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Scottish Graduate School of Social Science

Sgoil Cheumnaichean Saidheans Sòisealta na h-Alba
  • About us
    • Governance
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SGSSS Summer Internships

R23-13

Internship host: Scottish Government
Internship reference: R23-13
Part time or Full time: 3 months full-time
Location: Edinburgh

Project Title

Analysing responses to maternity and neonatal staff surveys to inform national evaluation of Scotland’s plan for Maternity and Neonatal Care

Project Details

Three separate surveys are being issued to maternity staff, neonatal staff and senior staff within the NHS to ask about their experiences and outcomes in relation to the implementation of Best Start. These surveys will help us to understand whether and how recommendations in the Best Start have been implemented, whether lessons can be learned and aspects of implementation improved, and whether certain recommendations relating to staff learning and job satisfaction have been achieved. Each survey contains 50-80 questions, with routing. The questions are mostly closed, with a small number of open questions. 
 
We are seeking an intern to clean and analyse the responses to these surveys. This would be done within R. Applicants should therefore have good experience and skills in R programming, Excel and survey methodology, which should be clearly communicated in their application. Should there be time, the intern would also have the opportunity to contribute to a report presenting the surveys’ findings. The intern will work in the Maternal and Infant Health research team, within Children and Families Analysis. 

Policy Context

The Best Start: A five Year Forward Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Care was published in 2017. It sets out a future vision for maternity and neonatal care which focuses on putting women, babies and families at the centre of maternity and neonatal care to ensure they receive the highest quality of care according to their needs. The majority of Best Start recommendations were due to be delivered by 2024, with recommendations related to the new model of neonatal care and continuity of carer continuing until the end of 2025 and mid-2026 respectively. The Best Start end of programme report was published in May 2025 and sets out which recommendations have been implemented and to what extent. 
 
We are currently conducting an evaluation of Best Start. This is primarily a process evaluation, with some short-term outcomes also being evaluated where possible. The evaluation includes several different elements, one of which is a survey of NHS maternity staff, neonatal staff and senior staff involved in the delivery of Best Start. This survey will be conducted in spring 2026.

Skills Required

• Data analysis
• Quantitative data analysis
• R programming and survey methodology
• Statistics

Skills to be Developed

• Communication and writing skills
• Engagement and impact
• Professional conduct
• Professional management
• Skills in working with others
• Survey analysis

Timing and Working Hours

3 months full-time
Hybrid

Challenge-Led Pathways aligned to this placement

• Health, Wellbeing and Communities

Challenge-led pathways give students the opportunity to develop capacity for interdisciplinary connections within the social sciences and beyond. More information on challenge-led pathways can be found here.

About the Host

Directorate General: Education and Justice
Directorate: Learning
Division/Team: Children and Families Analysis

Contact for Queries

Gillian Achurch Gillian.Achurch@gov.scot

Pool Applications

All applicants applying for placements with Scottish Government are encouraged to apply for the pool. For more information about the pool, please click here.

How to Apply

To apply for this internship create an account on SGSSS Apply and start a new Internships application, making sure to note the reference number R23-13 when selecting your choices. The deadline for applications is Monday 9 March 4pm.
Submit application via SGSSS Apply
Download Scottish Government Guidance
Download the Internships FAQs
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