Architecture and Design Scotland review: background report

Recommendations

The Review sets out recommendations on adjustments to the role of A&DS as well as on the future structure of the body.

Recommendations on adjustments to the role of A&DS

Sector Development

• Recommendation:

A significant element of A&DS resource is refocussed towards supporting sectoral growth in architecture and design.

The identification of the value and growth potential of the architecture sector makes a compelling case for A&DS resources to be pivoted to support this opportunity.

Scotland has a high quality and well-respected architecture profession and A&DS supporting the sector more directly has good potential to increase economic benefits of sector activity as well as supporting the impact, health, and influence of a key part of Scotland’s creative workforce.

Feedback from the architecture profession has been that awareness of A&DS activity is currently low. Priorities for the sector revolve around growing opportunity and supporting design within key market areas such as public sector projects as well as promoting opportunities in the rest of the UK and internationally.

Centre of Excellence

• Recommendation:

A&DS operates as a centre of excellence in architecture and design meaning a greater emphasis on expert support for design priorities and less activity on facilitation and place promotion.

Transitioning A&DS design support towards a centre of excellence model involves streamlining activities to develop a national expert resource to share information, skills, research and emerging best practice on current and future design challenges and opportunities.

Developing A&DS as a centre of excellence has potential to improve the impact, profile and reputation of the body as well as improving sector productivity and positive outcomes for public and private development projects. It may also increase the viability of income generation through the development of paid-for A&DS design advice services.

Priorities

• Recommendation:

A&DS’s role to support and promote architecture and design should focus on a discrete and well-defined set of priorities

A shift towards supporting sectoral development combined with maintaining functions around technical design expertise would likely require a more streamlined and focussed approach around a clear set of priorities.

This Review recommends housing, climate and digital as priorities to be tested for viability and benefit. These are key national priorities with clear potential to benefit from enhanced links to the role of good architecture and design.

• Recommendation:

Programmes on health and education buildings should be retained

A&DS has developed valuable expertise in healthcare and education building design. This role should be retained, developed and where appropriate, expanded to support all types of public buildings.

Strategic activity

• Recommendation:

A&DS support for good design processes is focussed on strategic activity rather than local interventions

A&DS activities should be on more strategic projects and programmes. There is a need for A&DS to carry out essential functions that are at the vanguard of innovation and that are not provided by others.

Refocussing the body on a reduced scope would require adjustments to the activities of A&DS. Building on successful international examples, the model should be based on the premise that investing in design creates value.

Involvement in specific local interventions should be limited to support for nationally significant projects, or in support of an income generation model.

Income generation

• Recommendation:

Income generation via the provision of chargeable A&DS design services should be explored

Design expertise is a high-value service and there is potential for A&DS to develop an income generation or cost recovery model to supplement public funding and make best value of public investment.

Comparable models^[1] for income generation from other design organisations currently exist and operate effectively. Developing an income generation or cost recovery model would help support budget sustainability and potential to provide the A&DS with resources to invest in innovation.

The identification of key potential service users and related opportunities, constraints and motivations would require to be considered as part of a model for income generation.

Recommendations on adjustments to the structure of A&DS

Short Term Sustainability

In order to address immediate budget sustainability, the below actions were recommended to A&DS in October 2024

• Recommendation:

Exploration of a voluntary severance scheme for A&DS

This recommendation was viewed as critical to short term financial sustainability of A&DS. Acting on this recommendation, A&DS took forward a voluntary severance scheme in late 2024 with staff exits taking place in March 2025 to address budget pressures.

Nested model

• Recommendation: Develop a ‘nested model’ for A&DS services within an existing host public body.

A nested model would see A&DS operate as a distinct organisation but nested within the infrastructure of a larger public body. This would provide resilience and efficiency on corporate services whilst providing the necessary autonomy and independence to fulfil the discrete functions of a national architecture and design body.

This Review considers a nested model to be the most advantageous option for A&DS over the medium term and this model should be examined in more detail to establish costs, benefits, and feasibility.

Benefits of adopting a nested model would include:

• retaining a distinct architecture and design body and professional skills within public sector
• providing operating efficiencies and organisational resilience
• providing greater flexibility and delivery capacity than through Scottish Government
• opportunity to capitalise on synergies with other services provided by a host body
• increased potential to develop income generation/ cost recovery through linking with wider services within the host organisation
• opportunity to build on successful examples operating within public bodies

The identification of an appropriate host organisation would be dependent on any changes to the role and functions of A&DS and the outcomes of wider public service reform activity.

Strategic partnerships

• Recommendation:

A&DS develop and operate within strategic partnerships in order to increase impact, optimise resources and embed structural collaborations within everyday working practice.

Given A&DS’s refreshed roles to develop the growth of the architecture and design sector and to promote good design, initial strategic partnership work should explore linkages with organisations such as V&A Dundee, Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and Scottish Government architecture team.

The important cultural role of architecture has been a key feature of previous policy delivery. There is good scope for strategic partnerships to support a public programme of architecture, both domestically and internationally, and exploration of this should be pursued.

Additionally, strategic links with organisations such as Creative Scotland, the Design Council, BE-ST, Scottish Futures Trust, Historic Environment Scotland, national arts and architecture institutions and higher education institutions should be considered.

This approach would link design support across multiple organisations and lay the groundwork to harness the benefits set out under the following long term action recommendation to progress a national design body.

National design body model

• Recommendation:

Explore the potential for A&DS services to be embedded as part of a dedicated national design body promoting and supporting the design sector in Scotland to drive innovation, knowledge exchange and business development across the creative workforce.

Architecture and the wider design sector have both been identified by research as having good domestic and export growth potential. Linking resources to support architecture with wider investment in design would provide multiple benefits.

This model:

• links investment and key programmes of design support in Scotland
• supports learning and intra-sector collaboration, developing Scotland’s innovation and product development capacity
• supports design thinking across multiple industries and policy areas, including public sector service design
• aligns architecture and design as key ‘Brand Scotland’ assets, promoting Scottish creativity and innovation internationally and in the rest of the UK
• mirrors successful example models such as the Danish Design Center
• increases the visibility and relevance of design to a wide audience of public and private sector service users, supporting income generation potential
• provides operating efficiencies and organisational resilience

Establishing well-functioning sector development activity for architecture over the short to medium term would provide an effective platform to be expanded to cover other design disciplines over the longer term.

This would not involve the creation of a new public body but may be achieved through mergers and/ or strategic partnerships under an umbrella identity and governance structure.

A Scottish model may look to link with the public investment in organisations such as Creative Scotland and V&A Dundee. Additionally, this model could link with existing opportunities such as the relationship with A&DS’s new home within Edinburgh Futures Institute and the potential of digital innovation within design.

Conclusion

Supporting architecture and design through an increased focus on sectoral growth and greater coordination across national bodies has potential to deliver multiple benefits.

Short term actions to stabilise the sustainability of A&DS and pivot activity towards new priorities will play a useful first step in transitioning the organisation towards new priorities around sectoral growth and design excellence.

Over the medium term, consolidating new priorities and roles within wider structures (such as through nested model/ strategic partnerships) will provide improved resilience and help to establish effective relationships and wider opportunities

Long term direction should be towards a more comprehensive model that supports design and architecture through a dedicated national partnership or body. This provides an opportunity to capitalise on the significant economic, social, and cultural benefits that can be delivered through a thriving architecture and design sector.