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Organisational Progress

 

 

What is this?

This section focuses on how change is being made and sustained across Scotland’s organisations and systems. It looks at how services are adapting practice, collaborating, and learning- not to measure performance, but to understand progress in action.

This part of the Promise Story of Progress explores information about how organisations are making and sustaining change, what they are learning, and how they are improving practice. This kind of data goes beyond performance measures to focus on how change happens in real settings, helping to build understanding of what supports progress, and what gets in the way. 

When the data collected and shared focuses on what is being tried, what is working, and what has been learned, it helps organisations adapt, innovate, and collaborate. This kind of evidence connects directly to quantitative and experiential data, showing how insights are being acted on in practice. Together, they create a richer picture of progress than either could alone.

Organisational Progress

Background

Organisational learning data is a key part of understanding how organisations are making and sustaining change, what they are learning about change, and how they are improving practice. This kind of data goes beyond performance measures to focus on how change happens in real settings, helping to build understanding of what supports progress, and what gets in the way.

Organisations carry the responsibility for making the changes needed to keep the promise. To do this well, they need data that supports reflection and improvement alongside information that tracks activity or performance. When the data collected and shared focuses on what is being tried, what is working, and what has been learned, it helps organisations adapt, innovate, and collaborate. Quantitative data can show whether something has changed, but it cannot show how or why that change happened, or whether it has made a real difference for children and families. Looking at qualitative and quantitative data together begins to help pose the questions and develop the insights necessary for change.

For further information about the work of change across Scotland click here.

You can click on the button below to view the organisational progress data for each of the vision statements. Each vision statement includes links throughout to information about the sources used and the organisations that made them, to ensure what you read can be connected to its original purpose and context.

Organisational Progress

FAQ

This work is being developed through a collaborative approach between COSLA, Scottish Government and The Promise Scotland. The work is also informed by the Promise Collective who have contributed qualitative insights to support the development of the Promise Story of Progress. The Promise Collective is a group of key national bodies including, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Public Health Scotland, the Care Inspectorate, Who Cares? Scotland, CELCIS and the Improvement Service. 

This work is being developed in a way that enables it to grow and develop over time, reflecting both the required shift for data to better reflect what matters to children, families and care experienced adults, and the need to build sustainable approaches.

Insights from the Promise Collective and analysis will shape the next steps of this work, and as more organisations share their learning and information, the method will continue to grow in a clear and transparent way that supports understanding of how change is being delivered in places.

In 2026, the COSLA alongside Scottish Government and The Promise Scotland will collaborate with a number of muti-agency planning structures to undertake work that brings together local experience and data as part of the Promise Story of Progress

Following the update in December 2025, all feedback received will inform the delivery of next steps for this work in 2026 and beyond. Please contact plan2430@thepromise.scot with 'Promise Story of Progress' in the subject line.

The partners have considered the ethical and methodological choices behind this work, and you can read more about these, and how they shape the next steps, here.

All data and information used in this process has gone through the appropriate ethical governance and data protection processes of the organisations who provided it. We only work with data that has been gathered, shared and used ethically and with clear purpose. 

Most importantly the purpose is for learning, using data and insights to guide improvement rather than assess performance. 

The organisational analysis offers valuable insight, but it also highlights where gaps remain. These gaps show where organisational learning still needs to grow as a consistent and trusted source of insight. This includes making better use of learning that already exists rather than creating additional reporting burden, connecting organisational learning to lived experience and national data, and strengthening a shared learning approach as a way to show progress. 
 
As more organisational learning is shared, organisations will be able to contribute richer insights. This will help build a clearer and more joined up picture of what is happening in practice and how change is being experienced day to day.