National events strategy review: consultation analysis

2. Research Method

Wavehill, an independent research company, was appointed in June 2023 to undertake a thorough, systematic and objective analysis of consultation responses received by Scottish Government during the consultation period.

2.1 Analytical Approach

To analyse the perspectives expressed by respondents, the authors of this report conducted detailed thematic analysis. This approach systematically examines each response and highlights the themes and issues that are raised. Based on this analysis, the team are then able to explore how widely certain views and perspectives are held.

The analysis has been undertaken in two distinct phases. The first step included the development of a thematic framework, which provided a structure from which to capture the issues and themes raised by respondents within and across all qualitative responses. The thematic framework is important as it sets out the range of issues and themes highlighted by respondents. Secondly, to determine the prevalence of themes and perspectives, each response was coded and mapped against the framework. This enables the analysis to draw out the prevalence, including areas of consensus or disagreement, which surround responses to the consultation questions, including the extent of agreement with the key statements about the events sector in Scotland.

The research team reviewed and coded responses received across different formats, including Citizen Space, non-Citizen Space (i.e. respondents that did not use the consultation questions) and outputs from the regional workshops. This was followed by an exploration of the prevalence of certain views and perspectives across responses to individual questions and across each response holistically. This enabled us to identify possible trends within particular stakeholder groups and respondent types (e.g. individual or organisation respondents).

2.2 Terminology

Whilst the research team has not quantitatively analysed open questions, descriptive terminology is used where this aids clarity and understanding of the views captured during the consultation exercise. Detail on how these terms are defined is provided below:

• Few - fewer than ten responses
• Handful - five or fewer responses
• Majority - the greatest proportion of similar views expressed
• Several - more than two responses but not many
• Some - used to illustrate or introduce an issue or theme but without specifying the amount or number.

2.3 Limitations

There are a number of limitations regarding this analysis that are important to note. The respondents who kindly contributed their views and perspectives are not necessarily representative of the wider events sector or people who attend or would like to attend events in Scotland. The high likelihood of self-selection and the relatively small number of responses compared to the number of organisations and people working in and with the event industry in Scotland or people attending events or living in communities where events are held, increases the possibility that those who responded hold different views and perspectives than are found amongst people and communities from across Scotland more broadly.

There was diversity in the length and detail of responses to the consultation questions from respondents. This may be due, in part, to the wide-ranging nature of the questions, and to respondents placing varying degrees of importance on different aspects of the strategy. Not all respondents answered every question, and it was not always possible to accurately determine their full position from the information provided.

We have therefore sought to communicate the balance of opinion qualitatively. We have only made statements of prevalence where clear patterns emerge, such as where themes or sentiments are widely held amongst respondents, or if they are peripherally held only by a few. In this respect, qualitative terms are only indicative of opinions on the basis of those who responded. Therefore, statements of prevalence should not be assumed to relate numerically back to the total number of people and organisations that responded to the consultation, or to the broader population.

Given these limitations, the aim has been to effectively and accurately communicate an understanding of the range of key themes and issues raised by respondents, as well as the reasons for holding particular views. Such information includes potential areas of agreement and disagreement between the different groups of respondents.

Taken together, therefore, this analysis should be considered as providing an indication of some of the views and perspectives held by people, communities and organisations towards the National Events Strategy, rather than a definitive account of views.

2.4 Responses

Between 24^th March and 30^th June 2023, the consultation received 102 responses. This included responses from a range of individuals and organisations with an interest in the National Events Strategy. Sixty-eight responses (67%) were received from organisations (one organisation provided two survey responses and another respondent did not provide the name of their organisation in their response) and thirty-four (33%) from individuals. Of the sixty-six unique organisations responding to the survey that provided their name, exactly half (thirty-three) were assessed by our team to have a national remit and an equal number a local remit.

Detailed notes were taken from each of the nine regional workshops and the Event Industry Sector workshop held in May and June 2023. The content of these notes were analysed alongside the Citizen Space survey responses. Twenty-one organisations that provided a response to the consultation survey also participated in the workshop sessions, demonstrating a degree of overlap across the two consultation mechanisms.

Where permission has been provided, details on the organisations and individuals that have responded to the survey or participated in the workshop sessions is provided in Appendix 2.

2.5 Navigating this Report

This report presents a summary of the key themes and perspectives raised across responses to the consultation, both from survey responses captured via Citizen Space and from feedback provided by the 222 people who took part in the regional engagement workshops and sector workshop. It is structured against the key consultation questions. In the data tables presented in the report, the most prevalent response, view or rating is denoted in red.

2.6 Use of Quotes

Subject to the publishing preference of survey respondents, this report draws on extracts of responses to illustrate specific themes, ideas or issues raised. These are either attributed directly to the respondent or attributed anonymously as either an individual or organisation response. These quotes do not constitute the analysis and are not provided to communicate a finding, but rather provide an example of a point made or view expressed by respondents in the context of the analysis presented.