Public Attitudes and Scotland's Independence Referendum
Lead Research Organisation:
NatCen Social Research
Department Name: Research Department
Abstract
This fellowship proposal is for a programme of knowledge exchange and research activity that would provide independent, non-partisan information on key aspects of public opinion towards Scotland's constitutional future.
The programme consists of three main activities: the writing of a book-length study on public attitudes towards Scotland's constitutional future for publication in advance of the referendum; the provision of a website that would act as a comprehensive and authoritative source of evidence on and insight into public opinion towards the key issues at stake; and, the provision of research briefings and seminars on key aspects of public opinion.
The book length study will be the first full length study of public attitudes - on both sides of the Anglo-Scottish border - towards Scotland's constitutional future. It will cover four main topics: trends in attitudes since 1999; why people support or oppose Scottish independence; what policies people would want an independent Scotland to pursue; and how much devolution would Scotland want if it remained within the UK.
The book would aim to assess what lessons can be drawn from the Scottish case for a number of key academic and policy debates. How far are attitudes towards independence simply a reflection of people's sense of national identity or are they are also shaped significantly by what they think the consequences of independence would be? Will people vote for or against simply on the merits of the issue or will they be influenced by their attitudes towards the incumbent UK government or what they think of the various political parties? And has introducing devolution inevitably put Scotland on a path towards independence or is there a possible constitutional settlement that might provide a stable basis for governing Scotland within the framework of the Union?
The book will be written primarily on the basis of existing available data, much of it from the ScotCen's Scottish Social Attitudes survey, but will also benefit from the collection of new data on attitudes towards some of the policy options that would face an independent Scotland, such as whether it should be a nuclear free country or keep the pound.
The web site will have three main elements. Between them they are designed to enhance the quality of academic and non-academic reporting of and debate about the state of public opinion. First, the site will bring together and make easily accessible all the key survey readings on public opinion that have been published since 2007. Where the same question has been asked on more than one occasion the resulting time series will be available. At the same time there will be an easy to use facility that will enable users to interrogate further the data of one particularly rich and important source, the Scottish Social Attitudes survey.
Second the site will post written blogs and video commentaries on new poll and survey findings shortly after they are published. These postings will draw attention to any methodological considerations that should be borne in interpreting a finding, as well as interpret their substantive significance. Finally, the site will provide a comprehensive set of digital links to existing academic and other literature on the subject.
The research briefings will provide four page commentaries on the state of public opinion in respect of a number of key topics of relevance to the debate about Scotland's constitutional future. On the occasion of each briefing a half day seminar on the relevant topic will also be held. This activity is designed to enhance understanding of the referendum debate amongst those who are currently less familiar with developments so far.
The programme consists of three main activities: the writing of a book-length study on public attitudes towards Scotland's constitutional future for publication in advance of the referendum; the provision of a website that would act as a comprehensive and authoritative source of evidence on and insight into public opinion towards the key issues at stake; and, the provision of research briefings and seminars on key aspects of public opinion.
The book length study will be the first full length study of public attitudes - on both sides of the Anglo-Scottish border - towards Scotland's constitutional future. It will cover four main topics: trends in attitudes since 1999; why people support or oppose Scottish independence; what policies people would want an independent Scotland to pursue; and how much devolution would Scotland want if it remained within the UK.
The book would aim to assess what lessons can be drawn from the Scottish case for a number of key academic and policy debates. How far are attitudes towards independence simply a reflection of people's sense of national identity or are they are also shaped significantly by what they think the consequences of independence would be? Will people vote for or against simply on the merits of the issue or will they be influenced by their attitudes towards the incumbent UK government or what they think of the various political parties? And has introducing devolution inevitably put Scotland on a path towards independence or is there a possible constitutional settlement that might provide a stable basis for governing Scotland within the framework of the Union?
The book will be written primarily on the basis of existing available data, much of it from the ScotCen's Scottish Social Attitudes survey, but will also benefit from the collection of new data on attitudes towards some of the policy options that would face an independent Scotland, such as whether it should be a nuclear free country or keep the pound.
The web site will have three main elements. Between them they are designed to enhance the quality of academic and non-academic reporting of and debate about the state of public opinion. First, the site will bring together and make easily accessible all the key survey readings on public opinion that have been published since 2007. Where the same question has been asked on more than one occasion the resulting time series will be available. At the same time there will be an easy to use facility that will enable users to interrogate further the data of one particularly rich and important source, the Scottish Social Attitudes survey.
Second the site will post written blogs and video commentaries on new poll and survey findings shortly after they are published. These postings will draw attention to any methodological considerations that should be borne in interpreting a finding, as well as interpret their substantive significance. Finally, the site will provide a comprehensive set of digital links to existing academic and other literature on the subject.
The research briefings will provide four page commentaries on the state of public opinion in respect of a number of key topics of relevance to the debate about Scotland's constitutional future. On the occasion of each briefing a half day seminar on the relevant topic will also be held. This activity is designed to enhance understanding of the referendum debate amongst those who are currently less familiar with developments so far.
Planned Impact
The decision on whether Scotland will leave the UK will eventually be taken by the general public living north of the border. This project will collate, make accessible and analyse the attitudes of that public towards Scotland's constitutional future. In so doing it will help identify what are likely to be the key considerations that eventually persuade people in Scotland to vote either Yes or No, and to ascertain what developments and movements have or have not caused public opinion to change so far. At the same time the project will provide prospective information on public attitudes towards some of the key policy options that would face an independent Scotland and on what pressures and opportunities there might be for carving out a new, more stable constitutional settlement in the event that Scotland votes No. Such information is likely to be regarded as invaluable intelligence by those on all sides of the argument in devising their strategies and policy responses as well as by those organizations whose future could well be significantly affected by the decisions that are eventually taken.
The community of those with a potential interest in the project is thus large and includes:
UK ministers, politicians and campaigners from all parties
Scottish ministers, politicians and campaigners from all parties
Organisers of the Yes Scotland and Better Together referendum campaigns.
UK government civil servants with responsibility for devolution/Scotland
Scottish government civil servants with responsibility for supporting that government's referendum policy
Thank tanks working on devolution policy including Reform Scotland and the Institute for Public Policy Research
Pressure groups with an interest in the future governance of the UK in general and Scotland in particular, including the Electoral Reform Society, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Scottish Trades Union Council and CBI Scotland.
Businesses located in Scotland, especially those with significant UK-wide operations, including most notably the substantial financial sector based primarily in Edinburgh.
Journalists both north and south of the border, together with journalists from outside the UK
Diplomatic representatives of overseas governments, especially those located in Edinburgh.
Members of the general public with an interest in politics and/or Scotland's future.
The project thus potentially has important implications for both the wealth and the culture of the United Kingdom. In so far as the project informs the campaigning and policy strategies of key participants in the debate, it could materially affect the arguments that are put before the Scottish public and thus perhaps the decision that they eventually take. In so far as the findings inform the decisions made by business about how they should respond to the emerging political environment, and what an independent Scotland might mean, this could affect the future economic wellbeing of Scotland and the rest of the UK. Meanwhile, the culture of the UK will benefit from enhanced media understanding and reporting of the evidence on attitudes towards Scotland's constitutional future, thereby making journalists more effective at advancing public understanding of the referendum debate.
It is anticipated that this impact will begin to arise following the establishment of the proposed website after three to four months and then be advanced further through the provision of research briefings throughout the lifetime of the project.
The community of those with a potential interest in the project is thus large and includes:
UK ministers, politicians and campaigners from all parties
Scottish ministers, politicians and campaigners from all parties
Organisers of the Yes Scotland and Better Together referendum campaigns.
UK government civil servants with responsibility for devolution/Scotland
Scottish government civil servants with responsibility for supporting that government's referendum policy
Thank tanks working on devolution policy including Reform Scotland and the Institute for Public Policy Research
Pressure groups with an interest in the future governance of the UK in general and Scotland in particular, including the Electoral Reform Society, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Scottish Trades Union Council and CBI Scotland.
Businesses located in Scotland, especially those with significant UK-wide operations, including most notably the substantial financial sector based primarily in Edinburgh.
Journalists both north and south of the border, together with journalists from outside the UK
Diplomatic representatives of overseas governments, especially those located in Edinburgh.
Members of the general public with an interest in politics and/or Scotland's future.
The project thus potentially has important implications for both the wealth and the culture of the United Kingdom. In so far as the project informs the campaigning and policy strategies of key participants in the debate, it could materially affect the arguments that are put before the Scottish public and thus perhaps the decision that they eventually take. In so far as the findings inform the decisions made by business about how they should respond to the emerging political environment, and what an independent Scotland might mean, this could affect the future economic wellbeing of Scotland and the rest of the UK. Meanwhile, the culture of the UK will benefit from enhanced media understanding and reporting of the evidence on attitudes towards Scotland's constitutional future, thereby making journalists more effective at advancing public understanding of the referendum debate.
It is anticipated that this impact will begin to arise following the establishment of the proposed website after three to four months and then be advanced further through the provision of research briefings throughout the lifetime of the project.
Publications
Curtice, J
(2014)
It all depends on your perspective: economic perceptions and the demography of voting in the Scottish Independence Referendum
in Fraser of Allander Institute Economic Commentary
Ormston, R
(2014)
Minding the gap: Women's views of independence in 2014
Curtice, J
(2015)
Scotland 'One Year On': The Legacy of the Independence Referendum
Curtice, J
(2014)
So where does Scotland stand on more devolution?
Curtice, J
(2013)
The option not on the table: attitudes to more devolution
Curtice J
(2021)
The Palgrave Handbook of European Referendums
Curtice J
(2014)
The Polls in the Independence Referendum: Much Disagreement, Little Light
in Scottish Affairs
Curtice, J
(2014)
The score at half-time: Trends in support for independence
Curtice, J
(2019)
The Story of the Scottish Parliament: The First Two Decades Explained
Eichhorn, J.
(2014)
The Undecideds: Don't Care or Deeply Conflicted?
| Description | 1. The creation of a website that brought together all of the major polling and survey data on attitudes of relevance to Scotland's independence debate, made it available in an easily searchable form, and rendered it accessible via a variety of data visualisation and analysis facilities. In addition the site provided regular impartial commentary (in the form of 'blogs') on new polling data and research findings as they became available, as well as more extended research briefings. The site became (and still remains) the premier site for data and commentary on political attitudes in Scotland and its material was widely cited and used by conventional media. The site was used by over 900,000 unique users between its launch in June 2013 and shortly after the independence referendum in September 2014. 2. Throughout the referendum campaign people's willingness to support independence was heavily contingent on their perceptions of the instrumental, and above all, the economic consequences of independence. Voters who believed the economic consequences were beneficial were inclined to vote Yes, while those who thought they were deleterious voted No. Given that at no stage did a plurality of voters believe that the consequences would be beneficial, it is not surprising that in the event a majority voted No. People's sense of identity, in contrast, tended to play a secondary role in their voting decision, not least because many people in Scotland feel both Scottish and British. In so far as identity did matter people's attitude towards independence was more closely related to how British they felt than how Scottish they reckoned they were. Many voters appeared to be asking themselves not whether they wanted Scotland to be independent but, rather, whether they wanted to leave the UK. 3. The two year long referendum campaign helped to crystallize public opinion in Scotland. By its end people's views were more closely related both to their evaluations of the economic consequences of independence and to their sense of identity than it had been when the prospect of a referendum first came into view. To that extent at least the referendum campaign seems to have helped Scots cast an informed vote, that is a vote that reflected their perceptions of and attitudes towards the key issues in the referendum debate. 4. So far as pubic opinion is concerned, reaching an agreement on the future relationship between an independent Scotland and the rest of the UK should not have been infeasible, while the same is true now that Scotland has opted to remain in the UK. Public opinion south of the border was willing to allow an independent Scotland keep the pound, the BBC and the monarchy and would not have wanted Trident to remain located in Scotland. English public opinion appears to be willing to accommodate Scotland's apparent wish more devolution, the practical implications of which are likely to be constrained by a reluctance amongst Scots to embrace policy divergence a wish to retain access to UK-wide funding. |
| Exploitation Route | One of the principal objectives of this fellowship was to ensure that its research findings were communicated widely during its lifetime. The results of the research were regularly communicated during the course of the referendum campaign to civil servants (in both the UK and the Scottish Governments) as well as representatives of both of the main campaign organizations. To that extent, and given the referendum is now over, there is not a lot little left to be 'taken forward'. However, the referendum has not settled the debate about how Scotland should be governed. The ballot has bequeathed all-party proposals for more devolution and left an apparent legacy of increased SNP support. On the former, our research uncovered some important inconsistencies in public attitudes towards more devolution in Scotland, of which perhaps rather more note should be taken when the next government addresses how to implement further devolution. On the latter we have kept the public attitudes website going through to the May 7 general election in order to enhance public and journalistic understanding of the phenomenon, and have applied to the ESRC for funding to continue this work through to June 2016. |
| Sectors | Government, Democracy and Justice |
| URL | http://whatscotlandthinks.org/ |
| Description | This fellowship was awarded as part of the ESRC's 'The Future of the UK and Scotland' research initiative that was designed to inform the public debate occasioned by the Scottish independence referendum held in September 2014. It contained three main elements: the inclusion on both the 2013 Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) survey and the 2013 British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey of a module of survey questions on topics of relevance to the referendum, the creation of a website that provided a comprehensive and searchable collection of survey and polling data on attitudes towards issues in the referendum, together with regular commentaries in the form of 'blogs', and a series (aimed at a non-academic audience) of seminars and briefing papers on public attitudes in the referendum. The survey work was undertaken in tandem with a supplementary award to AqMen (ES/K006460/1) that was also made as part of the initiative, funding that, inter alia, was also subsequently extended to include the inclusion of a further module of questions on the 2014 Scottish Social Attitudes survey. The fellowship also drew on earlier work that had in part at least had been funded by the ESRC, including most notably an award to include a module of survey questions on the 2012 SSA (ES/K006355/1). The question of how Scotland should be governed is of course politically contentious. It was not the purpose of this project to generate 'impact' by influencing or changing public opinion on how Scotland should be governed (and thereby perhaps sway the result of the referendum!), let alone change the direction of a public policy on which the UK and Scottish governments had (and still have) very different preferences. Rather it was intended to ensure that impartial information on public attitudes - and what might influence those attitudes - should be available to those within the UK and Scottish governments who were responsible for developing their r institution's policy pronouncements, to those campaigning on all sides of the referendum argument, to journalists reporting on the campaign, and to the interested lay public. In this way the project could help inform public policy (and maybe therefore increase its effectiveness) and enhance the quality of pubic discourse about the referendum (and thus the quality of life). Each of these target audiences was reached by the project's activities. The seminars organised as part of the fellowship, and held under Chatham House rules, were attended by civil servants from both governments, campaigners from both sides, together with a number of diplomatic representatives of overseas governments. In addition we also gave additional private presentations to key officials in both the UK and Scottish governments, and these presentations were supplemented by innumerable private conversations with officials, campaigners and diplomats. In addition, presentations based in whole or in part on the project were also given to a wide variety of non-academic audiences including meetings at or of the British Academy/Royal Society of Edinburgh, political parties (including the Scottish Labour Party Devolution Commission), the Scottish Parliament Festival of Politics, the ESRC (for MPS etc. at Portcullis House), the ESRC Festival of Social Science, Edinburgh International Science Festival, a number of private business organisations in the public relations and financial sectors (including the Board of the Royal Bank of Scotland), the Electoral Commission, the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, and senior officials of the Canadian Government. Prof. Curtice gave many public presentations and lectures, including Stevenson Trust lectures at the University of Glasgow, a Crichton lecture at the university campus in Dumfries, a series of debates (alongside politicians from both sides) organised by the Dundee Courier, and a lecture to the Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow. During the course of the year leading up to the referendum, Prof. Curtice gave some kind of presentation about the referendum to a non-academic audience on an almost weekly basis. The fellowship also co-sponsored with AqMen two major conferences that reported in January and August 2014 on the latest Scottish Social Attitudes findings. These were attended, inter alia by representatives from the UK and Scottish Government, European Commission, NHS Scotland, British Medical Association, Electoral Reform Society, Yes Scotland, Better, Together, Business for Scotland, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, David Hume Institute, Alzheimer Scotland, U.S. Embassy, Office of Fair Trading, Children in Scotland, Office for Fair Trading, Spanish National Research Council, National Autistic Society, the financial sector, as well as by many interested members of the general public. The project website, whatscotlandthinks.org was heavily used, and became a widely quoted and cited feature of the referendum campaign. Between its launch in the summer of 2013 and the end of 2014 it received 1,623,327 visits by 921,085 users, resulting in 4,182,840 page views. The site became increasingly popular as the referendum approached. In September 2013, for example, the site had 9,339 users, in March 2014 45,447, and by September 2014 411,551. In other words, during the month of the referendum, approaching half a million people visited the site to look at the data and/or access its commentaries. The briefings and other written materials generated by the project (including chapters based on the 2013 data that appeared in the 2014 British Social Attitudes report) were the subject of extensive press publicity (and in one instance the subject of a request for information from 10 Downing St.). Material and commentary from the website was cited and quoted widely by traditional media including Scottish media such as BBC Scotland 2014, STV's Scotland Tonight, The Scotsman, and The Herald and UK wide media such as BBC News at 10, BBC Newsnight, The Financial Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Independent and Times. The site was also repeatedly used by international outlets such as CNN International, Bloomberg and CCTV News (China). Prof. Curtice made innumerable personal appearances on Scottish, national and international media (from Columbia to Japan) and wrote widely for print and digital media. The site's role as the central point of information on public attitudes in the referendum is attested, for example, by the fact that it was mentioned 13 times in a House of Lords Library briefing note on polling in the referendum (See http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/LLN-2014-027) The website and work of the project was supported by a Twitter account that provides further evidence of its reach to non-academic audiences. By polling day @whatscotsthinks had over 4,500 individual followers, including politicians, campaigners, journalists and businesses as well as members of the general public. Here are a few examples of Twitter conversations that referred to the site: The Conservative leader in Scotland, Ruth Davidson MSP: "And here's @WhatScotsThink's more detail analysis of that same poll" The Yes Scotland campaign: "Yes Side maintains advantage in the online campaign battle LINK via @:WhatScotsThink #indyref" BBC Scotland News: "Coming up on Newsdrive from 4pm. With 100 days to decide Scotland's future, we talk to Yes, Better Together, YouGov and @WhatScotsThink" ?BBC presenter, Jeremy Vine: How my elections colleague Prof John Curtice unwittingly helped man who staked £900k on a Scots No @WhatScotsThink but seen as negative: LINK #Indyref @WhatScotsThink" Scottish comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli "http://blog.whatscotlandthinks.org/2014/01/icm-poll-shows-biggest-swing-yet/ this is fascinating...." Tweets from @whatscotsthink were retweeted by amongst others, the then Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, and the former Scottish Secretary, Michael Moore MP, as well by many a journalist and politician. After the referendum, Prof. Curtice made a contribution to a submission to the Smith Commission on more devolution that was organised by the Future of the UK and Scotland initiative. That Commission's report eventually led to the introduction of the Scotland Bill providing for more devolution that is currently going through its final parliamentary stages at Westminster. The political fallout from the referendum has, of course, been considerable. The reach and value of the site in informing public understanding of these developments was acknowledged by the ESRC in deciding to extend the funding of the site so that it could cover the 2015 UK general election and the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. The continued attention to and use of the site is attested by the fact that its Twitter account now has over 6,600 followers. It is thus evident that the findings of the project reached a wide range of non-academic audiences. The fact that the key players in the referendum campaign repeatedly attended and asked for further briefings suggests that they found the findings useful, albeit the extent to which they used it in private in developing their campaign strategies is, of course, impossible to tell. The heavy use of the project by the media and the fact that the project engaged directly and indirectly with a wide range of non-academic audiences suggests that it certainly helped to inform the referendum debate, and helped to meet a public appetite for information about a referendum in which there was an unprecedented level of public engagement. In so doing the project can certainly be said to have contributed to the quality of political life, though whether it made any difference to the eventual outcome of the referendum must remain a moot point. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
| Sector | Education,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Government, Democracy and Justice,Other |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | Invited Witness, House of Lords Constitution Committee |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/constitution-committee/inqu... |
| Title | British Social Attitudes 2013 |
| Description | Rectangular file of all of the data on attitudes collected by the 2013 British Social Attitudes survey. These include Britain-wide data on attitudes of relevance to the debate about Scottish independence and devolution that were collected as part of an ESRC Scotland Senior Fellowship awarded to Prof. John Curtice (ES/K007149/1). |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2014 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | See the Key Findings report for ES/K007149/1. British Social Attitudes is one of the most heavily used and cited data sets (in both academic and non-academic writing) in UK social science. |
| URL | http://discover.ukdataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/?sn=7500&type=Data%20catalogue |
| Title | Scottish Social Attitudes 2013 |
| Description | Rectangular file of all of the data on attitudes collected by the 2013 Scottish Social Attitudes survey, including that collected as part of supplementary awards to AqMen (ES/K006460/1) under The Future of the UK and Scotland initiative and a ESRC Scotland Senior Fellowship (ES/K007149/1) to Prof. Curtice. It also contains data on attitudes to government, mental health, alcohol and policing funded by other organisations |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2013 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | See the Key Findings report for ES/K007149/1. The modules on attitudes to government, mental health and alcohol were funded by other governmental organisations and fed directly into the policy process via commissioned reports. The AqMen project gave young researchers guided access to the data on attitudes towards how Scotland should be governed, and this resulted in both conference presentations and articles in a special number of Scottish Affairs authored by these young researchers. |
| URL | http://discover.ukdataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/?sn=7519&type=Data%20catalogue |
| Title | whatscotlandthinks.org |
| Description | A unique continuously updated collection of opinion findings (from 2007 onwards) and data from the Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) survey (from 1999 onwards) of relevance to the debate about Scotland's constitutional future. The collection is fully searchable and contains a variety of tabulation and data visualisation facilities. The site contains a data explorer facility that enables the user to construct crosstabulations of the SSA data. There is also a blog that provides regular commentary on new poll results and academic research findings. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2013 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | In the run up to the Scottish independence referendum in September 2014, the site came to be very heavily used and was frequently quoted by journalists, academics and other commentators who were seeking to follow and write about the forthcoming ballot. It thus made a major contribution to the public debate about and Scotland's constitutional future. |
| URL | http://whatscotlandthinks.org |
| Description | A Tale of Two Referendums |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation comparing public attitudes in the EU and Scottish Independence Referendums, SOLAS Festival, Perth, 2018. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.solasfestival.co.uk/blog/2018/6/15/whats-on-when-day-by-day-breakdowns-are-here |
| Description | AqMen 2014 Annual Lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Post event discussion None known |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | https://www.aqmen.ac.uk/events/Nov2014/AnnualLecture |
| Description | BA/RSE Seminar on Scotland's Referendum and Britain's Future |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Post-event discussions None known, but BA/RSE booklet that documented the whole seminar series of which this was a part was a sell out. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.britac.ac.uk/policy/United_Kingdoms_Scotland_Referendum_Britain_Future.cfm |
| Description | Crichton Foundation Lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Post-lecture conversations with participants Not known |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.crichtonfoundation.org/news-events |
| Description | ESRC Briefings on Scottish Independence Referendum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Post-events discussions Invitation to speak at an academic conference on the Scottish referendum in Amiens |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014 |
| Description | ESRC Festival of Social Science Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Post event discussion None known |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://aqmen.ac.uk/events/foss2013 |
| Description | Edinburgh Interntional Science Festival Session on Scottish Referendum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Post-event discussions None known. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/whats-on/programme-archive |
| Description | Finance Key in Independence Debate |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Article in The Scotsman newspaper This article was part of a wider press publicity exercise for the findings in question. The findings were widely quoted in a variety of media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.scotsman.com/news/john-curtice-finance-key-in-independence-debate-1-3277344 |
| Description | Invited Keynote Lecture, part of ARK's 20th birthday celebrations, on the impact of devolution on public attitudes towards the Union |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited keynote lecture on the impact of devolution on trends in public attitudes in Great Britain towards the Union since 1999, including the impact of Brexit. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Keynote presentation at COSLA Annual Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Post-event discussions None known |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.cosla.gov.uk/conference2014 |
| Description | Meetng of All-Party Parliamentary Group on Decentralisation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Private follow-up conversations with attendees Not known |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | PR and The Scottish Conservatives |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited speaker at fringe meeting organised by the Electoral Reform Society on the revival of the Scottish Conservative Party. Presentation discussed inter alia the link between the revival and attitudes to both the constitutional question and Brexit north of the border. Text formed basis of a blog at http://blog.whatscotlandthinks.org/2017/10/the-three-characteristics-of-the-scottish-conservative-revival/, and analysis summarised in subsequent discussions with journalists. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/join-the-movement/events/pr-and-the-scottish-conservatives-conse... |
| Description | Political Studies Assoiciation Press Briefing on Scottsh Referendum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Follow-up discussions with journalists attending Difficult to discern given this was but one of many interactions with the media |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | https://www.psa.ac.uk/media/media-briefings |
| Description | Public Attitudes towards Scotland's Challenges |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation at the annual conference of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the collective representative body for local authorities in Scotland. Presentation covered public attitudes towards a range of policy challenges facing Scotland including the delivery of public services to an ageing population, the use of Scotland's devolved tax powers, Brexit and Scotland's constitutional status. This was a repeat invitation and recognises the perceived utility of the work by one of the key institutions in Scottish politics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.cosla.gov.uk/events/2017/10/cosla-and-annual-conference-2017 |
| Description | Royal Philosophical Society of Glasgow Lecture |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Post-event discussion Invitation to chair a referendum debate |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Scottish Parliament Festival of Politics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Post-seminar discussions Not known |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014 |
| URL | http://www.festivalofpolitics.org.uk |
| Description | Stevenson Trust on Citizenship Lectures |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Post-lecture discussions Not known |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013,2014 |
| Description | Times Higher Annual Lecture 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Inaugural annual Times Higher Lecture. Talk compared the stance taken by Universities UK in the Scottish independence and EU referendum |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.timeshighereducation.com/video-times-higher-education-annual-lecture-2018 |