This position paper by Dr Ailsa Cook for What Works Scotland explores the concept of outcomes and their history; a concept at the centre of efforts to improve public services in Scotland, across the UK and beyond. A focus on outcomes has been an integral part of what has come to be known as the Scottish Approach to public service reform.
Blog: Asset-Based Community Development – Sustainable development is about discoverables; not deliverables
The first in a series of short blogs looking at ABCD, this guest blog written by Cormac Russell from Nurture Development, introduces collective efficacy and grassroots power.
Blog: Paris and Participatory Budgeting: three insights into how public services learn on international visits
In this blog What Works Scotland research associate Richard Brunner explores how public services in Scotland can learn from international evidence and offers three early insights from a study trip to Paris supported by What Works Scotland.
Blog: Paris and Participatory Budgeting: reflections from Glasgow on the PB study visit to Paris
In this guest blog post Evelyn O’Donnell from Glasgow City Council describes some highlights and some early learning points from a two-day study visit to Paris for members of the Glasgow Participatory Budgeting Collaborative Action Research group, supported by What Works Scotland.
Blog: Paris and Participatory Budgeting: perceptions, participation and parallels from a Fife perspective
In this guest blog post Coryn Barclay, Julie Dickson, and David McGrath from Fife Council reflect on what they learned from a fact-finding visit to Paris to look at how participatory budgeting is being delivered in an international context. The study trip was supported by What Works Scotland.
Collaborative Inquiry Exploring Data and Knowledge-sharing Practices in Responses to Welfare Sanctions
Report and resources from a collaborative action research inquiry in Fife which examined data about welfare sanctions and how it can be used to support people who are at risk of or receive a benefit sanction. Fife is one of the four case sites where What Works Scotland has worked with community planning partnerships using collaborative action research for public service reform.
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.
Fife Collaborative Action Research – Second Home Retreat: Critical reflections and lessons on implementation
This research report is an overview of the activities at the second home retreat held as part of the collaborative action research programme in Fife. It has details of some of the tailored facilitative activities and learning on the process to date.
Rationales for Place-based Approaches in Scotland
Working paper that aims to remove the confusion surrounding what place-based approaches are, the rationales behind their use, the development of this approach to public service reform in Scotland and the future challenges presented by austerity and welfare reform.
Exploring collaborative learning, research and action in public service reform: Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Change Fund Beyond Action Learning initiative
Co-produced report that illustrates 10 key issues for the practice of collaborative and inquiring approaches to partnership working for health and social care integration. These are from the Beyond Action Learning project in Aberdeenshire which used an ‘action learning set’ approach.