Architecture and Design Scotland review: summary report

1.0 Introduction and Context

Purpose

1.0 Architecture & Design Scotland (A&DS) was established as a non-departmental public body (NDPB) in 2005 and is a national champion for good architecture and design. A&DS works to help deliver Scottish Ministers' policies and objectives for the built and natural environment. This report summarises the process and conclusions of a review of A&DS as the key vehicle for the delivery of architecture and place policy.

1.1 The specific review of A&DS was based on the statement that:

“We expect all public bodies to demonstrate that they remain fit for purpose against the present and future needs of Scotland’s people, places and communities.”

1.2 The decision to undertake a review of A&DS was based on the following considerations:

• Financial: A&DS faces significant financial challenges, and the Review intended to inform options for the viability and financial sustainability of the organisation
• Timing: The most recent previous review of the performance and functions of A&DS was undertaken in 2009
• Delivery: A&DS currently works across a wide range of government objectives and the Review seeks to help identify areas of relevance, skill, and duplication
• Policy context: The policy landscape around architecture and design has progressed significantly since the previous review was undertaken alongside changes in the activities and composition of A&DS
• Technology: The increasing use of digital technology and data in architecture and design provides opportunity for impactful policy delivery.

1.3 The Review sought to deliver an assessment of:

• whether the NDPB is the best way to deliver services.
• A&DS’ fitness for purpose to deliver the service and what improvements can be made
• what scope there is for greater collaboration with other public sector organisations to build a more effective delivery services for the people of Scotland
• options to support the long-term financial sustainability of the organisation
• the specific future focus of A&DS in order to achieve greatest impact for public resources deployed to support Scottish architecture and design

Roles and Responsibilities

1.4 The Review was led by Scottish Government with regular input and involvement from A&DS. The involvement of an independent review team was not deemed necessary due to the collaborative nature of the work, the relatively light touch nature of the project and the available resources.

Review methodology

Functional Assessment

1.5 As part of the Public Service Reform programme, a Rapid Functional Assessment (RFA) tool was developed to review whether existing public bodies are fit for purpose and enabled to deliver outcomes and services effectively. The Review of A&DS involved early piloting of this draft RFA process.

1.6 The RFA process was a collaborative and transparent process between A&DS and the SG Review team. The RFA methodology was shared in full with A&DS. Due to the pilot nature of the work and resourcing constraints, the RFA process took place over a longer timeframe than initially envisaged, beginning in February 2024 with the outcomes shared with A&DS in May 2024.

Stakeholder engagement

1.7 Following the RFA process, engagement took place with key stakeholders in Scottish architecture, design, and planning sectors as well as via desk top review of related context. Stakeholder engagement was conducted through semi-structured interviews with stakeholders invited to provide general views on the current role, effectiveness, and any other relevant aspects of A&DS.

1.8 In addition to individual meetings, a series of roundtables were convened by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) to support the review process. These sessions involved engaging with around 80 leading architecture practices from across Scotland, as well as representatives from RIAS.

Sector Analysis

1.9 In addition to the functional assessment and stakeholder engagement, analysis of the economic impact and potential of architecture and design was considered. This drew on research and analysis undertaken by the Scottish Government Office of the Chief Economic Advisor (OCEA).

Engagement and implementation

1.10 Following development of review recommendations in October 2024, Scottish Government and A&DS collaborated through a series of workshops to explore the implications of the review and potential delivery opportunities.

1.11 Further stakeholder engagement then took place in early 2025 though roundtable events supported by the RIAS in order to test the approach with stakeholders and discuss the options and priorities involved in delivering the recommendations.

Functional Assessment summary

Architecture and Design Scotland

• is generally performing well in line with its agreed objectives
• has appropriate and robust governance procedures in place
• engages proactively and positively with SG sponsor team
• has potential to reform its role and activities to increase impact

Potential risks include

• significant and increasing projected budget deficits risking viability
• limited capacity to reduce costs
• too broad a remit and limited resources
• a particular focus on facilitation and place promotion, to the cost of its support for architecture and design
• low visibility with key stakeholder groups
• overlap with sponsor team and other public/ third sector activities
• a need for greater evidence on impact

Key issues

• the provision of a resource delivering technical expertise on architecture and design is important and should be retained
• the low visibility and awareness of A&DS functions amongst key architecture stakeholders is significant and is an indication of a divergence from the original purpose of a body intended to support architecture and design
• greater emphasis on evaluation and more specific metrics/ measurable evidence is required and is likely to strengthen the value and impact of the organisation
• A&DS has a good track record of driving improvement in capital investment projects through embedding design thinking, particularly at briefing stages. This should be developed and capitalised on, linking with related activity across other organisations.
• developments in technology provide good opportunity to increase the impact of design through combination with digital platforms. Consideration should be given to the potential role of digital in implementing reform options
• development of academic relationships may help to transition A&DS towards additional income streams via research funding, as well as developing a more strategic approach to activities of the organisation

Areas for further exploration identified include (but are not limited to):

• identifying potential additional funding sources
• potential structural reform options to deliver budget sustainability and increase impact
• rationalisation of the role and functions of A&DS
• consideration of the ability of A&DS to support economic growth/ sector development
• more direct support for Ministerial priorities, in particular the Housing Emergency and Climate Emergency

Stakeholder engagement

1.12 As part of the review process, targeted stakeholder engagement was conducted with a range of organisations and individuals. Discussion with external organisations was undertaken under Chatham House rules with comments unattributed.

1.13 Three roundtable events were held in summer 2024, facilitated by the RIAS, with a further three events taking place in early 2025. These events involved engagement with individuals from over 80 leading Scottish architecture practices and the RIAS.

1.14 In general, the initial round of engagement reported awareness of the role of A&DS as a public body with a remit to promote good design and stakeholders recorded that they felt there was a continuing role for A&DS. However, there was a low level of awareness of the specific activities of A&DS from stakeholders, in particular from architects. There were differences expressed in what the future role of A&DS should be and what priorities are relevant.

Key issues

• the presence of A&DS illustrates a commitment and ambition for architecture and design at a national level
• the model should be based on the premise that design creates value
• architects are unsure of the role of A&DS and reported there is little visibility of the organisation in the industry, or a detailed understanding of activities
• A&DS have delivered well in previous years to help establish design within public sector building programmes
• as a small organisation, A&DS are spread thinly resulting in difficulties in being able to focus/ communicate impact on a specific type of work
• significant concerns were raised around the reality of construction procurement falling short of the intentions of policy statements.
• architecture is considered as a ‘supply chain component’ in public sector procurement models – we need to change that
• as a result of Grenfell Inquiry there is a push on ensuring construction competency – ensure the range of skills of architects are recognised in that competency discussion
• there is a role for A&DS in promoting the role of the architect and promotion of Scottish design more generally
• providing support/information for practices who wish to work in Europe and abroad would be welcome
• retrofit- architects have key skills. What is the A&DS role in promoting sustainability
• develop the evidence base and promote investment in design as investment in innovation which can lead to lower project costs and more impactful outcomes
• strategic relationships with other design and culture institutions could deliver benefits for the profession.
• strategic visioning - supporting briefing, client support and creating the framework for good design. This involves more focus on the organisation performing as a strategic enabler rather than a ‘doer’ on smaller projects across a broad range of issues
• multi agency collaboration is needed to address systemic challenges
• there is a need for stronger advocacy to highlight the contribution of good architecture and design to innovation, efficiency, and better outcomes

Sector analysis

1.15 Alongside the functional assessment and stakeholder engagement, the strategic context and growth opportunities in architecture and design were taken into account as part of the review. This principally involved consideration of analysis and research undertaken by Scottish Government’s Office of the Chief Economic Advisor (OCEA) into economic opportunities in the creative industries.

Architecture statistics^[1]

• architecture is the best performing sub-sector of Scottish creative industries looking at combination of GVA and employment growth (2013-19)
• architecture was the second-largest creative sub-sector by GVA in 2019 (£561.7m)
• architecture showed strong productivity growth of 3.1% from 2013-2019, well above the creative industry negative average of -1.5% and the Scotland average of 1.9%
• direct architecture employment in Scotland is circa 10,000 and employment growth from 2013-19 was 9.2%
• 23% of architecture firms in Scotland have five or more employees, well above the Scottish industry average of 12.3%. Additionally, 6.8% of all architecture firms had over 20 employees, indicating a strong presence of larger established firms within the sector
• architecture is one of the strongest performing export sub-sectors in the creative industries; the category of ‘advertising, market research and architecture’ is estimated to account for 14.8% of global creative service exports
• competition in the sector is driven by creativity and reputation.
• Scottish architecture has a strong community with an active professional body (RIAS) and public sector body (A&DS)
• the architecture sector requires more business development support and brand building
• Scottish architecture has good potential to add societal value such as through design improvement input to public projects

1.16 Performance may be even stronger if a broader definition of architecture were used. There are other SIC codes related to architecture. OCEA analysis suggests if they were included, the sub-sector’s performance could be higher.

1.17 Data and statistics used for economic analysis and comparison comes from 2019. At the time of the report, this was considered the most reliable recent year as subsequent years’ data is less reliable due to the Covid pandemic disproportionately affecting many creative industries.