EU auditors have suspended payments on the £22m that Scotland receives from the European Social Fund due to concerns over the programme’s management. Unease around the internal systems that were being designed for the European Social Fund stretches back to when the original rules for the management of the programme were being drafted. Advice from … Continue reading European funds at risk
Policy
Citizen Power
It’s an annual tradition for the Edinburgh Festival or the Fringe or both to declare that once again all box office records have been smashed - thereby reaffirming the City’s right to call itself the festival capital of the world. But this never-ending growth comes at quite a cost. The explosion of Airbnb properties disrupting … Continue reading Citizen Power
#democracymatters
The way we live our lives is constantly changing; democracy is changing too. Increasingly people want to share in making decisions, or at least have a greater understanding as to why certain decisions have been made on their behalf. In order to make democracy work better for everyone, and especially for those who feel left … Continue reading #democracymatters
How can people who have been excluded from power play an equal role?
Claire Ainsley suggests three ideas for reforming democracy. New plans have been published by the UK Government to give local residents more say in decisions affecting their lives, as part of a wider strategy to strengthen communities and introduce participatory democracy. These are long overdue: we know 14 million people are locked in poverty and a daily … Continue reading How can people who have been excluded from power play an equal role?
Action Research in Policy Analysis
A new book on action research includes a chapter by two What Works Scotland research associates, drawing on the collaborative action research projects with community planning partnerships in Scotland. The chapter explores how action research can be a valuable methodology for producing the collaborative knowledge and action required to produce effective policy responses for the current … Continue reading Action Research in Policy Analysis
Blame game
For anyone trying to understand the shifting sands in the relationship between local and national government, the McIntosh Report published in 1999 seems to be required reading. The McIntosh Commission tried to explore the emerging and potential relationships between local government and the new Scottish Parliament and made a number of recommendations, many of which … Continue reading Blame game
Map reading
Over the past decade or so, significant investment has come from Scottish Government in support of social enterprise and in that time a complex array of supporting infrastructure has evolved - all of it intended to help the sector grow. At times it’s been referred to as a ‘pipeline’ of support – inferring that an … Continue reading Map reading
