An introduction to What Works Scotland’s lessons for public service reform in Scotland, published at the conclusion of the four-year programme, and the report to download.

Report from the Scottish Community Development Centre and What Works Scotland explores the role and relevance of community councils in Scotland’s evolving policy context, especially as public service reform continues through the Scottish Government’s Local Governance Review.

This research report outlines and shares some of the learning about putting Christie into action from collaborative action research and reflection with Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership. It argues that understanding the developing frontier of collaborative and participatory governance will help to identify potential opportunities to make further progress with ‘wicked’ issues like inequality.

This research explores how key stakeholders and potential users of the Participation Request mechanism articulate and frame the associated challenges and opportunities. The Scottish Government introduced a new process for community engagement, known as Part 3 (Participation Requests) of the

Resources about participatory governance in Scotland, including community councils, mini-publics, citizens’ juries, and involvement in democracy.

About participation requests and their role in community empowerment and making improvements to public services.

Sir Martin Donnelly, former permanent secretary at the UK Department of International Trade, will give this Policy Scotland lecture.

Book chapter about action research theory and practice that draws on illustrations from two community planning partnerships. It discusses the relational strategies required to carry out action research in these complex public service partnership settings, including cultivating ‘sanction and sanctuary’.

James Mitchell, from the Academy of Government at the University of Edinburgh, summarises a presentation he delivered to CoSLA in July 2015 on local government finance.

What Works Scotland research fellow Dr Hayley Bennett outlines some key ideas from her February 2018 presentation on collaborative practice and public service reform in Scotland.