Scottish Parliament Evidence Session: National Outcomes

Three members of the Scottish Council on Global Affairs are submitting evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. This takes place as the Scottish Government is undertaking a review of its National Outcomes, the broad policy aims which inform its National Performance Framework (NPF).

The agenda for the occasion can be viewed here and the live event can be watched on Scottish Parliament TV – we’ll put the full video up as soon as possible after the event.

The following is from the SPICe document which is referenced on this page:

The Committee will take evidence from three academics who are closely involved with the Scottish Council on Global Affairs. The Scottish Council on Global Affairs (SCGA) is the first all-Scotland international relations institute providing a hub for collaborative policy-relevant research. The three witnesses today represent each of the three founding partners of the SCGA – the University of Edinburgh, the University
of Glasgow and the University of St Andrews.

Today’s evidence session is an opportunity for the Committee to discuss the Scottish Government’s role as a paradiplomatic actor and why soft power is a key aspect of this. It is also an opportunity to discuss what the intended impact of Scotland paradiplomatic and soft power approach is and how this can be effectively measured.

Linked to the measurement of impact, the evidence session provides an opportunity to discuss whether the current national indicators in the external affairs sphere are appropriate and what new indicators might be developed in this area. Linked to this, the Committee might wish to discuss what work academia has undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of external affairs policies.

The Committee may also wish to discuss how the Scottish Government is working with the UK Government in pursuing international engagement and how the effectiveness of this engagement can be measured within the framework of the National Performance Framework.
The evidence session also allows the Committee to explore with the witnesses whether there are examples of good practice from other countries and regions in how they evaluate their international policies.