Tenement dwellings - provision of Building Reserve Funds: report

3. Methodology

Overall Approach

This study included a combination of secondary and primary research.

We took steps to include public views along with many different types of professionals. Figure 3.1 shows an overview of the research stages.

Figure 3.1: Methodology Overview

• Literature Review- textual information and data
• Stakeholder interviews and discussion groups
• Public online survey- Scottish residents
• Public focus groups- owner occupiers, RSL tenants, private tenants

Desk Research

To avoid duplication of effort, it was crucial to have access to written materials from the work of the Tenement Working Group (TWG). In review, we also included of publicly available information, evidence submitted to Scottish Government Consultations, published reports and commentary. An earlier consultation with 69 detailed textual responses was anonymised and provided by Built Environment Forum Scotland. This amounted to views from 34 orgs and 35 individuals about this topic, including reactions to TWG’s proposals, including for a Building Reserve Fund (BRF).

We also obtained grey literature provided by members of TWG. As key stakeholders, they represent the interest of different parts of the professional sector, and the interests of owners and tenants of tenements. Non-parliamentary members of the TWG include staff from:

• Built Environment Forum Scotland,
• Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors,
• Scottish Federation of Housing Associations,
• Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations,
• Property Managers Association Scotland,
• Tenement Action Group,
• Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland,
• Scottish Association of Landlords,
• Citizens Advice Scotland,
• City of Edinburgh Council,
• Existing Homes Alliance.

Primary Research - Professionals

In total, we incorporated eight interviews with stakeholders. These lasted up to one hour and were conducted via an online video platform (Zoom, Microsoft Teams or another as preferred). Discussion guides for these interviews were drafted by our research team and finalised with input from the Scottish Government (see within Appendix 4).

We also incorporated a set of discussion groups into the forum. Four took place and included an additional 31 individuals in total.

Primary Research - Public

Given that several of Scottish Government’s research questions (see Appendix 1) related to the behaviour and views of owners of tenements, we incorporated public research.

The survey was administered online through the ScotPulse panel of over 31,000 adults (age 16+) across Scotland. ScotPulse is a dedicated Scottish online research panel with members across the breadth of Scotland, including those in remote and rural areas. The ScotPulse panel is completely voluntary and participants are not paid to complete surveys.

The survey was in the field from 7-10 September 2021 (See Appendix 2). A total of 2150 completed responses were achieved. Data were weighted to the age and gender profile of the population in Scotland.

The key benefits of using an online approach were:

• The survey reached a wide range of people across Scotland.
• It was a safe and effective way to conduct research given the coronavirus guidelines.

As well as including survey results in the report, all descriptive statistical results can be found in Appendix 3.

We used the survey as a recruitment method for follow-up interviews with members of the public. Four focus groups were arranged, and these included 13 people in total. Discussion guides for these focus groups were be drafted by our research team, based on the research questions, and then finalised with input from the Scottish Government (see within Appendix 4). Participants were thanked for their time with Love to Shop vouchers to the value of £30 and redeemable in many high street shops.