International culture strategy: consultation analysis

Method

The analysis of responses was undertaken by Social Researchers within the Scottish Government, in line with Government Social Research (GSR) professional standards and code of practice.

Analytical approach

The closed questions in the survey asked the respondents to select from a predefined set of responses, such as ‘Yes/No’. These were counted and the percentage was calculated. For the closed questions, breakdowns have also been provided for the respondent type, which were, organisation and individual.

The open questions did not have a fixed response, or a limit to the length of the response, allowing the respondents to answer in their own words and in as much or as little detail as they liked. Consequently, thematic analysis was used to analyse the open question survey responses. This meant that each response was read by a member of the research team and the codes (main points) were identified. The next step was then to read across the responses to systematically identify any common ideas or patterns of meaning. Themes were discussed across the research team to allow for comparisons and contrasts until consensus was reached among the team on the final structure.

Subject to the publishing preferences of the consultation respondents, the quotes that are provided through the report are intended to illustrate some of the points in respondents’ own words and to capture some of the themes as they were written. They are attributable to the organisation or to an individual and were selected by the authors for illustrative purposes. Therefore, quotes are not necessarily representative of other respondents’ views.

This analysis did not seek to provide a comparative or quantitative account of the issues that were raised, but sought to summarise the range of topics and responses that were provided. However, descriptive terminology is used to add clarity on the views. For example, ‘some’ or ‘many’. It was not the intention to quantify the views, but it should be noted that in general, ‘many’ or ‘most’ refers to views that were shared across a large section of the responses. Use of the term ‘some’ is used to reflect an idea or viewpoint that came up less frequently than ‘many/most’.

Limitations

There are some limitations that should be noted. Although this approach provided a way for people to submit their views, given the relatively small number of responses, it cannot offer a complete or representative view that reflects the concerns and insights of all cultural organisations and individual practitioners. It is likely that there were views on these questions that were not put forward through the consultation, and that there are ongoing and emerging issues for different people and organisations.

Not all respondents answered every question and some organisations provided greater detail on certain topics than others, reflecting their interests and professional background. Given the diversity among the responses, the aim of the analysis was to summarise some of the views and perspectives held by different people/organisations, present the breadth of perspectives across the responses and show patterns or themes, where views were shared by respondents.

Structure of this report

This report sets out a summary of the main themes and perspectives that were submitted to the consultation. Data tables are provided for the closed questions and written text and quotes for the open questions. The findings are presented within the following sections, which reflects the order the questions were asked in the consultation survey:

• Scotland’s International Footprint
• Rationale for an International Culture Strategy
• Vision and Themes
• Current support for International Cultural Activity
• Current Pressures, Challenges and Opportunities
• Geographies
• Equalities