Equality Data Improvement Programme (EDIP) project board

Overview

The Equality Data Improvement Programme (EDIP) and project board were launched in April 2021 to lay the groundwork for the development of an ambitious cross-professional data improvement plan for the future. 

The board provides strategic direction and governance for EDIP, supporting the development and monitoring of activity that aims to strengthen the collection, publication and use of equality evidence across government. This includes helping ensure that data is robust, relevant and able to inform policy and decision-making.

The board is co-chaired by the Scottish Government’s chief statistician and chief social researcher. Officials in Communities Analysis Division (CAD) act as the secretariat to the board, and the senior responsible officer is the Head of CAD. It reports to the Minister for Equalities.

The EDIP adopts an Open Government approach, which includes publishing regular progress updates and making key outputs publicly available. This includes the board’s terms of reference, highlight reports explaining progress of actions and minutes from board meetings. Links to these can be found at the bottom of this webpage.

Find out more about the Equality Data Improvement Programme (EDIP).

Members

Current members

• Audrey MacDougall, Chief Social Researcher, Scottish Government (Co-Chair)
• Alastair McAlpine, Chief Statistician, Scottish Government (Co-Chair) 
• Jonathan Wright, Equality and Social Justice Analysis, Scottish Government 
• Beth Cocker, Equality and Social Justice Analysis, Scottish Government
• Molly Halligan, Equality and Social Justice Analysis, Scottish Government 
• Amanda Gordon, Head of Strategic Anti Racism and Disability Equality, Equality EIHR
• Nick Cassidy, Improvement Service
• Gill McCrum, Mainstreaming, Directorate for Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights, Scottish Government
• Lesley Crozier, Scottish Council’s Equality Network (SCEN)
• Rishma Maini, Public Health Scotland (PHS) 
• Hannah Telling, Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
• Alison Hosie, Scottish Human Rights Commission
• Shruti Jain, Public Health Scotland
• Simon Cameron, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
• Louise Giblin, Non-Departmental Public Bodies Equality Forum (NDPB)
• Kathryn Ray, Principal social researcher – Place-based Social Justice (supporting the Equality Analysis Team)
• Kathleen Allen, National Records of Scotland
• Sian Robson, Research Data Scotland

Publications

Equality Data Improvement Programme Project Board: terms of reference 2026

Equality Evidence Strategy 2023-2025: evaluation

Equality evidence strategy 2023-2025: interim review

Scotland’s Equality Evidence Strategy 2023-2025

Equality evidence strategy 2017 to 2021: interim progress report

Scotland's equality evidence strategy 2017-2021