Re-thinking trust in Scotland: from theory to practice

4. Profiles from Norway, Ireland, and Scotland: initiatives to improve trust

So far this report has examined both empirical and theoretical scholarship, introducing current debates and issues on understanding and measuring trust. This creates a good starting point to tackle this question, because part of this challenge relates to our understanding as to why there is a decline in trust and what levels of trust forms a heathy democracy.

This next and final part of the report will profile three countries that are taking an active interest in trust in government: Norway, Ireland and Scotland.7 These are based on email interviews carried out with different Open Government officials or civil society representatives in each of these countries. Each interviewee was asked the same questions, to establish comparability across each interview.

The aim was to examine existing initiatives made to strengthen trust between the public and their governments, with the hope that this may provide the Scottish Government with inspiration for future initiatives and considerations. More broadly, this section also speaks to the need for governments to increasingly share experiences and reflections around how to maintain and improve trust, as it requires a combination of national and international efforts.

Profile 1

Norway on Tillitsreform (Trust Reform). Interview with Maria Egeland Thorsnes (Policy Director, Department of Public Governance).

– Could you please provide an example of an initiative Norway has done to improve levels of trust (between the Norwegian public and its government)?

The Norwegian government has developed a political reform aimed at giving public sector employees and municipalities more freedom, less micromanagement, and a greater focus on trust rather than detailed control. The Tillitsreform (‘Trust Reform’) is a major political initiative launched by the Støre government. Its core idea is that public employees and local authorities should be trusted more, controlled less, and given greater room to use their professional judgment.

A key principle of the reform is that its content should not be defined in advance by national authorities. The government sets the overall expectations, while concrete solutions are to be developed from the bottom up, by practitioners, services, and municipalities.

To coordinate the effort, the government has established a State Secretary Committee (statssekretærutval), consisting of state secretaries from several ministries. The committee meets regularly to follow up on the Trust Reform and ensure that work across the public sector moves in a coherent and aligned direction.

– Why do you think this initiative improved trust?

An evaluation of the Trust Reform from 2024 shows that work on existing trust-related challenges has gained greater legitimacy and attention, particularly in areas such as organisational culture, trust-based leadership, and employee involvement. This indicates that the reform may be contributing indirectly by creating space, recognition, and political support for efforts that were already underway.

The evaluation also finds that employers view the prioritisation of the reform more positively than employees, suggesting that its effects are uneven and still emerging. Taken together, these findings reinforce the understanding that trust develops gradually and requires sustained, long-term commitment rather than quick or measurable short-term results.

– Have there been any barriers to improving levels of trust? What have you learned from these?

The Citizen Survey, a large national study conducted by the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management (DFØ), indicates that people’s trust in government is shaped by their overall experience with public services, rather than by isolated initiatives. Trust depends on consistent behaviour, transparency, and interactions across many different touchpoints in the public sector. Trust develops gradually and requires sustained, long-term commitment. DFØ has developed a set of recommendations on how public-sector organisations can strengthen citizens’ trust.8 The core idea is that trust is not created through one single action but through consistent behaviour, transparency, and good interactions over time.

– What might be the next initiative to further improve levels of trust in Norway?

Rather than launching a new initiative, the most important step forward is to preserve and reinforce the robust framework that already underpins trust in Norway’s public sector. Norway has long-established principles for openness, participation, and trust-based governance, and the priority now is to ensure continuity and consistent use of these frameworks.

This trust infrastructure is firmly embedded in legislation and administrative practice: the Freedom of Information Act (Offentleglova), well-established participation mechanisms (høyringar, innspelsmøter), and digital transparency tools such as eInnsyn and statsregnskapet.no. Independent oversight institutions—including the Parliamentary Ombud (Sivilombudet) and the Office of the Auditor General (Riksrevisjonen)—further safeguard integrity and accountability.

In addition, there is broad awareness across Norwegian society, politics, and public administration of the foundational value of trust. The concept is explicitly highlighted in several national strategies. For example, “a safe society with a high level of trust” is one of the six fundamental security interests in the National Security Strategy. Trust is also a core objective in Expression Preparedness – National Strategy for Open and Enlightened Public Discourse.9

Together, these instruments and institutions form a stable, practical, and well-tested foundation for a trust-based public sector.

Profile 2

Ireland on improving digital public services. Interview with Alan Plummer (Assistant Principal, Public Service Transformation Policy, Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation).

– Could you please provide an example of an initiative Ireland has done to improve levels of trust (between the public and the government)?

Building trust is a priority area within the Irish Government’s public service transformation strategy, Better Public Services, which is aimed at delivering for the public and across many aspects our transformation programme. The strategy is framed around three core themes: Digital and Innovation at Scale; Workforce and Organisation of the Future; and Evidence-Informed Policy and Services, designed for and with our public.

This includes initiatives such as the development of a Life Events Programme (integrated online delivery of services around major life events, such as registering birth or learning to drive, thereby providing a globally recognised digital service that achieves a seamless user experience) and our Open Data Strategy (the vision set out in the strategy is to create easy access to high-quality government data, promoting trust and stimulating innovation).

In addition, our Design Principles for Government in Ireland and associated Action Plan for embedding design introduces design as a new way of working, and identifies simple ways to introduce a design mind-set to the Public Service.10 Placing users at the centre of design of public services is key and one of the foundational principles is that we will design for trust.

– Why do you think this initiative improved trust?

It can be somewhat challenging to measure outcomes in transformation programmes however we are developing an outcomes framework for Better Public Services which will enable us to gather data from existing sources, track progress and measure trends. We also participate in the biennial OECD Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions Survey.11 Ireland has participated in the OECD Trust Survey since the inaugural survey in 2021 to gain a deeper understanding of the drivers of trust and to identify any gaps in our current approach which can support our transformation programme. For example, insights from Trust Survey data informed the evidence base for the Better Public Services strategy. The survey is carried out in Ireland by our national statistics agency, the Central Statistics Office. Irish findings compare relatively well with OECD averages across many of the measures in the survey.

– Have there been any barriers to improving levels of trust? What have you learned from these?

Internationally, evidence (see for example the OECD’s publication on tackling disinformation here) suggests that mis- and disinformation can be challenging for trust in governments and public administrations. Ireland has committed to address the challenges of mis- and disinformation through the establishment of/support for:

• the Media Commission, Coimisiuin na Meán, which is an agency for developing and regulating a thriving, diverse, creative, safe and trusted media landscape
• the Electoral Commission, with responsibility for the oversight of all elections, including electoral operations, constituency reviews and electoral integrity
• the National Cyber Security Centre with responsibility for cyber security, with primary focus on securing government networks and securing Critical National Infrastructure
• the media Literacy Ireland Network which is an alliance of individuals and organisations who work together to promote media literacy

The government also published the National Counter Disinformation Strategy last year which sets out a range of commitments and specific actions to counter the problem of disinformation.

– What might be the next initiative to further improve levels of trust?

The Better Public Services Strategy runs to 2030 and our latest initiative is a Digital Public Services Plan to align with the 2030 timeframe that is aimed at designing digital services that anticipate needs and reduce friction, build trust, and deliver greater public value. We are also focusing on leveraging the potential for our Guidelines on the Responsible Use of AI in the public sector published last summer. The guidelines aim to enhance public trust in how government uses AI.

Finally, as part of our Open Government Partnership Action Plan, we are developing a toolkit to support public servants and public service organisations to engage effectively with people and with stakeholder groups when they are progressing a policy, programme or initiative. As public participation is a key aspect of ensuring legitimacy in policy development, the guidance will also help to enhance trust.

Profile 3

On Scotland’s initiatives and challenges on trust. Interview with Juliet Swann (Transparency International UK, and Chair of OGP Scotland Civil Society Steering Group).

– Could you please provide an example of an initiative Scotland has done to improve levels of trust (between the public and the government)?

Honestly, this is quite hard, which is, I think the challenge government faces here. Is it a well-delivered policy? Does trust improve when government is delivering in ways that the wider public feel noticeable impact or can processes that directly tackle a section of society’s concerns build trust even if they are not widely known about? Or is it about how government goes about its business? And I think in the end improving trust is about ways of working as much as specific deliverables, and that is a much harder concept to introduce into a bureaucracy. Is it a process that those in the know think went well and showed trust but others know nothing about?

So, I’d pick: 1. The Social Security Experience Panels that helped inform delivery of the devolution of social security policy. But also 2. Signing up to OGP.

I really wanted to pick the First Minister’s Democracy Summit but as this has failed to deliver any noticeable outputs that has actually probably damaged trust.

– Why do you think this initiative improved trust?

1. Because it was publicly acknowledged and shared that this wasn’t easy and that to do it well needed input from those who would be impacted by the delivery.

2. Because it provided an international platform and commitment to principles and an approach that embeds transparency.

– Have there been any barriers to improving levels of trust? What have you learned from these?

1. Communicating success or commitments to transparency.

2. Losing momentum on delivery.

Learning: it’s not just about what you do, it’s how you tell people about it. And you have to follow through on promises, commitments, but also, people’s hopes and aspirations.

– What might be the next initiative to further improve levels of trust?

I think across governments they need to find ways to be much more explicit about how they are making decisions and what the trade-offs are. And acknowledge that delivery needs to be matched with transparency.

Reflections on country profiles

The aim of these profiles is to provide insight into how different countries have thought about and worked to address issues of trust through government policies. All the interviewees set out different initiatives undertaken to improve trust in government, demonstrating that there is no universal application where one model fits all, and that governments should co-operate and learn from each other’s approaches.

Implementing new policy and initiatives to improve trust is possible and it matters. The example of Ireland showcases two important things:

• the importance of focusing on trust and addressing misinformation through improving digital services
• how governments can turn existing knowledge on trust into practical initiatives

A highlight is digital service initiatives that aim to place users at the centre, based on a design that has trust in mind. This includes important elements such as transparency, co-creation, and clear communication of information. Ireland uses international evidence, for instance from OECD, and national surveys, to measure trust and identify areas where initiatives are needed. It appears Ireland is actively seeking ways to address these challenges, as one of several strategies to improve trust.

In Norway, trust is relatively stable compared to other countries. While reforms to regain public trust in political leaders and institutions are commonly initiated in Europe, Norway has gone one step further with the ‘Trust Reform’. Maria Egeland Thorsnes (Policy Director, Department of Public Governance) emphasizes that it is a major political initiative launched by the Støre government. The Trust Reform focuses on integrating trust at the local and national level, by strengthening the trust of employees working in the public sector i.e. building trust from within (Bentzen and Winsvold, 2025). It can be seen as a critique of bureaucratic and time-consuming processes, and a shift towards a more democratic and interactive governance. Whether this recently developed reform has materialised in more structural changes and improvements remains to be seen (Bentzen and Winsvold, 2025). As Maria Egeland Thorsnes suggests, based on evaluation so far of the Trust Reform (from 2024), “reform may be contributing indirectly by creating space, recognition, and political support for efforts that were already underway”.

Juliet Swann (Chair of the OGP Scotland civil society steering group) offers an honest reflection about the challenges governments, including the Scottish Government, face with improving trust. Her reflections about transparency and delivery needing to be joint priorities resonates with Maria Engeland Thorsens view that: “(…) the core idea is that trust is not created through one single action but through consistent behavior, transparency, and good interactions over time.”