Midwives', health visitors', family nurse practitioners' and women's experiences of the NHS Grampian's Financial Inclusion Pathway in practice: a qualitative investigation of early implementation and impact. [Briefing Paper]

All Local Child Poverty Action Plans require midwives, health visitors and family nurses to identify families with children under five at risk of financial hardship, and to refer them for help to increase their household incomes. This strategy (the so-called Financial Inclusion Pathway) is one of the range of efforts outlined in the Child Poverty Action Plans, aimed at increasing household income and alleviating child poverty in Scotland. A qualitative study took place to increase understanding about the early implementation of the Financial Inclusion Pathway within the NHS Grampian area. The research set out to establish how this initiative was operating within and impacting on the clinical practice of those health professionals concerned with delivering on it. The project also aimed to learn more about these health professionals' experiences of benefit gained, from the perspectives of parents and their children. The study took place between April and August 2021, and was funded by an NHS Grampian Endowments grant. This briefing paper summarises the project, and its conclusions and recommendations

Aberdeen: one step at a time: how to prioritise movement of people and make walking cool.

During the course of undertaking local evaluation within the PORTIS project in Aberdeen, our experience suggested that in order to develop a much deeper understanding of cause and effect in relation to walking within the city, we would need to collect additional qualitative data pertaining to the urban environment. This has included study of the physical design and use of space, and of behavioural shifts that may be brought about through both voluntary and enforced change. The work contained within this document was undertaken by the local evaluation team and aimed to explore how walking can be supported, encouraged and positively influenced by the urban environment itself. Through the use of a range of innovative qualitative data collection techniques, including the use of advanced mobile laser scanning technology, we feel that we have addressed one of our own aims, which was to look at the city with fresh eyes and from a new - sometimes abstract- perspective. Themes and issues raised within the document arguably signal ways in which the city might be allowed and supported to evolve in the coming years. This will not necessarily be a quick or easy process; instead we argue it is one that can be addressed one step at a time

Greyhope Bay: connecting to our marine world.

This design is being developed for a community-led project, which aims to create a marine experience centre at Torry Battery, Aberdeen, overlooking Greyhope Bay. This is a site that has a unique heritage and spectacular panoramic views of Aberdeen city, harbour and coast. The Greyhope Bay community was founded in 2016, but has been an idea since 2013. The first phase of the project involves the development of a low-impact, glass-fronted centre, café and outdoor decking that will enhance access to the historical monument. The intention is for the project's building and facility operations to act as a flagship in sustainable practice, modelling innovation in technology, the circular economy and low-impact behaviours, particularly striving to share understanding and to emulate changes that can be made to protect marine environments. More information is available on the project website: https://www.greyhopebay.com/. The design will support the project's ambition in terms of place making and the impact of creating a building with meaning. Influence for the design has been led by the concepts of resilience, community-ownership, and adaptability under changing economic, social and cultural circumstances

Managing the safety chain: the management of workforce safety and competency in the oil and gas industry.

Aberdeen Business School, part of Robert Gordon University, have conducted multiple interviews in nine operating and contracting companies across the globe to gain insight into the management of workforce safety and competency, with a view of identifying best practices and innovations in the industry which can be shared with others. This report details the findings from the research, which was conducted between June and September 2012. This report includes profiles of the companies who participated in the interviews, followed by discussions focused on strategy, management practices and influences or challenges to the effective management of safety and competency. In total 42 interviews were conducted, and participants were open and honest when speaking about safety and competency management in their companies. Strategies amongst operators and contractors are varied; they are developed to suit individual organisational needs and goals, with a wide array of methods used to communicate these strategies to the workforce. These methods are focused on taking a clear and simple approach directed with constant staff engagement. Open communication between operators and contractors is essential during strategy setting and implementation. This implementation is then tracked through evaluations of company performance and regular reviews of annual plans compared against KPIs. Competency management systems should not be too bureaucratic but also not too simple; particular attention should be paid to ensure the time and resources required for competency management do not become unmanageable. Effective assessment of workforce competence is achieved through the assessment process being recorded from planning to certification. Challenges were identified in ensuring workforce buy-in to competency management, which can be overcome through continuous communication with the workforce and supporting individuals through the process by using trained verifiers to aid the writing and evidence gathering process. Operators effectively manage their contractor workforce through clearly defined contract arrangements, regular contractor auditing and by using internal assurance processes for the selection and management of contracting companies. Instilling a culture of continuous improvement is required for the effective management of workforce safety and competency, with workforce involvement in this being paramount. The regulators role in continuous improvement is to identify industry wide skill gaps and encourage continuous development. In regions where regulation is less developed companies seek international affiliations as they command stronger requirements for safety and competency issues. Third party accreditations were held by the majority of companies interviewed, such as ISO, SQA, NVQ and OPITO. The value goals sought from holding these ranged from ensuring compliance to driving business, and to enhance reputation and credibility. The companies interviewed were felt to be leading in their approach to the management of workforce safety and competency. The benefits of becoming a leader were identified as gaining increased improvement and sustainability of business performance and reputation, and increased motivation of the workforce as well as greater standardisation in a global industry. Being a leader not only encourages innovation in current staff but also attracts competent and motivated people to the company. Interviewees were asked to rate the level of influence they felt geography, culture, nationality and religion could have on the development of a safe and competent workforce. Geography was felt to have some influence, as this could dictate what training would be required as well as what regulations should be followed. It was however felt that organisational culture and processes should override any geographic influences. All interviewees felt that culture would influence safety and competency development to some extent. However the creation of a strong learning culture though continuous workforce engagement teamed with the provision of training and a continuous display of management commitment help overcome cultural barriers. Nationality was perceived to have less of an impact than culture, although language barriers were cited as the most common impediment to achieving understanding amongst the workforce. The use of translators accustomed to local cultures and practices helps to overcome this. Religion was felt by some interviewees to have little influence on the development of a safe and competent workforce, whilst others felt it could influence peoples belief in their ability to influence or control external factors. These barriers can be broken down though education, and providing evidence to the workforce of the benefits of being competent and acting in a safe manner. In addressing the challenges and influences on safety and competency development, employees should be encouraged to have a positive attitude, be willing to learn, and given the confidence to point out when something or someone is unsafe. Employers should continually demonstrate their commitment to staff development to achieve the high standards required. Finally all interview participants were asked about the future of safety and competency, and what they felt would help improve this globally. Suggestions centred on the development of common systems and globally recognised certifications and accreditations, the greater exchange of ideas across the industry, more involvement of people in the development of systems, greater emphasis on personal responsibility when it comes to being safe and competent, and a long term commitment from the industry as a whole to the training and development of people to meet future industry demands. Safety and competency management is about going beyond compliance, investing in the creation and development of organisational cultures through continuous workforce engagement. Avoiding complacency through a continuous cycle of self-reflection, and consistently demonstrating management commitment are essential for ensuring a safe and competent workforce

Tracking digital impact (TDI) tool.

The Tracking Digital Impact (TDI) tool is designed to help researchers, research groups, projects and institutions assess their current and future digital engagement strategies in an objective and informed way to support the development of new and improved strategies that more effectively enable good engagement with businesses, communities, the public, governing bodies and other researchers to facilitate better engagement and greater impact. The TDI tool was developed as part of a JISC funded project which focused on identifying, synthesising and embedding business, community and public (BCE) engagement best practices. The TDI tool examined the best practices at the dot.rural Digital Economies hub at the University of Aberdeen and translated those (accompanied by new guidance) into the TDI tool. Parts of this document were sourced from 'Brief Notes on Social Media for Research' by Jennifer Holden (University of Aberdeen, October, 2012). This document describes the TDI tool and its use

Fixed Term Parliaments Act.

Was there ever a more hollow and impotent piece of legislation than the UK's Fixed Term Parliaments Act? Trumpeted by the Conservative-led coalition as a way of stopping opportunist prime ministers ever again calling snap elections to capitalize on hefty poll leads - by complicating simple confidence votes in ways that prompted Labour to condemn it as a constitutional stitch-up - within six short years of receiving Royal Assent it has proved itself wholly incapable of doing any such thing. When it suited David Cameron to build a protective cordon around his unholy alliance with the Liberal Democrats, the Act was a useful confection: a road-block solid enough to stop either partner provoking an early return to the polls, by swerving out of the ministerial motorcade in a petulant huff. But the fact it could be so casually swept aside as soon as the Tories' stars were back in the ascendancy - like a trifling traffic cone in the residents' parking bay otherwise reserved for them outside Number 10 Downing Street - shows it wasn't worth the statute-book it was written on. We should repeal this zombie law at the earliest opportunity

Latest 'Essential Public Affairs' sees huge changes.

This blog post summarises the changes to the fifth edition of Essential Public Affairs for Journalists by James Morrison

Airport public engagement strategy template: SPARA 2020 project, deliverable 7.

This model shows goals and methods of engagement at five engagement levels: Identify, Inform, Consult, Involve, Collaborate and Empower. For each method benefits and potential limitations are noted. These are to be used by individual airports should evaluate the methods and select those that they feel would be most appropriate to their situation

Airport stakeholder engagement strategy template: SPARA 2020 project, deliverable 7.

This model shows goals and methods of engagement at five engagement levels: Identify, Inform, Consult, Involve, Collaborate and Empower. For each method benefits and potential limitations are noted. These are to be used by individual airports should evaluate the methods and select those that they feel would be most appropriate to their situation

Strangeland.

Alexandra Kokoli reviews Tracy Emin's Strangeland, which contains autobiographical writings touching on rape, abortion and marginalization