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Abstract
Scotland presents a case where ‘social wellbeing’ as a policy concept and a societal aspiration has had considerable traction over the past decade. Wellbeing is now, according to Scotland’s outcomes-based National Performance Framework, at the centre of local and national policy-making. This article, by employing the analytical lens of governance networks, discusses how wellbeing has become such a prominent policy concept in Scotland. The article first maps the development of the concept through an analysis of the actors which make up the ‘wellbeing coalition’ and then discusses the role that these different actors played. Interviews and published documents form the basis for the analysis and also feed into software-supported social network analysis.
The analysis shows that the Scottish Government is taking a central position in a fairly extensive wellbeing network composed almost exclusively of public and third sector organisations, with a very limited number of organisations being particularly prominent over the past decade. Contrary to expectations, the Scottish media took relatively little interest in the ‘wellbeing debate’, and academics played only a very minor role. It also highlights how a number of concurrent domestic and international political developments contributed to putting wellbeing on the agenda in Scotland, in particular the Global Financial Crisis and the subsequent recession.
The analysis shows that the Scottish Government is taking a central position in a fairly extensive wellbeing network composed almost exclusively of public and third sector organisations, with a very limited number of organisations being particularly prominent over the past decade. Contrary to expectations, the Scottish media took relatively little interest in the ‘wellbeing debate’, and academics played only a very minor role. It also highlights how a number of concurrent domestic and international political developments contributed to putting wellbeing on the agenda in Scotland, in particular the Global Financial Crisis and the subsequent recession.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 89-105 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | International Journal of Wellbeing |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 31 Jan 2021 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- Scotland
- social wellbeing
- wellbeing
- social network analysis
- governance networks
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Dive into the research topics of 'Social wellbeing in Scotland - the 'career network' of a policy concept'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Activities
- 1 Public Engagement – Public lecture/debate/seminar
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Understanding, measuring and promoting greater wellbeing in Scotland
Elke Heins (Contributor), Ilona Suojanen (Contributor) & Neil Thin (Contributor)
3 Nov 2014Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Public Engagement – Public lecture/debate/seminar