'Creating a Fairer Scotland' is a national discussion led by the Scottish Government asking people to put forward ideas on how to make Scotland a fairer and more equal place to live by 2030.
"I am committed to leading the most accessible Government this country has ever had and I want to ensure that we build on the sense of engagement and enthusiasm that we saw - from both sides of the debate - during last year's referendum. So we will help people to have a bigger say in the decisions that affect them most."
The Fairer Scotland national discussion was devised as a way of asking the people of Scotland what a fairer Scotland should look like in 2030, and the steps that should be taken to make this vision a reality.
A short leaflet including three broad questions was published to kick-start the conversation, rather than issuing a lengthy consultation document with a range of proposals or a preferred option.
We are asking communities to tell us what they think are the solutions to problems and what a fairer Scotland should look like.
Designed to build on conversations taking place post-Referendum and the General Election, a key aim has been to keep debate and engagement levels high, encouraging groups and individuals to hold discussions and get in touch with their ideas, and start to address inequalities of power and influence.
We published a facilitation pack so that communities could hold their own Fairer Scotland discussions, to look at the issues that may be unique to their community as well as the nation as a whole.
Before launching the discussion we gathered qualitative research on how people felt about issues and the language associated with Fairer Scotland, ensuring we understood our audience's communication needs and what would make them engage. This has guided our approach at every stage.
The Scottish Government works closely with the public sector, charities, councils, businesses, trade unions and community groups as a matter of course. This time, we worked with them to establish discussion events, with a particular focus on capturing voices of those with experience of inequalities and poverty.
We set up dedicated digital channels - a blog (fairer.scot), and Facebook page - (facebook.com/fairer.scot) to encourage engagement and have kept these updated with a stream of creative material. A presence on Facebook was a logical choice because of its value as a conversation tool, where a large audience was already participating in relevant conversations, and the ease the audience has in engaging with us and vice versa.
There was already an established audience on Twitter where @scotgovfairer has been building a strong following around this ministerial portfolio, so this was a logical starting point.
As well as us sharing information about what the Scottish Government is doing to create a fairer Scotland, our digital channels are an opportunity for people to share day-to-day issues affecting them and their community, and what they think should be done over the next 15 years to create a fairer Scotland.
Here's Lochaber High School pupil Beth's views on what she'd like to see change:
Elgar Finlay who lives in Glendale, Skye tells us why affordable housing and transport are key to his vision for a #FairerScotland:
Everyone has their own ideas of what would make a #FairerScotland, here's what Marion Carr from Lochaber would like to see:
The Fairer Scotland blog is regularly updated by stakeholders about the work they are doing as well as people from across Scotland sharing their views, which forms the basis for our engagement drive on social media, including:
Gerry McLaughlin, Chief Executive, NHS Health Scotland on Why a fairer Scotland would be a healthier Scotland;
Hanna McCulloch, Policy and Parliamentary Officer, Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland on Tackling child poverty;
And Project Worker Catriona Milligan talks about the charity, Bridging the Gap in Gorbals born, Gorbals bread.
A live Facebook Q&A with Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil at the mid-way point of the discussion was a lively and highly-engaged event with a wide range of questions and views put to Mr Neil on what would make a fairer Scotland. This was another way of delivering the First Minister's pledge that this Government would be the most open and accessible that Scotland has ever had.
Our approach was to focus on engaging with existing online communities, to the people who were already talking about the issues that this national discussion wanted to capture, to go where these conversations were already taking place.
We built the conversation and used unique content to bolster it, nurturing the online community, using what people told us and asking those with the knowledge to talk authoritatively on a particular subject to contribute to the discussion by writing blog posts for fairer.scot.
Success through skills, commitment and collaboration
Fairer Scotland has been collaborative at every stage. Consulting widely with stakeholders and community groups before launching ensured we began from a position of knowledge. And we listened to views on the best approach to reach people and encourage participation.
Within the Scottish Government, a virtual team was created – with policy officials, analysts, political advisers, marketing, news and digital specialists working closely to develop engagement plans, policy papers and communication materials. This brought a broad range of expertise and benefits to the project including an expanded network of contacts, enhanced relationships with stakeholders and sharing of skills, experience and learning - all underpinned by an understanding of our audience needs.
This approach has set the agenda, with the Health Secretary launching a similar national discussion - Creating a Healthier Scotland.
A programme of community events is ongoing, reaching people across Scotland. Ideas and suggestions come in daily and we analyse feedback, using it to drive the discussion.
Read about our progress so far here.
