Policy blog

Congratulations on your appointment as Deputy First Minister of Scotland.  I very much look forward to working with you again in this new role. Read more

Dear First Minister Congratulations on your election as First Minister of Scotland. I very much look forward to working with you again in this new role, and I am very pleased that Shirley-Anne Somerville has retained her role as Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice. We were... Read more

Last week brought another Spring Budget – and it all felt a bit like Groundhog Day, didn’t it? Pre-election giveaways caught the headlines – against a backdrop of low growth and productivity. Disappointingly absent from the Chancellor’s statement was recognition of the... Read more

If it now feels that the political conversation on Levelling Up has moved on, last week was a reminder that funding is still being distributed in Scotland. The Chancellor announced £80million for the ‘expansion of Levelling Up partnership programmes in Scotland’ in the Autumn... Read more

SCVO's policy and public affairs team braced ourselves for a busy start to the year – you may recall my blog from December. We've needed to continue to raise the profile of immediate issues affecting voluntary organisations, such as the escalating energy costs and lingering high... Read more

Scotland’s National Performance Framework (NPF), a policy tool that sets out Scotland's National Outcomes and 81 Indicators as specific measures of progress, is currently under review. At a time when a new policy framework or strategy emerges every week in Scotland with little to... Read more

Another day, another budget, at least that’s how I felt on Wednesday morning as I prepared for the Spring Statement. Yet, despite a glut of fiscal events over the last few months, the last UK Budget took place in October 2021, 500 days before our new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt MP... Read more

Today the SCDI published the report and recommendations from the The Business Purpose Commission for Scotland. As a member of the Commission, I found the discussion fascinating in exploring the role of the public, private and voluntary sectors in delivering economic, social and... Read more

Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary Shona Robison argues for a broader view of what it means to be a prosperous economy and advocates for the role of the third sector in supporting that. Read more

Alastair Davis argues that the social enterprise sector can only achieve exponential growth in economic impact through mainstream its products and services within consumer and B2B markets. Read more

Neil McInroy explains how Community Wealth Building could provide the practical answer to transforming Scotland's economic system Read more

Professor Iain Black argues the third sector must help disrupt the existing growth focused economic goal to ensure social and environmental goals are achieved. Read more

Sandy Macdonald on some of the ways the third sector is helping the business sector achieve economic success Read more

Our sector is an employer, a partner, and a vital social and economic actor.  Read more

We have never attempted to estimate the overall economic contribution of the third sector. Professor Mairi Spowage of the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI) explains what it's doing to change that Read more

Social businesses are stepping in when markets fail bringing £165m and more than 7000 full time jobs to the Highlands and Islands Read more

Bringing together the innovative thinking and ethos of Scotland’s incredible charities and social enterprises with the innovation ecosystem in our universities and colleges can help to spark a new wave of third sector services Read more

The policy cycle, like everything else, has been somewhat uncertain over the last couple of years. First Brexit and then the coronavirus pandemic have delayed the UK Budget, having a knock-on effect here in Scotland. Before the Christmas break, however, the Scottish policy-cycle... Read more

Ian Marr explains how Social Impact Investment brings together the skills, experience and strengths of the public, private and social sectors to work together for the common good. Read more

Susan McGhee explains how social enterprise Flexible Childcare Scotland is disrupting the childcare industry from within. Read more

We need a Wellbeing Economy so that we can focus on delivering the things that make life worthwhile rather than just the things that make life possible. Read more

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has written to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government Shona Robison MSP to highlight concerns over the recent announcement of the Scottish Budget for 2022-23 - you can view SCVO’s Chief... Read more

Rami Okasha explains why Children’s Hospices Across Scotland decided to measure the economic impact of its work in 2021. Read more

The voluntary sector – which empowers citizens, sustains wellbeing and advocates for change – is undoubtedly a super sector: striving for progress towards social, economic, environmental and democratic outcomes  Read more

Anoushka Kenley, research and policy director at Pro Bono Economics explores the true value of the voluntary sector Read more

Like many I keep hearing or reading about how the pandemic we’ve all lived with for the past 18 months has fostered different and sometimes even better partnerships within and across sectors. As we recover from the covid-19 crisis we must spend time to learn from the impact of... Read more

Last August, SCVO's Chief Executive Anna Fowlie called on the voluntary sector to embrace Scotland's National Performance Framework (NPF). Referring to it as a 'beacon of hope', she explained that the framework must be more than an aspirational rallying call. We must measure our... Read more

Third sector organisations ‘have got a different way into communities and a different way into talking to people', one council chief executive reported recently. There is no doubt the third sector is the voice of the people but by investing in local communities third sector... Read more