Public participation dynamic purchasing system (DPS): equality impact assessment

The scope of the EQIA

All protected characteristics were assessed to the extent that they could be examined under this EQIA process. These were evaluated under the three Public Sector Equality Duty needs:

1. eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation

2. advance equality of opportunity

3. foster or encourage good relations

The approach taken to developing the DPS was grounded in existing evidence and new data gathered by, and available to, the Scottish Government. Information to help support the framing of the DPS was taken from both quantitative sources (namely survey analysis and available statistical information) and qualitative sources (namely group interviews and workshops).

This work involved considering the evidence provided from internal and external stakeholder surveys, meetings, and webinars on the different ways the DPS could be structured, and the impact it would have on equalities and inclusion. In addition, reports and studies carried out at a national and global level on the topic of participative democracy were also considered. These included:

• OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions, 2024
• OECD Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions: Catching the Deliberative Wave report, 2020
• Scottish Household Survey 2023: trust in public institutions
• National Advisory Council for Women and Girls (NACWG) recommendations, which included direct reference to people powered policy making
• Democracy Matters Phase 2 analysis of findings, 2023. This called for encouraging and increasing participation and community engagement, including incentivising participation, demonstrating evidence of change and reducing barriers
• National Care Service co-creation and seldom heard voices work, 2022 to 2024
• the co-creation process for Scotland’s Open Government Action Plan 2021 to 2025. Civil society and members of the public told the Scottish Government that a priority for them was to improve and increase participatory and deliberative work, as well as equalities practice and guidance
• The IPDD expert working group report and recommendations, as set out to the Scottish Government in 2022. The recommendations provided a blueprint and framework for Scotland to embed a more participative and deliberative democracy
• The report's recommendations centred on establishing infrastructure that supports high quality, routine involvement of people in decisions affecting them, with a focus on ensuring the engagement of people furthest from government
• Scottish Government’s equalities outcomes 2021 to 2025. The establishment of outcome 6 demonstrated a re-occurring theme for the Scottish Government to be accountable for the participation of those with lived experience, and to provide better opportunity of access^[2]

The evidence and data gathered clearly outlined the benefits of involving people in decisions that will affect them – including tackling polarisation, better policy design, and building trust, resilience and innovation in public institutions to better meet the needs of people.

Following a mapping of the current resources in place for staff and analysis of results from an internal survey into public participation, it was apparent a more structured approach to participation was required. In particular, a focus on support for staff to involve marginalised groups, and to ensure high quality, specialist skills can be sourced effectively.

As set out in the Participation Handbook, in many instances, Scottish Government officials will not deliver participatory work themselves. This is because:

1. participatory work requires specific skills and experience that government officials may not have

2. good quality participatory work is characterised by a levelling of power dynamics – this is difficult to achieve if government officials with decision making power and a stake in the outcome are running an engagement

3. participatory work tends to require a more substantial amount of time and resources than most government officials will have available to them

As a result, a method of ensuring coordinated and high quality commissioning of participatory work was identified as being of key value to improvements in Scottish Government’s approach to public participation.

Early contact was made with colleagues who had an interest in the policy and/or who could make a significant contribution to ensure its development would put human rights based and person centred approaches at its fore.

A series of calls took place with relevant staff members with expertise working with and in the following policy areas:

• Disability and age equality
• Mainstreaming equalities
• Strategic Anti-Racism
• LGBTQI+
• Violence Against Women and Girls
• Climate Change Public Engagement
• Justice Analysis Services
• Health and Social Care, including Health and Social Care design, health and social care analysis and health care quality and improvement
• Housing, Homelessness and Regeneration Analysis

An open and interactive webinar was also delivered with a wider range of internal teams to gauge early in this process the relevance of the DPS to their areas of work, where they had concerns, and what improvements they would suggest.

Externally, a survey was shared with interested organisations to gauge early in this process the relevance of the DPS to their specialisms and areas of work, where they had concerns, and what improvements they would suggest. This evidence gathering exercise was carried out to primarily help better inform the Scottish Government’s understanding of the sector and how they operate.

The primary focus for these engagements was to explore potential positive and negative impacts of the policy on protected characteristics and human rights. These framing exercises helped identify evidence gaps that we had to address. These included whether Scottish Government should pursue a digital specific lot, whether the scope of lots should be expanded to include e.g. recruitment, and that more engagement with the sector was required to further refine and understand their needs and motivations.

Identified steps required to fill the evidence gaps included:

• carrying out both bespoke and open webinars for interested organisations who worked in or with equality groups
• setting up a dedicated working group internally with relevant policy officials and analysts with a focus on equalities. This group would function to provide critical feedback and challenge, and would ensure the DPS and its development continues to be informed by expertise from the policy areas mentioned above

As of June 2025, these steps have been taken.