Since 2018, we have been working with the Scottish Government to develop a Participation Framework for Scotland.
This will provide an overview of why participation is vital to the Scottish approach to government alongside a suite of tools to help civil servants make the best decisions about how to enhance participation within their own policy area, for different purposes, and at different points in time.
Over 100 civil servants were involved in workshops to learn about the Framework and beta-test aspects of the guidance being developed and civil society groups contributed to guidance about inclusion and access. We have also provided advice to more than 10 policy teams within government planning and/or commissioning participatory engagement activities, and work has begun on a business case to support the establishment of a dedicated participation support team within government to enhance the way participatory activities are delivered in the future.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)