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Q1. How can institutions effectively deal with ‘dual’ priorities in responding to identified institutional equality aims alongside different Scottish Government drivers for SFC priorities?
Institutions often cite challenges in meeting a range of equality requirements including the PSED legal requirements and SFC funding priorities, which can be seen as conflicting. External drivers such as Scottish Government priorities and the Legal framework of the PSED are not in the scope of this project. However, the suggested approach goes some way to addressing the challenges by providing a framework for institutions to consider and align their equality aims more holistically. In doing so, there is an opportunity to position SFC and Government equality priorities within broader strategic equality aims, helping to simultaneously better meet legal equality reporting and SFC equality requirements, within a clear institutional framework.
Q2. How can duplication of equality reporting be reduced?
Concerns are often expressed by institutions about the perceived burden of equality reporting and duplication of work for PSED and SFC requirements. The EIA approach suggested within this guidance draws together these areas of reporting linked to institutional equality aims and priorities, through the mechanism of EIA. The suggested EIA approach should enable much clearer co-ordination and alignment for all institutional equality work and priorities and as a natural consequence, should enable more streamlined approaches to evidence and reporting.
Q3. How can the time-consuming nature of strategic EIA be managed or justified?
EIA, in general, is often cited as being overly time consuming and therefore difficult to manage in the context of other institutional demands.
Strategic EIA is a tool to help institutions address best practice in delivering fair and equitable processes and outcomes as an education provider and an employer, which meets a range of needs for staff, students, potential staff and students and others who use institutional services or facilities. It can help institutions to understand the current status quo in equality terms and to identify and mitigate legal, financial and reputational risk making it good business sense to invest in EIA. In addition, it can enable institutions to support an ethos of social, community-based or regional access aims and identify opportunities to proactively advance equality, campus and community relations and reputation. When carried out in an effective and robust manner, EIA is a positive and proactive tool that enables institutions to go beyond the basic requirement to meet legal obligations and SFC expectations. It can therefore be viewed as a positive investment in supporting the achievement of institutional equality aims and priorities.
Q4. How can institutions deal with negative impacts or unintended consequences linked to EIA and equality priorities?
There may be instances where the intended outcome of an equality initiative is expected to result in positive change but the actual outcome results in a negative impact or unintended consequences for a different group. For example, within a policy context, a focus on courses for younger students in colleges negatively impacting on opportunities and access for other age groups; a focus on encouraging male university students into nursing impacting negatively on retention rates.
On occasions, there may be inevitable negative impacts arising from new approaches to addressing equality issues which then help to evaluate and inform what works in practice.
In some instances, there may also be tensions between different identified institutional equality priorities and changes in the external environment including government or other regulatory drivers that require a particular type of institutional direction or action on areas of equality.
Strategic EIA is a means of helping to identify, consider and record institutional decisions and rationale on these issues. EIA provides a transparent mechanism for evidencing and justifying an initiative where it is deemed proportionate, changing direction where necessary, or directing proactive engagement with stakeholders where necessary, within a robust framework of ongoing monitoring and self-evaluation.
Q5. How should institutions deal with concerns about the public nature of EIA?
Many public bodies express concerns about openly highlighting specific equality issues and providing honest reflection about where they are not meeting expected equality aims or standards. The requirement to publish EIAs as part of the Scottish specific duties is sometimes perceived as a challenge in this respect, on the basis that some information could be considered as sensitive or damaging and has the potential to impact on reputation, once in the public domain.
Whilst some of these issues are understandable in the context of competition and reputation, the public nature of EIAs can also be viewed as an advantage in addressing public concerns about equality. EIA provides a specific opportunity to set out evidence, context and rationale for the choices made by institutions in contested or sensitive areas supporting reputation and an open and transparent approach.