As you’ll imagine, with a Holyrood election almost upon us, the past year has been furiously busy for Scotland’s leading think tank. We’ve published research across a range of areas, held events galore, and are in constant conversation with political leaders as they prepare their manifestos. We also changed our name!
Our NHS48 programme, which has drawn in brilliant contributions from experts across the health system, has been one of the highlights of our year. In October, we held a full-day conference in conjunction with the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh and Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland. It was a terrific event, with more than 100 senior clinicians and interested parties in attendance. Speakers included the Auditor General, the Health Secretary and the health spokespeople from all the opposition parties, as well as participants from Denmark and Wales.
We have long been a leading voice on the urgent need to reform Scotland’s education system, and our work on this front continues apace. Our Commission on School Reform has been in high demand, meeting with political leaders and publishing a range of ground-breaking research in areas such as the school curriculum, behaviour, indiscipline and absence, and the worrying rise in demand for Additional Support Needs.
We’ve enjoyed partnering with Phoenix Group and Charlotte Street Partners on our Meet the Leaders series. These have been well-attended evenings, and so far I’ve interviewed John Swinney, Anas Sarwar, Russell Findlay and Alex Cole-Hamilton.
As the search for economic growth and increased productivity continues, Enlighten has staged a series of brilliant conversations. I recommend my chats with Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli about regional economic growth, Professor Graeme Roy, chair of the Scottish Fiscal Commission, Malcolm Offord about the future of devolution, and our panel discussions about entrepreneurship and the crisis facing the retail sector.
We’ve also continued to make the case for greater devolution to local government and communities, including the need for directly-elected mayors, and for reforms to higher and further education, as our universities and colleges face ever-greater financial challenges. Having led the debate on university funding, we were pleased to see the Scottish Government finally announce a major review into the issue in December.
Over 20 new articles have appeared in our blog this year. I’d especially recommend “The Positive Impact of Becoming a ‘Mobile Phone Free’ School” by Bruce Robertson, “Hard to Get Noticed” by Johann Lamont, “How Scotland Found its Entrepreneurial Compass – Then Lost it Again” by Iain Scott, and “Everyone agrees that Holyrood needs change, so why isn’t it changing?” by James Bundy and Stephen Kerr.
Our team – Chris, Alison, Morgan and Rowan – sends you all the very best for the festive season.
Regards,
Chris Deerin
Director of Enlighten