What Works Scotland operated from 2014 to 2019 and is now closed.

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What Works Scotland

What Works Scotland

Supporting effective public services in Scotland

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Resources, guides and toolkits

How To Design And Plan Public Engagement Processes: A Handbook

This Handbook offers a structured and logical way to work through the task of designing and planning any engagement process. It is aimed at citizens, community or public engagement practitioners, elected or government representatives, and other sponsoring organisations or stakeholders. 

Lucy Janes July 13, 2020 Read more

 Reflections on the What Works Scotland initiative

This report compiles reflections from the participants in What Works Scotland and shares the learning from the set-up and operation of this innovative, creative and complex research collaboration. 

Lucy Janes October 29, 2019 Read more

Facilitation training – new skills to facilitate collaboration

Link to a film on facilitation training in Aberdeenshire, a workshop aimed at developing people’s skills, to enable them to work more effectively with their local communities and achieve better engagement with all populations.

Emma Baird November 8, 2018 Read more

National Standards for Community Engagement

The revised National Standards for Community Engagement. These were developed by What Works Scotland and the Scottish Community Development Centre with a focus on strengthening participation and community engagement, particularly in the context of the Community Empowerment Act.

Lucy Janes January 10, 2018 Read more

Urban neighbourhoods: Five ways to make a difference

Animation about five approaches that make a difference in urban neighbourhoods and the implications for change, public services and decision-making.

Lucy Janes November 8, 2017 Read more

Public service reform and participatory budgeting: How can Scotland learn from international evidence?

A documentary film exploring how community planning partners from two of What Works Scotland case sites learnt about implementing participatory budgeting on a study trip to Paris, European leader in mainstreaming PB.

Lucy Janes July 25, 2017 Read more

Glasgow’s Participatory Budgeting Evaluation Toolkit

This toolkit was produced by practitioners in Glasgow’s Participatory Budgeting Evaluation Group to assess the impact of PB activities and develop an improvement plan. It is aimed at any organisation or community group in Glasgow leading a PB activity.

Lucy Janes June 19, 2017 Read more

How to Design Collaborative Action Research

A guide intended to assist practitioners in a wide range of public service organisations to extend their practical skills to design collaborative action research projects that engage a broad constituency and encourage the involvement of colleagues who are less familiar with the approach.

Lucy Janes February 6, 2017 Read more

The Cost of the Cuts: a social impact tool

Presentation by a research team from the University of Glasgow working with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to produce a Social Impact Tool to help councils assess the impact of cuts on services and the public, particularly on poorer groups of service users.

Lucy Janes January 7, 2017 Read more

Creating Effective Partnerships to Deliver Public Services seminar

This event was the launch of ‘Partnership working in UK public services’, an accessible, action-oriented evidence review produced by What Works Scotland’s Evidence Bank.

Lynda Frazer August 25, 2016 Read more

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About us

What Works Scotland was an initiative to improve the way local areas in Scotland use evidence to make decisions about public service development and reform. It explored how public services could start to work towards the recommendations of the Christie Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services and the Scottish Government’s priorities for reform. ...

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RSS   Blog

  • What Works Scotland closed but resources still available February 18, 2020
  • Extending the community sector inquiry through a cross-sector learning community? June 5, 2019
  • Community-led activity: time to invest in expansion June 5, 2019
  • Tackling inequalities by supporting 'enterprising' communities June 5, 2019
  • Exploring community anchors, public service reform... and the wider local community sector June 5, 2019

Tags

Aberdeenshire alcohol asset-based community development CAR Christie Commission co-production collaboration Collaborative Action Research community anchors community empowerment Community Empowerment Act community planning Community Planning Partnerships community plannning community sector data democracy education evaluability assessment evaluation evidence evidence bank evidence to action Fife health inequality learning participative decision-making participatory budgeting partnership policy-making poverty prevention public service reform refugees Sarah Morton Scottish Approach Scottish Government service design third sector Thriving Places West Dunbartonshire What Works Scotland workforce young people

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