Insights Discovery expenditure and efficacy information: FOI release

Information requested

1. Total Expenditure:

Please provide the total amount paid to the company "Insights Learning and Development Ltd" or any other provider (such as Connect 3, HR Staple etc) that was specifically for "Insights Discovery" accreditation, materials, or workshops for the financial years:

2022-2023
2023-2024
2024-present

Please break this spend down by Directorate, Executive Agency or NDPB where possible.

2. Evaluation of Efficacy:

Please provide copies of any "Business Case," "Pre-Expenditure Assessment," or "Post-Project Evaluation" documents held that detail the evidence base used to justify the selection of Insights Discovery over other training tools. I am specifically looking for documents that demonstrate how this tool meets the "Value for Money" criteria set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual along with how using this tool complies with obligations to avoid bias.

3. Number of Staff:

Please confirm the approximate number of staff who have undergone this training during the specified period.

Response

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance The Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have asked for because The Scottish Government does not routinely record spending data for its public bodies including executive agencies and NDPBs.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested.

However, you may wish to contact each public body that you are interested in directly. Contact details for Scottish Government public bodies can be found here: National public bodies: directory - gov.scot.

With this in mind, the answer to your questions for core Scottish Government and its directorates is as follows:

1.

	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	2025/26
Directorate for Agriculture and Rural Economy	£3,363.50	£1,111.20	£1,111.20	£1,111.20
Directorate for Chief Medical Officer	£2,597.76	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00
Directorate for Corporate Transformation and Workplace	£1,770.04	£1770.04,	£0.00	£0.00
Directorate for Covid Enquiries	£0.00	£4,078.44	£0.00	£0.00
Directorate for Economic Development	£4,052.16	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00
Directorate for External Affairs	£6,606.36	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00
Directorate for Health Finance, Corporate Governance and Value	£0.00	£20,872.63	£0.00	£0.00
Directorate for Learning	£0.00	£3,540.00	£0.00	£0.00
Directorate for People	£24,224.70	£11,191.20	£13,050.66	£13,050.66
Directorate for Public Spending	£1,843.44	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00
Directorate for Safer Communities	£4,823.94	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00
Directorate for Social Care and National Care Service Development	£3,030.72	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00
Directorate for Social Security	£2,349.24	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00

It should be noted that the Directorate for People provide HR and learning services for all Scottish Government directorates.

2.

The Scottish Government can draw on a range of learning providers that are part of the UK’s Government Campus Learning Frameworks. The UK Civil Service is able to access a catalogue of L&D services through contracts that are managed by the Cabinet Office's Government Skills team. The contracts used to deliver these services guarantee that they are delivered to meet the needs of the Civil Service. These contracts use the collective buying power of the UK Civil Service to deliver value for money. Feedback demonstrates that the services delivered through these contracts are valued by learners and that they achieve the stated learning outcomes. Individual departments are responsible for ensuring that the service they commission from the catalogue meets their specific needs. Decisions about which tools to buy to support any development programme are made by the commissioner of the learning.

Decisions to use or not use Insights Discovery is by the core learning team (part of the Directorate for People) and is informed by consultant scoping calls with stakeholders to assess need and determine which tools/interventions are appropriate. Having accredited internal Insights Discovery facilitators enables the Scottish Government to minimise external spend and maximise value for money from internal delivery. Internally the Scottish Government core learning team do post session evaluation. General data can be provided, where available. However, full copies cannot be given due to GDPR.

3.

The approximate number of Scottish Government staff to have undergone learning using Insights Discovery throughout the period in question (1 April 2022 to date) is 1,452.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.