Scottish climate action hubs: models research

7. Appendix A: Methodology

7.1. Methodology

• Longlist of example models: A preliminary desk-based review was conducted to identify similar models to Climate Action Hubs, both within the UK and internationally. This produced a longlist of 20 potential models to investigate. Sources included grey literature, project evaluation reports, blogs, conference papers, news articles and academic literature.
• Shortlist of example models: From the longlist we selected 6 examples to be the subject of this research. The process of shortlisting was informed by the research questions, as well as the availability of information for each model and relevance to the Scottish context. We sought to represent a range of hubs with different governance and delivery structures.
• Desk-based research. Desk-based research was conducted to identify successes, challenges, lessons, structures, and approaches from each of the shortlisted models.
• Stakeholder interviews. An interview topic guide was developed, informed by the desk-based research. The topic guide was tailored for each interview to ensure that it was relevant to the model being investigated. We conducted seven interviews with stakeholders from six climate hubs.
• Synthesis and analysis. The data from the interviews and the desk-based research was analysed to determine whether these key learnings from lessons can be applied to the development of the Climate Action Hub Programme in Scotland. This analysis was based on the key priorities and research questions agreed at project inception.