Policy blog

In the third sector it can be difficult to take time away from the coalface to sit down with others and debate, but we should make the effort when it comes to the referendum, says SCVO board member Carole Patrick. Read more

Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is launching a new project which will invest in charities and third sector organisations in several localities across Scotland to help prepare them for the shift of health and social care services to local community level... Read more

Rising to Scotland’s health challenge means a fundamental shift in the way we approach the business of staying well, says Lucy. Read more

Following George Osborne’s speech proposing that long-term unemployed people will be forced into community service, John Downie, Director of Public Affairs, SCVO said: “The UK Government must stop this ritual humiliation of unemployed people “The so-called “Help to Work... Read more

Political decisions shape the lives of everyone, from how we are educated to where we live and how much support we get when things go wrong. And yet we have declining interest in party politics and the political system here in Scotland. We have neither a range of candidates... Read more

I wasn’t surprised by the findings of SCVO’s Scotland’s Future survey undertaken this summer – they echo my experience of the lack of inspirational debate and poor engagement with the changes our decision next year could open up. I’ve remained very much on the periphery of these... Read more

Only one in three third sector organisations is engaged with the constitutional debate? More than half are uninspired? And the dominant view is that it has been mundane, alienating, confusing, unilluminating? Can there be any surprise? To get to the bottom of why things have been... Read more

One of our policy officers mistakenly wrote down that the Finance Secretary had allocated £32.5m extra funds in his Budget announcement this week to the third sector. It was actually £2.5m, but it really got us all going for a while. What could the sector do with a cash injection... Read more

Introduction Scotland is in a privileged position as we debate our future as a nation. We have a unique opportunity to debate the kind of society we want to see, and the ways in which we might achieve this vision. The future of welfare and the possibility that Scotland could do... Read more

Could several generations sharing a home make for happier, more supportive and better connected communities? Read more