1 SGSSS-SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT INTERNSHIP SCHEME PROJECTS STARTING SEPTEMBER 2017 ONWARDS Application Deadline: Wednesday 19 July

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SGSSS-SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT INTERNSHIP SCHEME PROJECTS STARTING SEPTEMBER 2017 ONWARDS

Application Deadline: Wednesday 19 July 2017 at 5pm

The devolved Government for Scotland is responsible for most of the issues of day-to-day concern to the people of Scotland, including health, education, justice, rural affairs, and transport.

Government social science research - http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Research/About/Social-Research aims to provide high quality evidence and advice for Ministers and Scottish Government officials to inform policy development, implementation and evaluation. Social researchers in government help generate new ideas and open debate, challenge assumptions, beliefs and attitudes, test policy ideas and develop a deeper understanding of issues as they affect Scotland.

The core functions of researchers in government include:

 the interpretation of evidence and the provision of research based advice  engaging with the academic and wider research community to bring expert knowledge into the policy making process  commissioning external research projects  undertaking research such as reviews of the existing evidence base  disseminating research findings and encouraging their wider use

Social researchers work closely with other analysts in the Scottish Government, particularly statisticians and economists.

The Office of the Chief Researcher (OCR) in the Scottish Government is responsible for central co- ordination of the internship scheme. OCR also provides a strategic, corporate and professional support function across the Scottish Government.

FURTHER INFORMATION AND HOW TO APPLY

What is an Internship?

An internship is a non-salaried work placement. The SGSSS-Scottish Government Internship Scheme gives current SGSSS students (all students registered for a PhD degree in Scotland, however funded) the opportunity to apply to undertake an internship within an external organisation.

Please note that these internships present opportunities to work outside the topic area of a student’s PhD to develop a range of transferable skills, enhance employability and provide the experience of working within a public sector organisation. Please do not apply if you are only seeking to have experience in your own PhD topic. You are better to organise your own internship in this case.

Working arrangements

All internships are on a full-time working basis for three months (13 weeks). A monthly stipend equivalent to the ESRC standard maintenance stipend will be paid to students on internships.

All internships (including pool applications) will be based in core Scottish Government Directorates or their agencies and be based in Edinburgh or Glasgow unless indicated by the project. Please see the separate document on the SGSSS website “Additional Information” which provides guidance on travel and accommodation reimbursement.

Successful applicants and their University supervisor will be asked to sign an agreement document prior to commencing their internship, covering administrative details such as procedures for annual leave, etc.

Eligibility

All 2nd & 3rd year SGSSS postgraduate students registered for a PhD, who also meet civil service nationality criteria are, at the time of application, in full time study in a social science discipline (or part time but able to commit to full-time internship) , are invited to apply for the projects described below. Students may also apply for inclusion in a ‘pool’ if they wish to be considered for other unfilled advertised projects or others that may later arise in any area of the Scottish Government. Please note we cannot accept applications from non-social science students - please check the SGSSS website for Pathway information which specifies the disciplines we cover. Students studying on health pathway can apply even if funded by MRC/CSO as health is one of our interdisciplinary pathways. http://www.socsciscotland.ac.uk

The Scottish Government prefers applicants to be in their second or third year of the PhD to apply due to the experience required to fulfil the internship opportunities. The internships will start no earlier than mid-September 2017 onwards. This scheme is open for all students notwithstanding how their PhD is funded, as long as other criteria are met, such as nationality and eligibility to work in the UK.

If successful all students will take an interruption of studies so that they are not eligible for fees during the internship. Research supervisors need to give permission for students to apply for these opportunities. Successful applicants will receive the equivalent of a standard ESRC maintenance stipend for the three months while on internship.

All provisionally selected candidates will be required to receive security clearance as a condition of taking up the Internship. This requires having a valid Disclosure Certificate. Obtaining a Disclosure Certificate can take several weeks. Successful candidates should apply for a certificate as soon as possible. The cost of a certificate can later be claimed back as part of Travel and Subsistence expenses.

In order to work for the civil service, including as part of an internship, an individual must meet nationality criteria set out in the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Detailed guidance is available on the Civil Service web pages at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules All applicants must ensure that they can meet these criteria in order to be eligible to undertake internships with the Scottish Government.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of the scheme and UKBA regulations, students on a Tier 2 or a Tier 4 visa are not eligible to apply for internships.

How to apply

Applicants should submit an online application form available on the SGSSS website, which includes space for a statement of support from your principal supervisor, along with a two-page CV.

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Wednesday 19 July 2017.

You should clearly indicate whether the application is for a specific project and/or for inclusion in the general pool.

Applicants are free to apply for up to four preferred project choices with the Scottish Government, and it is helpful to rank them in order of preference. If you wish to be considered for other SG projects then please mark an interest in the ‘pool’ on your application, to maximise chances of obtaining an

2 internship. If you have additional skill sets that you wish to highlight please include them. That will help identify an alternative placement is unsuccessful with your initial choices.

Although you can apply for more than one, candidates can only undertake one internship. Past SGSSS interns may still be eligible to undertake a further internship.

Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss their applications and areas of interest by telephone with the Scottish Government contact (listed under each internship) in advance of submitting their application. If there are questions about the scheme as a whole please contact Richard Kay (SG) or Janice Clark SGSSS (details below).

Students are encouraged to carefully consider the information requested in the application form and pay particular attention to setting out their expertise in particular research methods to address the desired skills listed. Applicants are often not required to have academic experience in the policy area of the internship unless specified in the project description. As stated above, SGSSS strongly encourages students to choose opportunities to work outside the area of their PhD topic in order to gain wider experience.

Selection process

Interns will be selected by the SGSSS on the basis of their written application. An informal telephone discussion with applicants may also be held before final allocation of internships. It can take some time to work with the Scottish Government hosts to place applicants so we may not be in touch for approximately 4 weeks after the deadline. Sometimes the SGSSS will inform you of the success of your application and sometimes the Scottish Government host will contact you to offer you a place or to seek further information from you. If you have not heard back from us within 6 weeks of the deadline then please contact Janice Clark on the email below.

Additional information

The Scottish Government Internship Scheme Manager is Rik Kay, Office of the Chief Researcher email [email protected] (0131-244-1624) and the SGSSS contact is Janice Clark, email [email protected]

For more information about analytical services in the Scottish Government, see: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Economy http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/About/Statistics-in-Scotland http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Research/About/Social-Research

For more information about Government Economic Service, Government Statistical Service and Government Social Research, see UK government websites: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service-government-economic-service https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service-government-statistical-service https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service-government-social-research-profession

Reporting Requirements

Once the internship has finished, students are required to submit to the SGSSS an End of Internship Report within 2 months of completing the internship - outlining the project in which they were involved and providing feedback on their experience of working in the Scottish Government. We also expect that interns are willing to take up opportunities to speak to other students about their experience e.g. at the SGSSS Summer School.

THE INTERNSHIPS

There are twenty advertised internship projects available, in addition to the ‘pool’. See table below.

No. Host Area Project Title Project Contact Page No. 1 Communities Designing a Time Use survey for Scotland Liz Hawkins 5 2 Communities Tackling Child Poverty Liz Hawkins 6 3 Digital Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2017 Sarah Martin 7 4 Directorate for People Analysis of engagement and diversity data from the Cheryl Bell 8 Scottish Government People Survey 5 Directorate for People Evaluating the outcomes of the post-specific Mariela Fordyce 9 promotion policy in the Scottish Government 6 Education Expansion of free Early Learning and Childcare Wendy van der Neut 10 7 Education Scottish Attainment Challenge Evaluation Angelica Lorenzo 12 8 Health To explore the reported worsening of mental John Mitchell 14 wellbeing in adolescent girls in Scotland. 9 Justice Mental health and the Criminal Justice System Katherine Myant 16 10 Justice Understanding trends in and drivers of confidence in Darren Peason 17 the police 11 Local Government Public Service Reform Jacqueline Rae 18 12 Local Government Public Service Reform/u.lab Scotland Keira Oliver 19 13 Marine Scotland Research into long term employment and productivity Valerie West 20 trends in Scottish Sea Fisheries 14 Scottish Prison Service Transformational Change within the Scottish Prison Jim Carnie 21 Service 15 Scottish Prison Service An internship to scope approaches to the evaluation Matt Maycock 22 College of learning and development, to support improvements in the evaluation of learning and development at the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) College 16 Scottish Sentencing Death by Driving Exploratory Study Andrew Bell 24 Council 17 Scottish Sentencing Environmental and Wildlife Crime Exploratory Study Andrew Bell 26 Council 18 Strategy & Analysis to support the development of the Culture Kay Barclay 28 Constitution Strategy 19 Strategy & Strategy unit Aileen McIntosh 30 Constitution 20 Transport Scotland National Transport Strategy Review: High quality and Rory Morrison 31 accessible public transport 21 Rural Implications of UK exit from the EU on Scotland’s rural Eilidh Totten 33 economy General Pool Internship Scheme 34 Manager

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Communities Directorate: Housing and Social Justice Division/Team: Communities Analysis Division

Internship 1: Designing a Time Use survey for Scotland

Policy Context:

The issue of unpaid work is of key policy relevance in Scotland. Tackling issues such as lower rates of female participation in the labour market and the prevalence of a gender pay gap depend on us gaining a better understanding of the drivers of these trends, and unequal division of caring responsibilities is widely believed to be responsible, at least in part, for these issues. There is also a wider debate over how we as a society should value unpaid work, regardless of gender, and indeed whether the focus on GDP leads to this type of activity being undervalued. At the moment, Scotland does not have a survey that captures time use, and this is a key evidence gap we are now looking to fill. At this stage, we believe that a time use survey, where a representative sample fill in a time use diary over a defined period of time, would fill this evidence gap, but we are at a very early stage of consideration.

Project details

We are looking for an intern to do some scoping work to inform the action we will take to fill this evidence gap.

We know of a number of uses for this survey in the equalities policy area, primarily related to women’s position in the labour market, but also linked to other areas such as the role of women in society and how this can shape issues such as violence against women. We are also keen to better understand men’s role and how their division of time between home and the workplace may be shifting over time. However, we believe there are wider uses for a survey such as this, and this may help in informing the debate around how we as society should value unpaid work. There may be other uses for such a survey in areas and we are keen to scope out the demand for this type of evidence from colleagues within the Scottish Government, and if appropriate, with external stakeholders.

Another part of this project will be gathering examples of surveys and policy usage from other countries to bring together options for taking this forward in Scotland.

By drawing on these two strands of evidence, the final product would be an options paper that brings together the demand for the data with possible solutions, along with a final recommendation, to put to Ministers for approval. We expect that actual survey itself to be subsequently delivered by an external contractor.

Skills required

An analytical background in any discipline and basic knowledge of research methods. Interest in gender issues.

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Liz Hawkins Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 244 7922

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: COMMUNITIES Directorate: HOUSING AND SOCIAL JUSTICE Division/Team: COMMUNITIES ANALYSIS

Internship 2: Tackling Child Poverty

Policy Context:

In March 2017 the Minister for Communities Social Security and Equalities introduced the Child Poverty Bill to Parliament. The Bill will be passing through various Parliamentary stages during 2017 with commitments to produce a delivery plan to tackle child poverty and to review and develop an existing measurement framework for child poverty by April 2018.

The Equality and Social Justice analysis team within Communities Analysis Division works very closely with the Policy team to support the Bill, its targets, delivery plan and measurement framework. This post would be an exciting opportunity to work closely with analysts and policy colleagues as they complete the final stages of the Bill and seek to put in place a robust delivery plan.

Project details

As this area is quite fast moving and to an extent reactive to Parliamentary direction the project cannot be tightly defined at this stage. However there are two areas that will need to be progressed over the next 6-12 months and nearer the time a defined project will be formulated in one of these areas:  A better understanding of what works in tackling child poverty – bringing together literature and good practice from a range of stakeholders to help inform the delivery plan.  An improved scoping of Understanding Society data alongside other sources to improve our understanding of the precariousness of income for low income households and the ability of longitudinal surveys to provide robust evidence at a Scotland level.

Skills required  Good spread of social research skills including literature review; evaluation of various sources; in-depth interviewing  Ideally – understanding and experience of undertaking longitudinal analysis  Interest in poverty and social justice issues.

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries:

SG Analytical Sponsor: Liz Hawkins Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 244 7922

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Communities Directorate: Digital Division/Team: Data, Statistics & Outcomes

Internship 3: Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2017

Policy Context:

Trust in Government is extremely important to Scottish Ministers and to those running Scotland’s public services more broadly. The Scottish social attitudes survey is a vital means by which we can measure how trust is changing for different parts of Scottish society.

Project details

Scottish Government sponsors a module in the 2017 Scottish social attitudes survey. These are around 20 questions on trust in Government and in other aspects of public life, questions on elections, on young people, the NHS and economy. The survey is answered by around 1,200 people across Scotland.

We want to understand what this data is telling us and to publish the results. The role of the intern is to bring insight from this data: how are attitudes changing, and how do they vary across different parts of Scottish society. To communicate the main insights in a way that resonates and is memorable with senior politicians and managers in Scottish Government.

In recent years, the results from the survey have been used extensively: in the Scottish Parliament, and in speeches by the First Minister. This project would allow you to be at the heart of the Scottish Government, and get a glimpse of those working in other parts of the organisation, such as developing health, education and economic services.

Skills required

Data analysis – use of analytical software (either SAS, SPSS or R). Would be desirable if the intern had some experience of sampling or using survey data.

Timing We get the data from the 2017 Scottish social attitudes survey in January 2018. Therefore, we would want to take the intern from Jan-March/April 2018

Queries:

SG Analytical Sponsor: Sarah Martin Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 244 5032

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Strategy and Operations Directorate: Directorate for People Division/Team: Corporate Analytical Services

Internship 4: Analysis of engagement and diversity data from the Scottish Government People Survey

Policy Context

The Corporate Analytical Services team in the Directorate for People provide evidence and analysis to inform organisational decisions on issues related to staff wellbeing, staff engagement, workforce planning, pay negotiations and organisational effectiveness in the Scottish Government. We are a diverse team, made up of social researchers, statisticians and HR data analysts. We analyse management information data, manage staff surveys and carry out primary research to inform and evaluate corporate initiatives.

The Scottish Government People Survey is part of the annual Civil Service People Survey covering nearly 500,000 civil servants. 98 UK Civil Service organisations took part in the survey in 2016, and it has been running in its current format since 2009. The survey is used to obtain views from our staff about the experience of working in the Scottish Government. It looks particularly at how engaged our people are in their work. The results help us to understand what we need to improve to make the Scottish Government a great place to work, and to provide the best service we can for Scotland. In 2017, new survey questions are being introduced to measure socio-economic diversity in the Scottish Government.

Project details

This placement offers the opportunity to be part of a team undertaking statistical analysis of Scottish Government People Survey. The analysis will be used to provide insight into the effectiveness of HR policies, highlighting potential areas for action and support. The work will form the basis of detailed briefings for senior leaders on how different groups of people in the organisation feel in terms of their inclusion, fair treatment, wellbeing, discrimination, harassment, bullying, and their levels of engagement. There will also be an opportunity to analyse diversity data from the survey, including newly introduced measures of socio- economic mobility.

The project offers an excellent opportunity to work on a project with significant reach across Government. You will have the opportunity to work with other analysts and policy makers and develop communication and report-writing skills for a non-academic audience. No previous experience in the substantive topic area is required.

The post will be located in Edinburgh.

Skills required  essential – strong interpersonal, oral and written communication skills  essential – experience of analysing and reporting quantitative data  essential – ability to handle sensitive data appropriately  desirable – familiarity with a common statistical package (e.g. SPSS/SAS/R)  desirable – experience or understanding of regression analyses

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant. A November start would be ideal.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Cheryl Bell Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 244 0443 8

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Strategy and Operations Directorate: Directorate for People Division/Team: Corporate Analytical Services

Internship 5: Evaluating the outcomes of the post-specific promotion policy in the Scottish Government

Policy Context:

The Corporate Analytical Services team in the Directorate for People provide evidence and analysis to inform organisational leadership decisions on issues related to wellbeing, workforce planning, pay negotiations and organisational effectiveness in the Scottish Government.

We are a diverse team, made up of social researchers, statisticians and HR data analysts. We analyse management information data, manage staff surveys and carry out primary research to evaluate the effectiveness of corporate initiatives.

Project details

The internship will contribute to the outcome evaluation of the post-specific promotion policy which has recently replaced the central board promotion model in the Scottish Government. The evaluation is carried out by the Corporate Analytical Services over a period of approximately two years. In autumn 2017 the evaluation enters its second phase, and involves gathering evidence on the realisation of the policy’s intermediary outcomes. The successful candidate will support the evaluation lead to carry out primary and secondary research, analyse the data and disseminate the findings to internal stakeholders.

The internship will involve:  supporting data collection via focus group and individual interviews with candidates, recruiting managers, lead panel members and senior managers in the Scottish Government  analysing interview and online survey data  summarising the main findings, and comparing them with the baseline in an interim evaluation report.

The project offers an excellent opportunity to work with other analysts and policy makers in the Scottish Government. No previous experience in the substantive topic area is required.

Skills required  essential – strong interpersonal, oral and written communication skills  essential – experience of collecting, analysing and reporting qualitative evidence  desirable – ability to integrate evidence from qualitative and quantitative sources  desirable – ability to handle sensitive data appropriately.

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant. A November start would be ideal.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Mariela Fordyce Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 244 2805

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Learning and Justice Directorate: Learning Directorate Division/Team: Education Analytical Services, Children and Families Analysis

Internship 6: Expansion of free Early Learning and Childcare

Policy Context:

This internship offers the opportunity to work in a high-profile and fast-moving policy area. Since 2014 all three and four year old children and around a quarter of two year olds are entitled to 600 hours of free Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) per year. In 2016, the Scottish Government announced that by 2020, this entitlement will be almost doubled to 1140 hours per year (around 30 hours per week). The main aims of this expansion are: 1. To support children’s cognitive, social and emotional development, especially of children from disadvantaged backgrounds to help close the gap in attainment between children from the most and least disadvantaged areas. 2. To support parents and carers to stay in or return to work, training or study. In March 2017 the Scottish Government published a 2017-2018 plan for the ELC expansion. This set out actions to deliver the expansion and ensure that the offered ELC will be of high quality, flexible, accessible and affordable. It also published guidance to support Local Authorities in planning for the expansion and building the additional capacity that will be needed.

Project details

The Children and Families Analysis Unit in the Scottish Government has set up an evaluation of the ELC expansion which aims to: a. Provide learning to inform and where needed improve the implementation of the ELC expansion as it is being rolled out between now and 2020; b. Monitor and evaluate the extent to which the expansion is achieving its short, medium and long-term aims up to 2020 and beyond.

The evaluation consists of different strands of work, including statistical analysis, surveys, economic modelling, focus groups and analysis of plans and reports submitted by Local Authorities. The aim of the internship project is to contribute to this evaluation. It will likely include some of the following types of analysis, but the exact tasks will depend on the agreed timing of the internship and skills of the intern:

 Document/qualitative analysis of the service delivery plans of the 32 Local Authorities  Document/qualitative analysis of Local Authorities’ plans for recruiting and allocating additional Graduates  Support in organising an online survey amongst parents or staff in the ELC sector  Support in planning or delivering focus groups

The intern will be based in Children and Families Analysis, a multidisciplinary analytical unit in the Education Analytical Services division.

Skills required  Undertaking qualitative analysis (document analysis and possibly survey/focus group findings). Experience of using NVivo is desirable.  Designing and analysing surveys  The ability to communicate analysis in engaging and accessible ways

Timing

The exact timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant, but the internship project is to take place between September and December 2017.

Queries:

SG Analytical Sponsor: Wendy van der Neut Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 244 4157

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Learning and Justice Directorate: Learning Directorate Division/Team: Education Analytical Services Division / Learning Analysis Team

Internship 7: Scottish Attainment Challenge Evaluation

Policy Context:

One of the government’s main priorities is to raise attainment and close the attainment gap between pupils from the wealthiest and most deprived areas. The First Minister therefore launched in 2015 the Scottish Attainment Challenge in 2015, to prioritise improvements in literacy, numeracy and health and well-being of those children adversely affected by poverty. It is underpinned by the National Improvement Framework, Curriculum for Excellence and the Getting it Right for Every Child programme

The £750m Attainment Scotland Fund is a targeted initiative focused on supporting closing the poverty related attainment gap. More information here: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Education/Schools/Raisingeducationalattainment

Project details

The Learning Analysis Unit in the Scottish Government has set up a mixed-methods evaluation of the Attainment Scotland Fund which aims to: a. Assess the extent to which the goals of the challenge are being met, and b. Offer learning on what is and isn’t working well.

You would be providing analytical support for specific elements of this high-profile project. These will likely include one or more of the following, depending on the timing of the internship and your specific skillset:

 Qualitative analysis of schools’ and local authorities’ progress reports and reporting on the key findings.  Supporting the design and implementation of a survey amongst schools in the programme  Statistical and qualitative analysis of the survey’s results, and reporting on the key findings.  Statistical analysis of the results of the New Group Reading Test from schools in the programme

You will be working in a mixed analytical unit alongside social researchers, statisticians and economists. You may also collaborate with analysts in Education Scotland and with policy colleagues in the Learning Directorate and Education Scotland. This will be an opportunity to observe the work of a policy team working in a high-profile arena and to produce work which will have an immediate impact with stakeholders.

Skills required  Experience in qualitative analysis of open-text survey responses and reports and/or statistical analysis with SPSS or SAS  Ability to communicate research findings in an engaging way to a non-specialist audience  Ability to collaborate with a variety of stakeholders

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Angelica Lorenzo Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0300 244 1895

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Health and Social Care Directorate: Population Health Division/Team: Mental Health and Protection of Rights Division

Internship 8: To explore the reported worsening of mental wellbeing in adolescent girls in Scotland.

The team invites expressions of interest from students who would like to apply their social science knowledge and quantitative experience in the area of mental health. The aim of the project would be to explore the reported worsening of mental wellbeing in adolescent girls in Scotland.  is it a true finding and from which sources?  what aspects of mental wellbeing are worsening and how is this manifesting?  How are trends comparing to other ages and to males?  is there any connection with mental disorder/ illness incidence in the same population, is this changing?  what are the known associations and what might be causative?  how could this be researched?  what additional survey questions could we apply in National surveys to gain better understanding

The team is part of Edinburgh-based Scottish Government. Our divisional aims are to improve the mental health and wellbeing of the population of Scotland. It is an exciting time with the appointment of a dedicated Minister for mental health and the recent publication of a Scottish mental health strategy for 2017-2017.

Policy Context:

The Scottish Government’s Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027 sets out a range of key actions that include work around the importance of child and adolescent mental health and of early intervention. Recent National survey (SALSUS) data have indicated a deteriorating wellbeing in adolescent girls associated with feeling pressurized at school and through social media. Reported self-harm is rising as are referrals to child and adolescent mental health services.

The internship provides an opportunity to work with Scottish Government policy colleagues in Mental Health, in Children and Families, in Education and in Health and Social care analysis. These are high profile and important areas that will set a strategic context for years to come and make a difference to the people of Scotland.

Project details

Aims and objectives Internship To  Review available mental health and other population data sources in relation to mental health and wellbeing of girls in the broader context of all young people.  Review associated sources of data from other policy areas – such as education and public health.  Consult with stakeholders.  Produce a report aligned to the project questions - is it a true finding and from which sources? - what aspects of mental wellbeing are worsening and how is this manifesting? - is there any connection with mental disorder/ illness incidence in the same population, is this changing? - what are the known associations and what might be causative? - how could this be researched?

- what additional survey questions could we apply in National surveys to gain better understanding?

Skills required

Essential  Strong quantitative analytical skills.  Strong communication skills are desirable as the post will involve working with NHS Boards and Scottish Government colleagues with a variety of backgrounds (e.g. service managers, policy makers, clinicians, IT, other analysts).

Desirable  Report writing, including the ability to write for different audiences and in ‘plain English’.  Experience of effective analysis communication.

We are looking for a person who enjoys being part of a team, is flexible and is comfortable working independently and in applying their research skills to new topics. Excellent analytical and reporting skills are more important than subject knowledge on mental health.

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries:

SG Analytical Sponsor: Pete Whitehouse Enquiries to email: Dr John Mitchell, Principal Medical Officer, Scottish Government [email protected] Telephone: 0131 244 6930

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Learning and Justice Directorate: Safer Communities Division/Team: Justice Analytical Services

Internship 9: Mental health and the Criminal Justice System

Policy Context:

Justice Analytical Services (JAS) has responsibility for providing research and analysis on a wide range of policy areas in the Justice and Safer Communities Directorates including crime and policing, drugs, fire, resilience, civil and criminal justice, court proceedings, prisons, community justice and offender rehabilitation.

One of the areas on which we wish to develop the evidence base is around mental health and the criminal justice system. It is well-documented that those who come into contact with the criminal justice system are more likely to experience mental health issues than the general population. The Scottish Government is placing a policy focus on health and justice and there is a need for evidence to support this.

Project details

The exact project details will depend on the requirements at the time of the internship and the skills of the intern. At the moment we have a particular interest in understanding the issues faced by the police in dealing with individuals in distress or with mental health problems. So a project may take the form of an evidence review (e.g. considering the international evidence around the different interventions used by the police to better deal with those in distress or with mental health problems) or some analysis of data to understand the nature and scale of the issue.

Skills required Literature review skills Good communication and report writing skills Quantitative skills may be helpful if there is an interest in analysing data. It would be helpful though not essential to have background knowledge of criminal justice, mental health or public health policy areas.

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Katherine Myant Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 244 4085

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Learning and Justice Directorate: Safer Communities Division/Team: Justice Analytical Services

Internship 10: Understanding trends in and drivers of confidence in the police

Policy Context:

Justice Analytical Services (JAS) has responsibility for providing research and analysis on a wide range of policy areas in the Justice and Safer Communities Directorates including crime and policing. As part of this work, JAS analysts manage the delivery and dissemination of the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) – one of Scotland’s three main population surveys, designed to ask people about their experiences and perceptions of crime.

The SCJS is currently supporting the work of Police Scotland’s recently established Public Confidence Board by using SCJS data to understand trends in and drivers of confidence in the police to both provide evidence to underpin the work of the group and also provide performance measurement data. We would like to extend our analysis of the existing police confidence data to further understand trends in police confidence, including differences amongst demographic groups and across different geographies.

More information on the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey and analysis/findings published to date can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/SCJS

Project details

The intern would work in the Safer Communities Analytical Unit within JAS – largely focusing on analysis and dissemination of the SCJS data related to confidence in the police and other policing matters captured in the survey.

However, the exact nature of the project will depend on the skills of the applicant but the tasks will likely include summarising existing data and research, secondary analysis of government held data – including administrative and cross sectional surveys, research design, report writing, and providing oral/written briefing. There may also be a need or desire to work collaboratively with other stakeholders (including Scottish Government policy colleagues and Police Scotland) in taking forward the programme of work and sharing findings.

There will likely also be scope to support wider work being taken forward within Justice Analytical Services over the internship period.

Skills required

Quantitative skills: experience of data management and analysis is essential along with knowledge of excel and either SPSS or SAS. Literature review skills Good communication and report writing skills It would be helpful though not essential to have background knowledge of criminal justice matters.

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Darren Peaston Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone 0131 244 6598

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Governance and Communities Directorate: Local Government and Communities Division/Team: Local Governance and Reform Research

Internship 11: Public Service Reform

Policy Context: Excellent public services are essential for a productive and equitable society and the Scottish Government is committed to protecting and improving public services through reform and efficiency, and in these tough times, the power of public services to enhance quality of life and improve economic opportunities has never been more important.

The Scottish Government is committed to assets-based approaches and wants reform to happen in partnership with people and communities. This should be through alignment and integration of communities, public, third sector and private organisations who come together to co-produce services and facilities which are tailored to individual and community needs. This requires empowered communities and workforces and a new approach to first line and middle management and governance structures to facilitate integration, innovation and adaptation.

The Local Governance and Reform Research Team invites expressions of interest from PhD candidates with an interest in applying their social science knowledge and experience to support the Government’s commitment to developing a sound evidence base for public service reform to inform our policy development, interventions and financial sustainability.

Project details Building on the learning from the Christie Commission’s 2012 report (www.scotland.gov.uk/About/Review/publicservicescommission), the Scottish Government has been working on developing the evidence base to inform, support and evaluate the reform process and outcomes to support the development of policies based on theories of change.

The programme of work is still under development, however the key focus for the internship will be to work collaboratively with policy and analytical colleagues (and potentially external stakeholders) to consider how evidence might help policy development in Scotland, particularly around the potential value and role of: local governance and Third Sector; and community participation/action and in social innovation to meet social need and tackle poverty and inequality.

There are currently two permanent members of staff in the Local Governance and Reform Research Team and twelve in the wider analytical unit with varied skills, experience and background. You will be based within a supportive and collegiate team environment and will work closely with policy colleagues, and will also join a network of other interns across the Scottish Government.

Skills required Strong analysis skills particularly in qualitative methods and knowledge of quantitative methods would be desirable. Also essential is strong interpersonal, written and oral communication skills and ability to work flexibly. Welcomed would be an interest / knowledge of social innovation, Public Service Reform and the role of communities, local governance and the Third Sector, alongside a genuine interest in being involved in work on tackling poverty and inequality in Scotland.

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Jacqueline Rae Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 2447566

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Governance and Communities Directorate: Local Government and Communities Division/Team: Ingage/Local Governance and Reform Research

Internship 12: Public Service Reform/u.lab Scotland

The Scottish Government is committed to assets-based approaches and wants reform to happen in partnership with people and communities. This should be through alignment and integration of communities, public, third sector and private organisations who come together to co-produce services and facilities which are tailored to individual and community needs. This requires empowered communities and workforces and a new approach to leadership, first line and middle management and governance structures to facilitate integration, innovation and adaptation.

The Ingage Team (https://ingage-scotland.org/) invites expressions of interest from PhD candidates with an interest in applying their social science knowledge and experience to support the Government’s commitment to developing a sound evidence base for public service reform to inform our policy development, interventions and financial sustainability.

Project details: this PhD internship is to support the Team in exploring the impact of U.Lab in Scotland. https://ulabscot.wordpress.com/ u.lab is a global online/real-world learning experience offered by the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) to develop people’s potential as change makers. Over the last two years, Scotland had the highest number of participants per capita of any country and there is now a vibrant and supportive community of 1300+ U practitioners here. We are working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to explore how to gauge its impact, and also exploring how it can help in changing how the Scottish Government (SG) works. u.lab is free to anyone who would like to participate and will run again in Sept this year.

The detail of the internship is still under development, however the key focus for the internship will be to work collaboratively with colleagues across the office and external stakeholders to develop and support gauging impact.

There are currently ten members of staff in the Ingage Team and we have a strong link with the Local Governance and Reform Research Team. You will be based within a supportive and collegiate team environment and will work closely with analytical and policy colleagues, and will also join a network of other interns across the Scottish Government.

Skills required Strong analysis skills particularly in qualitative methods and knowledge of quantitative methods would be desirable. Also essential is strong interpersonal, written and oral communication skills and ability to work flexibly. Welcomed would be an interest / knowledge of participatory research methods, social innovation, u.lab/u.lab Scotland and Public.

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Keira Oliver Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 244943

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Directorate: Marine Scotland Division/Team: Marine Scotland Science / Marine Analytical Unit

Internship 13: Research into long term employment and productivity trends in Scottish Sea Fisheries

Policy Context:

The remit of the Marine Analytical Unit (MAU) is to ensure that Marine Scotland is able to access the necessary socio-economic and statistical advice and analysis to ensure effective policy development and operational delivery. Amongst other priorities, it provides evidence that is used to develop policies which encourage the continued growth and future development of a range of existing and new key sectors, such as aquaculture, fisheries and renewable energy, which form part of Scotland's Growth Sectors

Project details

The Marine Analytical Unit covers the breadth of Scotland marine sector in particular the provision of integrated economics evidence that promotes sustainable, profitable and well- managed fisheries. This includes research projects that help to ensure Scottish interests and objectives, including the promotion of vibrant coastal communities, are maximised through reform of the Common Fisheries Policy. Producing analysis on the value of the economic activity undertaken by Scotland's marine sector, to help inform assessment of the economic and social impact of marine planning decisions.

The precise scope of the project is still to be confirmed and will depend on the Units priorities at the time and the skills of the successful applicant. It is likely that it will involve:  Analysis of historical and current data on employment and production in Scotland’s sea fishing to understand trends in coastal employment and sea fish productivity  Option to develop an online data visualisation tool for external users to interact with the data.  Identifying areas for future development  Developing and publishing a report of the findings; and  Presenting findings to policy interests in Scottish Government and other stakeholders.

Skills required

 essential – strong interpersonal, oral and written communication skills  essential – experience of collecting, analysing and reporting quantitative evidence from various sources. essential – Some experience of using statistical computer programming languages, such as R or SAS  desirable – Some experience with online computer visualisation platforms – e.g. platforms linked to R.  Ability to present data in graphs and tables.

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant but the general requirement will be for it to start in late 2017 /early 2018.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Valerie West Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone 0131 244 6437

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Scottish Prison Service Directorate: Strategy and Innovation Division/Team: Research

Internship 14: Transformational Change within the Scottish Prison Service

Policy Context

It is now some 4 years since SPS published its Organisational Review which set out a revised operating philosophy and a radical transformational change agenda based on developing a person-centred, asset-based approach to those in custodial care; promoting individual agency and self-efficacy to realise potential; strengthening links into communities; supporting throughcare; and investing in staff to enable them to be effective change agents. SPS’s Mission is to “provide services that help to transform the lives of people in our care so they can fulfil their potential and become responsible citizens”.

Project details

The exact details of the internship will depend on the skills of the applicant and key policy developments at the time. The intern will have an opportunity to shape their own workload. The work will focus on providing a research and evidence base to support the implementation of SPS’ continuing change agenda. There will be an opportunity to become involved in a variety of work-streams such as the Prisoner Survey; the Purposeful Activities Strategy; the Throughcare Support initiative; Offender Behaviour Programme evaluation; Performance Measurement and Benchmarking; SPS’ Strategic Assessment exercise; the Population Management project; and general horizon scanning for international best practice in penal policy and practice.

The intern will:

 contribute to an approved programme of research and evaluation priorities;  scan the domestic and international horizons and disseminate innovative thinking and best practice on, inter alia, penal philosophy, innovative practice, organisational performance, multi-agency collaborative working, offender case management, throughcare initiatives, criminal justice reforms, etc.;  communicate relevant data analyses, performance information, evaluations and research based evidence to a range of public, academic, partner agency and parliamentary interests to influence and shape policy thinking.

Skills required

 Literature and information search and review skills;  Good written and oral communication skills;  Experience of the use of social research methods.

Timing

The timing of the internship can be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Jim Carnie Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 330 3766

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Scottish Prison Service Directorate: Corporate Services Division/Team: Scottish Prison Service College, Polmont

Internship 15: An internship to scope approaches to the evaluation of learning and development, to support improvements in the evaluation of learning and development at the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) College

Policy Context: The SPS College is interested in the ways in which evaluation might strengthen all aspects of its functioning. The report produced as part of this internship, will support the development of an evaluation framework of learning and development for the SPS College.

Project details: The exact details of the internship will depend on the skills of the applicant.

This three-month internship at PhD student level, will focus on writing a report that will initially outline the various ways that learning and development is currently evaluated, both across Scottish Government as well as prison services internationally. Subsequently this internship will focus on developing an impact based SPS College evaluation framework, linking SPS staff learning and development to offender outcomes. This will incorporate an associated implementation plan.

This internship will have three main research questions:

1) How does the SPS College currently evaluate learning and development within the SPS? a. What is the current approach to the evaluation of learning and development within the SPS College? b. How should SPS College evaluate the impact of learning and development interventions and in particular the impact of learning and development for SPS staff on those in our care? c. What framework for evaluating learning and development will best support the SPS College evaluating all aspects of learning and development, ensuring that staff development has a positive impact on the 9 offender outcomes. 2) How do various agencies within Scottish Government current evaluate learning and development? a. What evaluation policies or frameworks exist within Scottish Government? b. How is evaluation operationalised within Scottish Government? 3) How do prison services outwith Scotland, currently evaluate the learning and development aspects of their organisations? a. What evaluation policies or frameworks exist within various prison services? b. How is evaluation operationalised internationally within various prison services?

The intern will:  Develop the research questions above, subsequently undertaking a desk based review of a wide range of academic and policy documentation relating to the evaluation of learning and development.  Communicate relevant data analyses, performance information, evaluations and research based evidence to a range of public, academic, partner agency and parliamentary interests to influence and shape policy thinking.

Skills required:  Literature and information search and review skills;  Strong written and oral communication skills;  Experience of the use of social research methods.

Timing: The timing of the internship can be agreed with the successful applicant. The internship will be located at the SPS College in Polmont.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Matt Maycock Enquiries to email: [email protected]; Telephone: 01324 710438

Organisation: Scottish Sentencing Council Directorate: Secretariat

Internship 16: Death by Driving Exploratory Study

Policy Context:

The Scottish Sentencing Council is an independent advisory body, tasked with the creation of sentencing guidelines for Scottish criminal courts under the Criminal Justice and Licensing Scotland Act 2010. The Council's responsibilities include:

 preparing sentencing guidelines for the Scottish courts  publishing guideline judgments issued by the Scottish courts  publishing information about sentences imposed by the courts.

It also has powers to publish information about, and conduct research into, sentencing and to provide advice and guidance of a general nature on sentencing matters.

When carrying out its functions, the Council must seek to:

 promote consistency in sentencing practice  assist the development of policy in relation to sentencing  promote greater awareness and understanding of sentencing policy and practice.

The Council was established in 2015 and is chaired by Lady Dorrian, the Lord Justice Clerk. The full Council holds quarterly business meetings, and other workshops and visits on an ad hoc basis. The Council is supported by a small Secretariat based in Edinburgh. Remote working may be possible for this internship.

The Scottish Sentencing Council intends to carry out preparatory work to inform its first offence specific guidelines in 2017/18, with these guidelines likely to be submitted to the High Court in 2019. This work is in the early stages and this internship offers an opportunity to influence the Council’s approach in this area.

Project details

The exact scope and focus of the project will depend upon the timing of the placement, but it is likely that you will undertake an exploratory study of current sentencing practice around death by driving cases (causing death by careless driving and causing death by dangerous driving). The Secretariat will provide guidance on topics of interest to the Scottish Sentencing Council which you will be responsible for investigating. The Secretariat will provide support and assistance throughout, but you will be responsible for the project, including tailoring methodological approaches to take best advantage of your skill set while still addressing core research questions. Your work may include:

 in-depth interviews with members of the judiciary  focus groups exploring judicial attitudes to death by driving  data exploration and analysis of sentencing data, including liaising with other criminal justice organisations to negotiate access to data  desk based research on existing literature  desk based research on public perceptions as expressed through social media  focus group work with members of the public on public perceptions of sentencing with regards to death by driving

You may also be asked to provide research support on other topics which the Council is currently working on, including supporting the environmental and wildlife crime research

24 project and initial exploratory work on sexual offences. If the focus of the project changes, this will be discussed in advance with the successful candidate.

Expected Outcome

You will produce a report on the outcomes of your research, detailing emergent themes and providing clear advice and guidance on areas of interest to the Scottish Sentencing Council. You will attend a meeting of the Research Committee and the subsequent full Scottish Sentencing Council meeting to present your findings and participate in a question and answer session.

Responsibilities

Office support will be provided in Parliament House, Edinburgh, if required.

You will be working alongside the Scottish Sentencing Council Secretariat, consisting of the Secretary to the Council, the Principal Research Officer, the Principal Legal Officer, a Policy Officer, a Communications Officer and an Administrative Officer. You will also work with members of the Scottish Sentencing Council, including presenting your findings at a full Council meeting. You may have the opportunity to assist with other pieces of research during the lifespan of the project. You will be line managed on a day to day basis by the Principal Research Officer, who will also provide professional support and advice.

Skills required

A broad mix of research skills is essential for this internship. Good communication skills, both written and oral, are desirable as you will need to summarise your findings for the Scottish Sentencing Council. Direct experience of qualitative research is desirable as is direct experience of descriptive statistics. An understanding of legal systems, social policy or criminal justice would be beneficial but not essential.

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Andrew Bell Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 240 6824 (Mon-Wed) 01875 321184 (Thur-Fri)

Organisation: Scottish Sentencing Council Directorate: Secretariat

Internship 17: Environmental and Wildlife Crime Exploratory Study

Policy Context:

 preparing sentencing guidelines for the Scottish courts  publishing guideline judgments issued by the Scottish courts  publishing information about sentences imposed by the courts.

It also has powers to publish information about, and conduct research into, sentencing and to provide advice and guidance of a general nature on sentencing matters.

When carrying out its functions, the Council must seek to:

 promote consistency in sentencing practice  assist the development of policy in relation to sentencing  promote greater awareness and understanding of sentencing policy and practice.

Project details

The exact scope and focus of the project will depend upon the timing of the placement, but it is likely that you will undertake an exploratory study of current sentencing practice around environmental and wildlife crimes. This area is very broad, covering small and large scale environmental offences and a variety of wildlife crimes. The Secretariat will provide guidance on topics of interest to the Scottish Sentencing Council which you will be responsible for investigating. The Secretariat will provide support and assistance throughout, but you will be responsible for the project, including tailoring methodological approaches to take best advantage of your skill set while still addressing core research questions. Your work may include:

 in-depth interviews with members of the judiciary  focus groups exploring judicial attitudes to environmental and wildlife crimes  data exploration and analysis of sentencing data, including liaising with other criminal justice organisations to negotiate access to data  desk based research on existing literature  desk based research on public perceptions as expressed through social media  focus group work with members of the public on public perceptions of sentencing with regards to environmental and wildlife crimes

You may also be asked to provide research support on other topics which the Council is currently working on, including supporting the death by driving research project and initial exploratory work on sexual offences. If the focus of the project changes, this will be discussed in advance with the successful candidate.

Expected Outcome

Responsibilities

Office support will be provided in Parliament House, Edinburgh, if required.

Skills required

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant, but an early start date would be preferred.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Andrew Bell Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 240 6824 (Mon-Wed) 01875 321184 (Thur-Fri)

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Strategy and Operations Directorate: Strategy and Constitution Division/Team: Office of the Chief Statistician and Strategic Analysis

Internship 18: Analysis to support the development of the Culture Strategy

Policy Context:

A Plan for Scotland: The Scottish Government’s Programme for Scotland 2016-17, contained a commitment to develop a culture strategy for Scotland based on principles of access, equity and excellence. The strategy will be underpinned by a vision that articulates the powerful and transformative effect that culture has. It will set out ways that Scotland supports and values culture and the imaginative and innovative role of artists, cultural producers, creative practitioners, businesses and cultural organisations in shaping a strong, diverse, innovative and open society. The strategy will be co-produced with the sector and wider society, through public engagement that will help to make connections across sectors and stimulate a national conversation on what the future should look like, harnessing culture’s potential to impact on cross cutting policy outcomes as well as recognising and supporting it’s intrinsic value.

Work is now underway in the Culture and Historic Environment Division in the Scottish Government to deliver the strategy. The strategy needs to be robustly underpinned by evidence and data, and a range of analytical outputs will be needed over the next 12 months or so.

Project details

The intern will be involved in producing analytical/evidence outputs to support the development of the Culture Strategy. They will be based in the Strategic Analysis team (in St Andrews House) and will be supported to day to day by their line manager in this team. They will also be working closely with the Culture Strategy policy team (based in VQ) headed up by Leonie Bell who is seconded from Creative Scotland to deliver the Strategy. As well as being focused on the Culture and Historic Environment portfolio, the intern will be exposed to the wider work of the Strategic Analysis team, a fast-paced team based at the heart of the Scottish Government covering a range of strategic policy areas including the Constitution and Brexit.

The exact nature of the tasks required is still to be confirmed and will in part depend on the timing of the internship. However, it is expected that the intern, with support, will be required to contribute to the following work areas:

 Concise desk based literature reviews to build up a robust understanding of the evidence base and key issues facing the culture sector  Communicating findings through the production of reports and presentations  Mapping work to identify data and evidence, and the key academics and university departments  Secretariat support to the running of an analytical working group  Analysis of responses to a consultation on the draft strategy  Dealing with ad hoc analytical enquires as required.

Skills required

 Experience in searching, reviewing, critically evaluating, interpreting, summarising and synthesising evidence and research findings from different sources accurately and at speed  Critical thinking and analytical skills including the ability to identify salient points from research/databases and draw out sound, logical inferences.  Experience of the use of a range of different qualitative and quantitative social research methods

 Excellent communication skills: Clear written and oral communication that avoids unnecessary use of jargon and technical terms and ability to present information clearly and logically; able to communicate succinctly, facilitate discussions effectively to achieve clear outcomes; Good oral presentation skills.  Strong organisational skills and self-motivated; able to manage competing tasks and work autonomously.

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Kay Barclay Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 244 2236

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Strategy and Operations Directorate: Strategy and Constitution Division/Team: Strategy Unit

Internship 19: Strategy unit

Policy Context:

The Strategy Unit undertakes detailed analysis of medium term cross-cutting policy issues for Scotland and produces robust policy advice, working closely with analytical and policy colleagues across Scottish Government. The Unit is based in the Strategy and Constitution Directorate, which lies at the heart of the work of the Scottish Government. The Unit advises Ministers, the Permanent Secretary and the Executive Team on a range of cross cutting issues. It’s a multi-disciplinary policy/analytical team, including policy advisers, a statistician, economists and social researchers.

Project details

One internship is offered by the Strategy Unit. The work will include supporting work to identify policy approaches to improve outcomes, address challenges or take advantage of opportunities for Scotland in the medium term, in selected areas of economic and social policy. The exact topics will depend on the work of the Unit at the time of the internship. The work will, however, be on cross-cutting issues addressing key issues such as inequalities, poverty, economic growth and fairness. The intern may work on several projects during their time in the Unit. The internship is likely to involve:  desk based research, including the analysis of existing research evidence/data and information gathering  the opportunity to work with government analysts and policy makers across the Scottish Government and  the communication of findings in the form of short briefing papers or presentations for a range of Scottish Government audiences including senior civil servants.

Skills required

The Strategy Unit invites expressions of interest from students with an interest in applying their social science knowledge and experience to contribute to the work of the Unit. We welcome applications from students in any social science discipline. Required skills:  literature searching and reviewing skills – including reviewing papers from a wide range of disciplines  ability to operate across traditional analytical boundaries and disciplines  good written and oral communication skills are essential  understanding that project work will be sensitive and will require careful handling.

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Aileen McIntosh Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 244 5646

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: DG Economy Directorate: Transport Scotland Division/Team: Transport Analytical Services

Internship 20: National Transport Strategy Review: High quality and accessible public transport

Transport Scotland is the national transport agency for Scotland and responsible for a wide range of activity delivering the Scottish Government’s vision for transport. Transport Analytical Services is a mixed discipline analytical team consisting of social researchers, economists and statisticians. We provide specialist analytical advice to Ministers and policy makers across all areas of transport in Scotland, utilising a wide range of methods including: attitudinal and behavioural research; economic appraisal; policy evaluation; consultation design and analysis; and statistical publications.

Policy Context: The National Transport Strategy (NTS) sets out the long-term vision for transport policies in Scotland. It was first published in 2006 and refreshed in 2016. The 2016 refresh recommended that a fuller, collaborative review of the NTS should take place in this Scottish Parliamentary term. The full review of the NTS is currently underway and the revised NTS will set out an updated vision for what transport should look like for the whole of Scotland over the next 20 years and how this vision can be achieved. Transport Analytical Services is providing a range of analytical input to the process. This includes convening a ‘Research and Evidence’ group who will gather and scrutinise the evidence throughout the strategy review, supporting the development of strategic outcomes and indicators, and issuing a ‘call for evidence’ to collate evidence and identify gaps.

This internship project will support this varied programme of work, with a particular focus on gathering and analysing evidence on public transport choices in Scotland and interventions to encourage public transport use. Long term trends show shifting patterns in public transport, including an on-going decline in bus usage in Scotland. Declining bus patronage and increasing private car ownership has a range of environmental (e.g. congestion, air quality) and social (e.g. access to services, community connectedness) impacts. This internship will support Transport Analytical Services to understand these trends, impacts and potential strategic interventions, to ensure Scotland has a high quality and accessible public transport network for the future, through delivering a range of mixed methods research.

Project details This internship offers the opportunity to gain analytical experience working on a large scale project involving a variety of methodologies, to provide decision-makers with high-quality evidence on strategic public transport interventions. This will include:

 Conducting rapid reviews of evidence on public transport topics identified as gaps by the NTS ‘call for evidence’ (currently on-going), appraising the quality of the evidence received, and summarising it concisely;  Contributing to the design and conduct of public and stakeholder engagement activity on public transport, to ensure that engagement on the strategy review can be utilised effectively as evidence to inform policy decisions;  Assisting the team by providing evidence and analysis to support the policy development work on the NTS being carried out by a range of thematic working groups;  Collaborative working with analysts, policy makers, and a range of external stakeholders involved in the NTS review process.  Providing general support to the wider work of the Transport Scotland Social Research Team.

Skills required

Essential skills:

 Rounded mixed methods research experience and familiarity with the most common qualitative and quantitative research designs  Ability to review, appraise and summarise research findings quickly and accurately into concise messages to share with non-analysts  Able to engage effectively and work closely with a range of stakeholders and partners that have a shared interest in transport  Strong written and oral communication ability

Previous experience of transport research is not required.

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant, however it would be ideal for the internship to start during Autumn 2017.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: Rory Morrison Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 244 0285

DIRECTORATE GENERAL: Economy Directorate: Environment and Forestry Division/Team: Rural Science and Analysis Unit

Internship 21: Implications of UK exit from the EU on Scotland’s rural economy

Policy Context:

Supporting Scotland’s rural economy is a key priority for the Scottish Government. If Scotland is removed from the EU as part of the UK it is anticipated there will be implications for jobs and economic growth in Scotland’s rural areas.

Project details

The aim of this project is to assist policy makers by summarising and interpreting academic evidence relating to the potential implications of the UK vote to leave the EU. The rural economy could be affected via a number of channels including changes to: trade agreements; direct EU funding; exchange rate movements; inward investment; and labour movement. The particular skills of applicants will be taken into account when scoping the final project. The project will involve consultation with SG policy leads and communication of research findings to a non-specialist audience.

Skills required Ability to interpret and effectively communicate quantitative and qualitative evidence to a non- specialist audience. The project would be particularly suited to a PhD student with a background in economics, though other specialisms would be considered (e.g. economic geographers/ spatial analysts)

Timing The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries:

SG Analytical Sponsor: Eilidh Totten Enquiries to email: [email protected] Telephone: 0131 244 9705

POOL APPLICATIONS

Internship: Pool Applications

Policy Context: The Scottish Government is always in the position of having to respond to changing demands and emerging events. As a result it is frequently the case that new opportunities for internships arise between the time when the call for projects closes and the appointment of interns. It is not possible to advertise these opportunities, but as and when they arise we like to be able to place interns into these exciting or fast-moving areas.

Project details: Interns who are prepared to apply for the pool can be offered placements and projects in any area of the Scottish Government for which their skill set is relevant. Some of these may include unfilled projects that have been advertised above in the general advertisement, but others will be new or substantially changed projects where new demands for analysis are only beginning to be identified.

The intern will usually supported by a senior social researcher and/or economic advisor who will help and guide with project planning and management.

There will be opportunities for the intern to present their work within the Scottish Government if desired.

Skills required: For pool placements we will look to match skills interns have identified with new placement opportunities. It is therefore really important that interns explain what their core skills are – whether those skills are qualitative/quantitative and/or economic or social. On top of that we will always need people who are/have:

 Strong organisational skills and self-motivated  Excellent communication skills  Critical thinking/analysis

Timing: The timing of the internship will be agreed with the successful applicant.

Queries: SG Analytical Sponsor: co-ordinated by the Office of the Chief Researcher Enquiries to email: [email protected]