Appendix H 1st Interview with Head of RAS - Topic Guide
J27291: Evaluation of the Relocation Advisory Service Phase 2
Final Topic Guide for Qualitative Interview with Head of RAS 23/5/06 - subsequent interviews planned for September 06 (telephone), March 07 (telephone) and September 07 (face-to-face)
Background to the RAS
When/how did you get involved with the RAS? What is your background?
How was it set up? Were different tenders received in the end? (Refer to 'Bidders Requirements' document sent by Lorna)
What is your understanding/take on the following questions we have included in the Evaluation Criteria:
- What were the Fresh Talent goals that the RAS was designed to meet?
- To what extent was it expected to meet each goal?
- What was the rationale for a relocation advisory service meeting those goals?
- On what basis was it decided that such a service would meet those goals?
- What evidence was there that current provision was inadequate?
How much of a problem was the short timescale? What would you have done if you had had longer?
Apart from the work done for the Phase 1 Evaluation, what was known about services in other countries? Have any lessons been learned from experiences elsewhere?
How much autonomy do you feel you have?
Targets/objectives/measuring success
What targets/objectives do you have? Where have these come from? Have they changed
How do you measure success internally?
How useful has the evaluation been so far? What do you want out of it?
Equality dimensions and fairness - what about English language ability and educational background - should everyone be treated the same?
Current provision/capacity
Is it a 'One stop shop' or more of a 'Single Gateway'? What should it be?
What is meant by a 'seamless' service? Does it provide this? Where is it less/more 'seamless'?
The RAS is in a secure government building. Does this matter? Is it accessible?
Broadly, there are three roles that a service such as RAS can play: it can provide information, it can advise and it can actively promote. To what extent does, or should, RAS play each of these roles?
Who staffs the RAS (numbers, roles, background)? How has this changed? Are there any gaps?
Could you provide a brief over view of the services provided on a day to day basis?
What promotional activities have been undertaken? Why there? Where in future? What has happened within Scotland?
What is the balance of provision and how has it changed? In terms of:
- Reactive v proactive?
- Type of people? (Target groups: students, people seeking employment, entrepreneurs and the self employed, Scottish businesses looking to recruit from overseas, expat Scots)
- In Phase 1 some partners suggested that entrepreneurs were difficult to reach and would divert resources and expats wouldn't need the service - what's your reaction to that? Place of origin - how changed? Support once arrived?
- Place of origin?
- Before potential move v support once arrived?
Is there any prioritisation of enquiries or is it first come first served?
To what extent is there targeting of particular groups? Should there be more of this?
How often and in what circumstances would you contact individuals/businesses first, rather than responding to them contacting you?
Could you clarify the RAS's role in relation to students - do you see it as a RAS role to attract students to Scotland in the first place?
What sort of 'complaints' do you tend to get from customers? Have there been any serious complaints?
Do you think you are duplicating any services provided elsewhere?
How do you promote your services? To individuals? To businesses?
In a previous interview, you said you were recruiting someone from Scottish Enterprise to proactively sell services to business - has this happened?
Refer to list of services on 'Main objectives/aims/core services of RAS' document which Lorna sent- where did this come from? have you used it? Go through list of 'service to provide' and get update on which services now provided/dropped
Policy changes and other developments
How have policy changes affected the RAS strategy? Operational issues?
What has the impact of EU Accession states been - language? Skills? Type of enquiry?
What other changes/developments have had an impact?
Successes - strategic and operational
What do you think RAS has done particularly well? Strategically? Operationally?
What activities/initiatives have been most successful? Why?
Problems/barriers - strategic and operational
Very broadly, where do you think the RAS could improve?
Have you had the necessary support from the Executive? Elsewhere?
Meeting turnaround times was a particular problem because of Hindustani Times influx - how has it been since? Also staff leave and external work were a problem last year - how has it been since?
Have there been particular problems relating to language issues?
A finding from Phase 1 was that customers wanted more tailored service? What's your reaction to that? Can anything be done with current resources?
MIS - how is it used internally? How useful is it?
Fact that immigration is a reserved matter- what impact has that had?
What other problems/barriers/challenges have there been?
Links with other organisations
Internal links - join-up/co-ordination/partnership working between Executive departments - FT partly about embedding the idea in other policy areas? How does thi apply to RAS?
You have formal links with Scottish Enterprise and Talent Scotland - what are those links?
Any more since? Should there be any more? More were planned with Citizen's Advice Scotland - has that happened?
Who else do you have links with? How are those links managed? How well do they work?
Are there any other bodies you need to make links with?
The Home Office had asked about monitoring those given leave to remain through voluntary questionnaire and you had concerns about being seen as enforcement body - what has happened on that?
Budget
What is the budget?
How is it set?
Has it changed significantly?
Is it allocated to different areas/activities?
Have there been any problems with the budget (amount? Managing it?) Is it going as planned this year?
In Phase 1 report, the unit cost of a letter is identified as £1.34 and of an Email just under £5 - seems odd?
Future budget justification - next spending review etc coming up. Is there a strong (evidence) business case for continuing (or increasing) budget?
Future plans
What lessons have you learned so far?
What do you think should happen next? If you had a completely free reign? Much bigger budget?
The following suggestions were made in Phase 1 report (either by partners or authors of the report) - what's your reaction to each and what, if anything has happened/will happen on each:
- Should promote Scotland's quality of life advantages (suggested by Partners in Phase 1)
- More targeting in order to meet business needs (Phase 1 partners)? Poss with Futureskills Scotland - undertake analysis of labour market needs in different parts of the country. Gather intelligence on what skills available where overseas.
- "Selling" idea of foreign recruitment to firms
- Providing more info on website so less need for contact
- Encourage email rather than phone contact (particularly from students)
- Need more specialised service for employers.
- Need more marketing among this group?
What are your views on scenarios 1-4 in Phase 1 report? What do you think should happen? What do you think will happen? Any moves in any of these directions so far?
What about finding out about the experience of the people being attracted to Scotland - we're investing all this time and effort in attracting people, hadn't we better make sure they're actually have a positive experience (however short etc)
Anything else?
Is there anything else you want to say? Anything else the Evaluation should take into account?