Serving Scotland: our five-year plan
This is the civil service of the Scottish Government's five-year change plan, setting out how it will evolve and improve from 2026 to 2031, to support ministers serve the people of Scotland.
How we will know we are making progress
We will know we’ve made progress when people spend less time on process and more time on work that makes the biggest difference – when standards are higher, outcomes are better, and Scotland’s public sector is more joined-up and responsive.
This will be measured by a combination of internal data, external accountability, benchmarking performance over time and learning from others.
This plan will evolve. It will be reviewed annually, with transparency about what is working, what is not, and when we need to change course.
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What we use |
What it tells us |
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Tracking against Scotland’s National Outcomes |
Whether government action, including our work, is contributing to the outcomes that matter most for Scotland |
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Quarterly director-level reviews |
Progress against commitments in this plan and where to act |
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People survey |
How colleagues experience working here – engagement, wellbeing and values |
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Annual learning survey |
Whether our investment in development is making a difference |
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Internal audit |
Independent feedback and recommendations on how we are working |
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Finance and budget reporting including consolidated accounts |
Whether we are managing public money well and meeting our obligations |
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Professions and capability data, including workforce statistics |
Whether skills, workforce and performance expectations are being met |
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Annual public progress report |
An external snapshot of progress against this plan |
Contact
Email: PermanentSecretary@gov.scot