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APPENDIX 2: TOPIC GUIDE FOR CASE STUDY WORKSHOPS
Arrival, tea / coffee
Welcome and introduction to project
Mention that everyone should have a statement in their pack from the Scottish Executive
Need to emphasise that this project is not just about council services.
Evening only - Make sure everyone has completed a form with their details so that we can post out 'thank you' voucher.
Mention outline of evening (afternoon attendees have agenda)
Exercise one: Mapping exercise - 15 minutes
Explain that one of the things we would like to do today is to draw up a picture of services in the area, starting with where certain services are located.
We provide a map of the area attached to the wall.
Give participants 10 post-it notes each with one of the following services written on.
- Primary school
- Post office
- Grocery shop
- Health centre / surgery
- Day care for elderly
- Police office
- Parent and toddler group
- Nursery school / playgroup
- Computer and internet access (public)
- Public house
Ask them to write on the post-it notes where they use that service (if they use it) , e.g. post office in Eastriggs
Ask them to stick post-it note onto the map (or we collect and stick them ourselves if room restricts movement)
There may be some services that they use that are 'off the map'. These need to be indicated by a post-it at the edge of the map at the appropriate point ( i.e. on the road leading to the place).
Ask what services in particular are lacking.
Move on to next exercise.
Exercise two: What's good about the services in this area? - 20 minutes
So we have built up some idea of where certain services are located. What we want to do next is to get some idea of what you think are the good points about services in your area (or in this village / town). We have given you each 3 (pink) post-it notes to write three good things about services in your area. Just one on each note.
We will be coming round the tables to collect the notes as you write them.
Facilitator to collect the post-its as they are completed and begin to collate them into similar groups on flipchart sheet.
When all participants have completed 3 each and all have been collected have group discussion about themes / issues emerging
Exercise three: What's not so good about the services in this area? - 20 minutes
So we have built up some idea of what you think are the good points about services in your area. What we want to do next is to get some idea of what you think are the not-so-good points about services in your area. This time we have given you each 3 (blue) post-it notes to write three not-so-good things about services in your area. Just one on each note.
We will be coming round the tables to collect the notes as you write them.
Facilitator to collect the post-its as they are completed and begin to collate them into similar groups on flipchart sheet
When all participants have completed 3 each and all have been collected have group discussion about themes / issues emerging
Exercise four: Co-location choice sets - 20 minutes
So we have some idea of some of the problems that you feel exist with the provision of services in this area, some of the things that are not so good. Perhaps one of the ways to overcome some of the problems is to look at alternative ways of providing services.
We said at the beginning of the workshop that this research is about issues relating to how services can be provided in rural areas and for rural communities. The main aim of our work is to address the issue of the costs and benefits of co-located services - that is where different services are provided by different organisations within shared premises. Here in Eastriggs an example of 'co-location' is the primary school and library which share the same building, and also the post office where some council services can also be accessed.
What we would like you to do for the final exercise is to take a look at a number of hypothetical options for service provision, each of which could have cost implications for taxpayers. Remember that these are hypothetical. Around the room are six pairs of choices. For each option there is a different mix of attributes, for example, different opening hours, different location, different staff and level of information available.
Now each option also has a cost implication for the individual. What we would like you to do is to work through the pairs of choices and in each case pick your preferred option, taking into consideration all of the features of each option including cost.
Have whole group discussion at end of exercise.
Ask - Did you find the exercise easy / difficult? Probe
Which of the attributes were most important for your choice each time?
Are there other attributes that you think are important that we do not have?
And finally….
What we are going to do next
What we will use the outcomes from the workshop for.
The outcomes from this and the other five workshops we are running will be written up into a report and sent to the Scottish Executive and our steering group.
The outcomes, particularly from the final exercise, will be used to inform the design of a survey as the next stage of the research will be to conduct interview surveys in the three case study areas.
Any questions?
Remind people they need to have completed the registration form for the voucher.
Thanks and departure
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