Strengthening Policy Implementation

SHERU will be trialling a new and innovative approach within Scotland. We are focusing on understanding how two specific national strategies concerning key socio-economic determinants of health are impacting on health inequalities in Scotland: Housing and Employability.

We recognise that analysis of health inequalities are too often only focused on the national level policy context, with more needed to address how inequities can be addressed locally. In doing so we recognise the local level contextual experiences and challenges within the policy delivery space.

As part of this we will be exploring the implementation of two major national level strategies: Housing to 2040 and No One Left Behind. This work will also focus on two populations of interest : parents living on a low income with young children and men aged 18-44.

The selection of these target groups is underpinned by a robust statistical foundation that have highlighted unequal health outcomes for adult men and children in Scotland.

Working through a three-part integrated model, SHERU aims to situate and ascertain how local authorities experience the delivery and operationalisation, of these major national strategies with perspectives and evidence generated across a range of information sources and stakeholders.

To deliver our work, we will be working within North Lanarkshire and the City of Edinburgh to explore across our three strands of work. Whilst we will be conducting a deep dive within these two areas, we are committed to working collectively with other local authorities to ensure that the learnings from this project benefit other stakeholders within our areas in Scotland. Please contact us for further details to engage with this.

We will be providing comprehensive analysis of the broader policy landscape through a methodology known as policy tracing. By exploring the connections and intersections within the policy landscape, we will understand the approach and challenges that local areas face in implementing major national level strategies (Housing to 2040 and No One Left Behind), at an operational level, with opportunities to feed back to the Scottish Government.

This will support a nuanced comprehension of the journey from policy initiation to local policy design, operationalization, and interpretation. This process is essential for addressing inequalities among key population groups and within specific policy areas.

Collaborating with Community Renewal Trust, we are running a series of focused workshops that will bring together key stakeholders to take a multi perspective analysis of the challenges and opportunities in these areas. This methodology will offer rich and reflective spaces for change and learning.

Lived experience insights and solutions provided by community peer researchers to support and build local evidence on people’s experiences on housing, employability, and solutions that would be beneficial for their wellbeing. SHERU will be working in collaboration with the Scottish Community Development Centre and Poverty Alliance on this workstream.