Since Reform Scotland was set up over seven years ago, its aim as a public policy institute or ‘think tank’ has been to inform, influence and widen the public policy debate in Scotland. In that time, we have published over 40 reports and research papers, all of which are available on our website, which set out where Scotland stood across a range of economic, constitutional and public service policy areas. Our work analysed performance in Scotland and compared it with other comparable countries around the world.
This body of evidence about what works in other countries was then used, together with our broad principles of limited government, diversity and personal responsibility, to develop clear policy recommendations about where policy in Scotland should go from here. These have helped to stimulate debate amongst policy makers and others with an interest in the public policy debate in Scotland.
As well as providing ideas that encourage and focus the public policy debate, Reform Scotland has also sought to provide a forum for that debate through organising public events and this will continue in the future. However, our new website, launched this week, builds on this with a new blog called ‘The Melting Pot’. This will invite contributions from a range of different people who have ideas about how we can reform and improve public policy in Scotland. These will not be Reform Scotland’s views, but those of the individuals themselves about where Scotland should go from here and the blog will enable them to do some blue-sky thinking and so foster debate.
Geoff Mawdsley is director of Reform Scotland.