagement strategy needs to achieve much deeper reach.

It will be equally important that the views of people with no or limited awareness and understanding of existing accountability mechanisms (or simply not using them) are sought through the engagement strategy, including those who might be considered marginalised, excluded, or seldom heard.

The research has sought to identify some key influencers across civic society, including those who provide direct support and advocate on behalf of under- represented groups (e.g. disabled people, ethnic minority communities). This includes housing associations, community councils, community development trusts, and other intermediary organisations (e.g. BEMIS Scotland, Age Scotland).

In order to reach out into communities and to isolated or vulnerable groups, it will be vital that the Scottish Government and partners make appropriate connections with key community anchor organisations and other intermediaries, including those who can bring expert knowledge and expertise on the barriers to engaging with particular target groups and examples of good practice. This will be an important approach in order to gather the views, experiences, opinions and ideas of particular segments of society. As highlighted earlier, civic society members of the Collaborative Working Group will be a good starting point.

Language must be inclusive in all forms of communication.