Climate change - public engagement strategy: mid-point review
The climate change public engagement strategy committed to a review at the mid-point of delivery. The review provides a summary of activities delivered since the publication of the strategy, reflects on the approach being taken and recommends improvements to achieve objectives in future delivery.
3. Methodology
The PES outlines a multi-method approach to monitoring and evaluating progress towards achieving its strategic objectives. This approach incorporates a range of quantitative and qualitative data, reflecting views shared in the consultation on the draft strategy as to how people felt progress should best be measured and communicated.
The data sources that have been analysed include:
1. Project and programme monitoring and evaluation information. This covers a range of reports on public engagement activities that have been delivered, including independent evaluations; organisations’ self-evaluation and monitoring data; and Scottish Government reviews. Analysing this quantitative and qualitative information provides a measure of what has been done and what it has achieved.
2. Stakeholder survey. To understand views and experiences of the PES among delivery partners and external networks, an online survey was conducted between 24th July and 31st August 2024. The survey was shared with 280 organisations, including applicants to the Climate Engagement Fund and members of the Climate Policy Engagement Network, and received 67 responses.
3. Independent evidence review. This report is also supported by an independent review of international evidence on public engagement on climate change by IPSOS and CAST which was commissioned by Scottish Government. It provides valuable information on effective public engagement methods, principles, and approaches, as well as insights into attitudes towards these among the public in Scotland. The research involved desk-based research and focus groups with the public to gather views on what effective public engagement looks like. The study updates the evidence base for the PES and key findings and reflections are referenced in this report and form a key part of the overall mid-point review of the PES. Referred to throughout as Millar et al. (2025).
4. The Scottish Parliament People’s Panel report. The People's Panel was formed in October 2023 to support the Net-Zero, Energy and Transport Committee's scrutiny of Scottish Government’s delivery against its commitment to engage the public on climate change. Their report considers and makes recommendations as to how effective the Scottish Government has been at engaging the public on climate change. These findings provide an important source of evidence on public perceptions of progress for this mid-point review of the PES.
5. Scottish Household Survey data. The PES committed to reviewing data from the Scottish Household Survey to monitor how Scottish public awareness and understanding of the climate emergency might be changing. These indicators provide a measure of progress against achieving the national vision and strategic objectives as set out in the PES.
The following sections present summaries and analysis of this evidence and information against each of the 3 strategic pillars of the PES.
3.1 Limitations
At the time of this review the portfolio of activity in support of the PES represented a variety of approaches at different stages of delivery. Activities operate at a range of scales, with different measures of success which are difficult to aggregate or compare across. These factors add to the complexity and challenge of evaluation.
Scotland is one of the first countries to have a public engagement strategy on climate change, and there are limited occasions where a (national) climate change engagement strategy has been evaluated. In their review of evidence on climate change public engagement, Millar et al. (2025) highlight the challenges inherent in measuring impact of specific engagement interventions, as well as of an overarching strategy like the PES. They note that links between variables such as engagement, awareness, attitudes, and behaviour are complex.Therefore there are clear challenges to determining how far the PES is delivering against its strategic objectives. However, drawing together information and insights from the range of available data it is possible to provide a measure of progress and test the assumptions that underpin the Theory of Change.
It is also important to acknowledge the limitations inherent in the self-reported data which is used as a measure of impact in several areas of PES delivery. For example, there may be differences in the proportion of people reporting that they took action, compared to the numbers who actually took new, relevant actions as a result of engagement with, or participation in, a PES activity.