External Review of ASH Scotland 2014

11 Weaknesses and Strengths

ASH Scotland's strengths

11.1 ASH Scotland demonstrates a number of strengths. These include its:

• Effectiveness in influencing national policies and public opinion;
• Extremely high quality research and evidence publications with an efficient and well respected information service
• Ability to work well with a range of local and national partners and partnerships and to use these to increase impact locally, nationally and internationally
• High level of productivity in terms of outputs and participation in events
• Strong reputation for effectiveness and credibility
• External stakeholders' positive views of the organisation and staff
• A well-managed organisation with a strong staff group, and good use of capacity
• Good governance
• Good use and careful management of resources
• Robust financial and planning systems

ASH Scotland's weaknesses

11.2 Areas of weakness are fewer, and largely relate to improving clarity on organisational strategy and direction. These include having a:

• Large number of strategic and high level outcomes which make prioritisation difficult
• Lack of a succinct, clear overview of performance to present to the Board to enable assessment of areas of over- and under-performance
• Lack of clarity on how activities contribute to achieving the intended outcomes
• Need for a more strategic approach to its work on inequalities and local engagement

Recommendations

11.3 We propose the following recommendations for ASH Scotland:

Recommendation 1: Develop an outcome focused strategy for 2015-18.

Recommendation 2: Ensure that the 2015-18 ASH Scotland strategy is informed by a 5 - 10 year forward analysis of tobacco control issues.

Recommendation 3: Consider, as part of the 2015 - 18 strategy, how it develops and implements a strategic approach to partnership working to enhance effectiveness and value.

Recommendation 4: Continue to prioritise its national and international working, and review the purpose of local work to ensure it contributes effectively to strategic outcomes.

Recommendation 5: Consider developing a revised logic model which can provide the basis for the organisational strategy and performance framework.

Recommendation 6: Identify strategic priorities and partners for inequalities work which can contribute most to reducing tobacco harm and associated health inequalities.

Recommendation 7: Review the purpose of the current Strategic Outcomes report with the Board and explore performance reporting formats to meet their needs.

Recommendation 8: Ensure the minutes of the two sub-committees include recommendations to the Board; and that minutes of the Board include decisions made on the Strategic Outcomes report

The Scottish Government

11.4 The Scottish Government's impact on ASH Scotland's ability to deliver good value for money also needs to be considered. In the findings above we conclude that ASH Scotland does provide good value for money for its core funding and the additional projects. However, the reporting framework used by the Scottish Government is not clearly focused on outcomes, and in some cases does not use clear targets for performance. There is an onus on the Scottish Government to review what it wants the organisation to deliver, and to define the value of ASH Scotland's contribution more clearly if it wishes to assure itself of the value for money it receives for the funding it provides.

11.5 The Scottish Government needs to develop a clearer articulation of what it wants ASH Scotland to deliver for the funding it receives. This will help the Scottish Government to specify more clearly what it sees as good value for money. Following this, the Government should, in discussion with ASH Scotland, revise the reporting templates for core and project funding to ensure that they are fit for purpose.

Recommendation 9: The Scottish Government should review the format of its regular performance reports from ASH Scotland to ensure that the reports enable an assessment of value for money and of contribution to the national Tobacco Control Strategy.