Scottish Government Prevention Unit: Areas of Shared Interest

Links to the wider policy and research landscape

The Prevention Unit’s areas of shared interest are designed to be cross-cutting and seek to complement, rather than duplicate, areas of interest set out elsewhere.

In Scottish Government, there are a number of opportunities to contribute to prevention-led work through more sector-specific areas of interest. These include:

• Justice – Justice Analytical Services published a set of Areas of Research Interest, which include topics around crime prevention and violence prevention.
• Social care – The Scottish Government Social Care Analytical Unit also has a set of Social Care areas of shared research interest. This includes a topic on “prevention and early intervention in adult social care”.
• Population Health Framework Areas of Research Interest – currently in development.
• Environment, Natural Resource and Agriculture Research Strategy - Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) Research Strategy 2027 to 2032

There are also a range of organisations who work actively on prevention analysis, policy, and delivery across Scotland, and link to the Prevention Unit areas of shared interest. A (non-exhaustive) description of some of these organisations is provided below.

• Prevention Hub – The Scottish Prevention Hub acts as a national convening and learning network for prevention, bringing together stakeholders from across policy, practice, academia and communities to support the development of preventative approaches. The research priorities cover Whole-system prevention; collaborative leadership; place-based approaches; learning and evaluation; and reducing health and wellbeing inequalities.
• Third and Community Sector Organisations - Several organisations in the voluntary and community sector bring important perspectives on prevention that are grounded in lived experience, community action and tackling inequalities. For example, A shared statement on prevention was produced by ALLIANCE, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Voluntary Health Scotland and Edinburgh Community Health Forum. These organisations have a number of shared interest areas, from person centred approaches, role of lived experience, strengthening communities and fair funding for the third/ voluntary sector.
• Local Government and Improvement Bodies - COSLA and the Improvement Service have longstanding interests in public service reform, place-based working, community planning and improving outcomes through partnership approaches. The Community Planning Improvement Board (CPIB) has also highlighted both the case for prevention and the role of community planning partnerships in shifting investment upstream and delivering more joined-up services.
• Research, Evidence and Public Health Organisations - A number of research and public health organisations are generating evidence that directly supports preventative policy and practice. Public Health Scotland places prevention at the centre of its approach to population health improvement, with priorities including healthy places and communities, reducing inequalities, early years interventions and embedding prevention within public sector planning and budgeting. The Scottish Health Equity Research Unit (SHERU) focuses on understanding and addressing health inequalities through action on poverty, housing, employment and other social determinants of health. The Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU) applies a public health approach to violence prevention, focusing on early intervention, adverse childhood experiences, youth violence and community resilience.
• Wider UK – There are a range of organisations in the wider UK and beyond that explore prevention. Both the Health Foundation and the King's Fund undertake and commission a range of research projects, highlighting the importance of acting on wider determinants of health, strengthening local leadership, supporting community-based approaches and shifting resources towards prevention rather than crisis response. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has undertaken substantial work on preventative investment, public sector sustainability and methods for measuring prevention expenditure. The Future Generations Commissioner for Wales has embedded long-term thinking and preventative decision making through the Well-being of Future Generations framework. Greater Manchester has sought to integrate action on housing, employment, communities and health around a preventative vision focused on improving population outcomes and reducing inequalities.
• International – Both the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) publish on prevention, wellbeing and wider public service reform. There are other organisations within particular countries, such as the Australian National Prevention Investment Framework, The US-based Prevention Institute, and New York State Prevention Agenda, each of which provide examples of different approaches to prevention

Alongside research and evidence generation, a growing range of practical tools and frameworks are available to support organisations to embed prevention within planning, decision-making and service delivery. These resources can help partners assess current approaches, identify opportunities for earlier intervention and strengthen the evidence base for investment in prevention.

Many of these tools have been included in the Scottish Government Prevention Unit Prevention Toolkit, which provides practical guidance on approaches such as preventative budgeting, place-based analysis, life-course analysis and partnership working, helping organisations identify opportunities to improve outcomes and reduce future demand. Elsewhere, other toolkits are being developed such as a Population Health Framework Investment Decision Toolkit, which is expected in 2027 and will support collaborative, evidence-based investment decisions on prevention and population health, helping partners assess impacts on health outcomes, inequalities and resource allocation across sectors. The development of the toolkit reflects the Framework's recognition of the vital role that community and voluntary organisations play in prevention and improving population health outcomes.

There is also a growing interest in how data is used to support prevention. For example, Administrative Data Scotland (ADR Scotland) brings together Scottish Government analysts and academic researchers to improve secure access to linked administrative data, generating robust evidence on Scotland’s key social, economic and public service challenges. Research has informed major prevention policy areas, including evaluations of Minimum Unit Pricing for alcohol and the Family Nurse Partnership, alongside work on children and families, health and social care, justice, housing, employment and wellbeing.

Taken together, these organisations, networks and tools illustrate the breadth of activity taking place across prevention policy and practice. While their specific focuses vary, common themes consistently emerge around investing in prevention, supporting communities, enabling person-centred approaches, addressing inequalities across the life course and strengthening collaboration between public, private and third sector partners. These shared interests suggest significant opportunities for partnership, learning and collective action.

Given the range of organisations with a shared interest in prevention, we may seek to signpost contributors on to other organisations where it may be more appropriate to join up.