The intern will join the Ferries Strategy Team, a small and supportive team working closely with Transport Scotland economists and other policy teams across Ferries and Ports division. This role will assist the strategy team undertake a refresh of the 2017 ferry freight fares review, following a re-commitment by the Cabinet Secretary for Transport to do so in March 2025. This work supports wider government priorities set out in the National Islands Plan and Islands Connectivity Plan (as above), which responded to calls from the Scottish Parliament to reconsider how island businesses are supported and whether subsidised freight fares on the CalMac and NorthLink ferry services remain the most effective and fair approach.

The intern will help define research objectives, considering island supply chains and any cost premiums faced by particular sectors and review the strengths and weaknesses of current ferry freight pricing before contributing to the development of new policy options.

This will involve reviewing a wide range of academic and policy evidence, directly engaging with stakeholders in the public and private sector and applying creative policy thinking to explore alternative approaches, including more targeted business support. The main output will be a long list of options which will be refined into a shortlist of practical, evidence based proposals for consideration by senior policymakers — offering valuable, hands on experience in real world policy making.