Research on the Citizens' Assembly of Scotland, 2019-2021
Creators: name: Bowes, Evelyn
Publisher: name: UK Data Service
Year: 2022

description: &lt;p class="x_x_x_x_MsoNormal"&gt;The Citizens' Assembly of Scotland was Scotland's first national level assembly which brought together a demographically representative cross-section of Scotland's adult population. The Assembly ran from October 2019 to December 2021 and across 8 weekends (face to face and online) members deliberated on the kind of country they would like to build, how to overcome 21&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; century challenges and how to give citizens’ the information they need to make informed decisions about the future of the country.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="x_x_x_x_MsoNormal"&gt;The collaborative research programme on the Citizens' Assembly of Scotland had the following aims:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="x_x_x_x_MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;To provide ongoing evaluative evidence about the Assembly process&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="x_x_x_x_MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;To evaluate the success of the Assembly as a model of public engagement in Scotland&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="x_x_x_x_MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span&gt;·&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;To produce an anonymised research dataset on the Assembly that will be accessible for use by researchers, practitioners and leaders and contribute to the developing global evidence on democratic innovation.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="x_x_x_x_MsoNormal"&gt;The research questions that guided the data collection and analysis addressed both the internal operation of the assembly and its relationship and impact with wider Scottish society. Some of the data was gathered during the Assembly process and other data was gathered when the Assembly concluded.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="x_x_x_x_MsoNormal"&gt;Further information about the research can be found in the &lt;a href="https://www.gov.scot/publications/research-report-citizens-assembly-scotland/pages/2/"&gt; published research report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="x_x_x_x_MsoNormal"&gt;Between the period of October 2019 and September 2021, the research programme generated quantitative and qualitative data from seven sources. The data deposited in the UK data service consists of data from the following sources:&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="x_x_x_x_MsoNormal"&gt;1.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;Population Survey:&lt;/b&gt; Survey data from a demographically representative sample of the Scottish adult population on their views of the Assembly. Two Waves conducted in March and September 2021 with ~1500 participants in each wave. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="x_x_x_x_MsoNormal"&gt;2.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;Member Survey: &lt;/b&gt;Survey data from assembly members tracking their experiences, knowledge and attitudes across the Assembly weekends&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="x_x_x_x_MsoNormal"&gt;3.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;Transcripts:&lt;/b&gt; Transcripts of audio recorded small group discussions &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="x_x_x_x_MsoNormal"&gt;4.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;Expert Speaker Survey:&lt;/b&gt; Qualitative data from an online survey of expert speakers who provided evidence to the Assembly &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="x_x_x_x_MsoNormal"&gt;5.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;Media Analysis:&lt;/b&gt; Overview of identified media coverage of the Assembly between August 2019 and March 2021&lt;/p&gt;