At SIDA’s Spring Conference earlier this month, Patrick Grady, Head of Policy and Communications at SIDA, led a workshop on Advocacy and Development ahead of Holyrood elections in 2026. Here, Patrick covers some of the key points raised in the workshop as well as the outcome of the day’s discussions.
This time next year the Scottish Parliament elections will be well underway – and there will be only four years remaining until the 2030 target date for achieving the SDGs. With these deadlines in sight, there was lots of interest from delegates in our workshop looking at how individual NGOs, and the sector collectively, can begin to focus the minds of decision makers.
The Scottish Government’s International Development Fund was launched by First Minister Jack McConnell in 2005, the year that the G8 Summit was hosted in Gleneagles, and over 3 million people took part in the Make Poverty History campaign. The workshop reviewed developments in Scotland’s political landscape and international development policy since then, with a focus on how our sector has approached the elections to the Scottish Parliament in 2011, 2016 and 2021.
Lively discussion during the workshop also reflected on points raised during the plenary keynote and panel sessions earlier in the day, and the changing context of cuts to aid budgets around the world, and public attitudes in the context of increasing costs of living and global conflicts and crises. We also considered the aims and ambitions of SIDA’s ‘From Talk to Transformation’ document focussed on shifting power to the global south which had been launched at last year’s conference.
Group discussions began by looking at how can we identify the most effective policies for manifestos and for governments. Delegates considered what the key ‘asks’ from the sector to the political parties might be, and the balance between consolidating progress to date and pushing for further, transformative change. Delegates stressed that aiming high and making bold asks is important, even with a recognition that not everything the sector would like to see might be achievable. It was also noted that Scottish Governments have the ability both to implement specific policies within Scotland and also to endorse broader, global propositions and declarations that can help set positive examples for other countries and governments.
A second round of discussion looked at how best we can mobilise the arguments and support from politicians and the public. Groups considered what opportunities exist to interact with political parties as they begin to draft manifestos, and the role of smaller and emerging parties in political debate. Demonstrating public support was also a key topic, and how global development campaigners can align with other groups and networks working on climate action and poverty eradication at home and overseas.
The discussions and feedback will be considered by SIDA’s Policy Committee and other working groups including our Global Citizenship Education Community and the Corporate Accountability Group Scotland. We will also work with our friends and colleagues in Stop Climate Chaos, the Scotland-Malawi Partnership, Scottish Fairtrade and others to encourage commitments from all those taking part in next year’s elections in support of creating a fairer world, free from poverty, injustice and environmental threats.
Author: Patrick Grady, Head of Policy and Communications, SIDA.