Scottish Government Long Term Survey Strategy (LTSS) – Summary Version

4. Planned Activities – What this means in practice

The activities that support delivery of the Long Term Survey Strategy are framed around practical changes for survey teams, analysts and the wider system. These actions are not time specific and are intended to remain relevant as implementation progresses.

Survey managers, statisticians and other analysts will play a central role in operationalising the strategy by:

• Driving survey rationalisation, including identifying where administrative data can replace survey collected variables and where surveys provide unique added value.
• Leading improvements to questionnaire discipline, ensuring every question is evidence justified and engaging in robust conversations with stakeholders about priorities.
• Embedding user centred and respondent centred design, applying RCD principles, testing for accessibility and ensuring clarity across modes.
• Implementing modernised approaches, including piloting mixed mode designs, applying nonresponse insights and strengthening sampling and weighting methods.
• Building methodological capability, sharing knowledge across teams, contributing to guidance and technical resources, and supporting consistent analytical standards.
• Advancing integration with administrative and census data, working with data owners to identify replacement variables, improve sampling frames and strengthen quality assurance.

Policy teams will see clearer, more targeted evidence by:

• Collaborating early with survey teams to define priority information needs and shape survey content.
• Using more timely, focused and accessible outputs, supported by improved dissemination, visualisation and narrative.
• Benefiting from greater alignment between survey content, administrative data and strategic priorities.
• Engaging in question inclusion processes, ensuring each data requirement is necessary, proportionate and aligned with wider SG evidence priorities.

Across the organisation, wider enabling work will include:

• Strengthening collaboration and knowledge sharing, through communities of practice, shared resources and central guidance.
• Building a coordinated approach to data integration, including shared work with SG’s UK Data Sharing team, National Records of Scotland (NRS), Office for National Statistics (ONS) and others on linkage, validation and digital collection tools.
• Exploring funding models and demonstrating value, ensuring surveys are recognised as essential evidence infrastructure and protected appropriately.
• Developing centralised methodological and analytical resources, including platform development, common tooling and improved reproducibility.