Coronavirus (COVID-19): Covid Recovery Strategy Programme Board - programme approach

Programme structure and role

A national collective endeavour for Covid recovery has been established. At the heart of this endeavour is the Covid Recovery Programme, overseen by the Covid Recovery Strategy Programme Board. This board is co-chaired by the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery, and the president of COSLA. Its members include representatives from Scottish Government, local government, business and the third sector. It is the embodiment of the joint ambitions of the strategy. Board members will collectively use their political and organisational leadership, influence and powers to embed the ambition of the strategy into Scottish service delivery. A key function of the board will be to ensure that there is a clear and unwavering political and organisational will to achieve this ambition, a consistent strategic approach, and buy in to collaborative, joint, person centred approaches that make the best use of resources. The board will oversee all aspects of the work of the programme.

The programme board will be supported a by an independently chaired National Collaboration Board. This board will act as a reservoir of expertise to consider evidence of what works, advise dispassionately how this can be put in to practice, and to provide challenge to board members to consider issues it sees as relevant to the ambition of the strategy.

The programme will also establish an analytical working group, which will bring together Scottish Government, local government and other analytical capacity to advise on evidence and data issues.

A programme team has been established to support the board. The team will comprise of officials from the SG Directorate for Covid Recovery, working jointly with COSLA and local government officers, as well as other agencies. 

The role of the programme is to drive change – to ensure that there is real and measurable impact on the indicators supporting our key outcome, to have established and embedded change incorporating excellent practice in person centred ways of working and to ensure that by the end of the programme, 2023, the actions identified in the strategy are delivered, and importantly are delivered a way which meets the aspiration of the strategy.