The Scotland Institute is a

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

operating in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

which describes itself as "progressive and independent". It was founded and entirely funded by Dr Azeem Ibrahim, a Glasgow-born expert in strategic policy development, and formally launched in June 2012 by politicians

Alistair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (28 November 1953 – 30 November 2023) was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under prime minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party ...

, former

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

, Liberal Democrat MP

Jo Swinson Joanne Kate Swinson (born 5 February 1980) is a former British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from July to December 2019. Swinson was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for East Dunbartonshire ( ...

, SNP Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism Jim Mather MSP and Scottish Conservative

Jackson Carlaw David Jackson Carlaw (born 12 April 1959) is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from February to July 2020, having acted in the position since August 2019. He previously served as Deputy Leader of th ...

. The institute examined questions around Scottish independence from a neutral, academic perspective and produced a number of policy reports, including well-referenced reports on defence provision, poverty and

social exclusion Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. In the EU context, the Euro ...

in the run-up to and following the independence referendum in Scotland Its 'Defence and Security in an independent Scotland' document considered the impact on defence in Scotland in the event of a Yes vote in the

2014 Scottish independence referendum A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or ...

. Dr Ibrahim also wrote a follow-up article expanding the Institute's findings. The institute states that it provides “objective analysis from credible scholars” in its compiling of reports. Its widely reported defence paper included commentary and analysis from Major-General Andrew Mackay CBE, a former Afghanistan Task Force Commander, as well as former secretaries of defence and various eminent scholars. The report, published on 20 June 2013, concluded that Scotland could have its own defence force, but that the costs would be excessive, and that the new force would not provide added security. On 2 March 2014 The Scotland Institute published a report calling for school starting age in Scotland to be lowered to the age of four. The report, titled ‘Early Start 4 Scotland’, called for lowering the school starting age in Scotland in an effort to help children in low-income families and to better equip them to compete on the global stage. On 26 January 2016 the institute published a report on the rising number of benefit claimants in Scotland, despite an economic recovery. The report concluded that societal caps and attacks on the workplace had contributed to this rise, rather than any evidence of a “work-shy” population.

References

{{Reflist Political and economic think tanks based in the United Kingdom Political campaigns in the United Kingdom Think tanks based in Scotland