The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland and has a range of responsibilities that include: the economy, education, health, justice, rural affairs, housing, environment, equal opportunities, consumer advocacy and advice, transport and taxation.
Government social science research aims to provide high quality evidence and advice for Ministers and Scottish Government officials to inform policy development, implementation and evaluation. Analysts in government help generate new ideas and open debate, challenge assumptions, beliefs and attitudes, test policy ideas and develop a deeper understanding of issues as they affect Scotland.
The core functions of researchers in government include:
- the interpretation of evidence and the provision of research based advice
- engaging with the academic and wider research community to bring expert knowledge into the policy making process
- commissioning external research projects
- undertaking research such as reviews of the existing evidence base
- disseminating research findings and encouraging their wider use
There are internships available with social research, economist, statistician or mixed teams, which all tend to work alongside each other in ‘Analytical Services Divisions’ in the Scottish Government.
The Office of the Chief Researcher (OCR) in the Scottish Government is responsible for central co-ordination of this internship scheme.
