Prevention toolkit

About the Toolkit

What is the Toolkit? - To support the shift to prevention, the Scottish Government Prevention Unit has developed the Prevention Toolkit as a live resource that curates some of the latest tools in active use across the Scottish public sector to implement preventative approaches. It provides practical guidance on how to use these tools and links to further resources.

Why do we need a Toolkit? - Prevention is central to improving outcomes for people and communities across Scotland and ensuring the long-term sustainability of public services. Many of the challenges facing the public sector - such as poor health, inequalities, and rising demand for services - are complex to prevent and require extensive sense-making and analysis. The Prevention Toolkit sets out the tools that can be used to help address these challenges and support the shift from reacting to problems once they arise and towards preventing them from arising or getting worse.

What is included? - The Toolkit contains tools on: defining prevention; mapping drivers of demand; understanding spending on prevention and outcomes; analysing the impact of preventative interventions; and supporting decision making. It also includes guidance on applying different “lenses” (life cycle and community prevention) to the use of these tools.

Who can use the Toolkit? - The Toolkit is relevant to a wide range of users, including analysts and policy makers, across Scotland. By supporting more consistent and robust approaches to prevention, it aims to strengthen the evidence base for early action, improve outcomes over the long term, and contribute to reducing inequalities across Scotland.

Will the Toolkit evolve over time? - The Prevention Toolkit includes some tools that are established, such as appraisal and evaluation techniques, with others still being developed and tested across the public sector. The Prevention Unit views the Toolkit as a live resource and welcomes any feedback on the existing tools, or any additional tools/ approaches that could be included in future iterations of the Toolkit. Contact PreventionUnit@gov.scot.