SCOTLAND
In October 2023, Crown Estate Scotland (CES) commissioned MainStreet to undertake an Organisation Design review. The project was a ‘stocktake and horizon scan’: an exploration and analysis of how CES is structured and resourced in the immediate and short terms – in terms of capacity and capability – and the development of insights for use in the emerging Corporate Plan for 2025 and beyond.
To support the work, the MainStreet project team undertook an extensive stakeholder engagement exercise, speaking to over 50 people. As well as 40 CES staff, this work included discussions with some of the CES Board, with all of its Managing Agents, and with some (agricultural) tenants. This was supplemented by desktop research into performance, current KPIs, and benchmarking of other similar organisations. We also facilitated a scenario planning session with the ELT and the Board and presented potential future scenarios that could be used to test the draft Corporate Plan.
Our final report was presented to CES in March 2024 and made several recommendations. We presented our findings to the Board, the ELT and at the CES staff conference.
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“MSC delivered everything we asked them to; an incredibly flexible team…we would definitely go back to them in the future”
Ronan O’Hara
Chief Executive
Crown Estate Scotland
CENTRE
REVIEW
The Scotland 5G Centre commissioned MainStreet early in 2020 to support its ongoing organisational development initiatives. This specific piece of work was designed to identify appropriate benchmark organisations operating in a similar governance context and analogous sectors to the S5GC, and understand:
- Organisation and governance structures of those organisations
- Capacity and capability of senior management teams and below
- Lessons learned, including context for any planned or recent changes to structures
Our output report is focused on the medium-term development of the Centre. As such, the advice and recommendations on structures, governance and other operating arrangements are now being considered by the Board and incoming permanent CEO.
HERITAGE
MainStreet was commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage, together with Scottish Government, SFHA, Architecture and Design Scotland, the Central Scotland Green Network Trust, and the Glasgow & Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership, to research opportunities to deliver multiple benefits through the good design and maintenance of green infrastructure associated with new and existing social housing in Scotland.
The main focus of the research was on green infrastructure within the footprint of social housing sites, whilst also considering the role of adjacent green infrastructure and green space likely to be used by tenants. The study addressed how to deliver better GI in new social housing and how GI could be retrofitted in to existing social housing and integrated into existing regeneration schemes.
The report was published by Scottish Natural Heritage in 2018:
The report was also referenced in the UK Climate Change Committee’s 2019 report, ‘UK housing: Fit for the Future?’.
CivTech is designed to take problems public sector organisations have and solve them in collaboration with innovative businesses. In early 2020, CivTech engaged MainStreet to undertake an independent review of its ROI methodology.
In early 2021, due to its ongoing success, CivTech was asked to develop a business case to assess the benefits from scaling the programme. Consequently, they commissioned MainStreet to undertake further validation of their ROI.
To support the business case, CivTech has developed 11 case studies from across its first four established cohorts. This representative sample was intended to provide an indicative average range of costs and benefits that could be used by CivTech to predict the RoI from future investment in the programme.
The aim of this work was to investigate, challenge and validate the figures derived by CivTech officers in the case studies so that average benefit figures can be used in CivTech business cases with confidence.
The work included:
- An analysis of CivTech’s 360 ROI model
- Review and challenge of the ROI output from the model.
- Predictions in regard to the longitudinal, accumulated ROI
- Setting out a vision of what a future 360 Bottom Line Tool/Toolkit might resemble
- A summary report detailing findings and underlying methodologies.
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“Having been asked by SG to develop a business case to scale up CivTech, we commissioned MainStreet to review various case studies that calculated the historic benefit from our intervention. Mark was very rigorous, independent and honest. We really enjoyed working with him and it felt like MainStreet and CivTech worked together like a team: It was a great collaborative relationship. Given his expertise in government business cases he was also able to provide us with additional advice, which was most useful.”
Mark Elliott
Programme Director
CivTech
MainStreet was commissioned by Transport Scotland and the Scottish Futures Trust to undertake research to assess the market for, and viability of, different types of work local hubs (WLH). The focus was on local provision meeting local need, anchored by facilities enabling people to work near to home across different geographies and supporting many policy ambitions in Scotland.
Our research focussed on five main areas:
- An evidence review of the available literature
- Interviews with key public sector policy and WLH stakeholders
- A questionnaire, completed by 59 respondents (53% response rate) including key public sector partners
- Mapping and analysis of existing (106) WLH facilities across Scotland
- Interviews with ten owners/operators of WLHs to identify lessons learned from successes and failures.
The research showed that WLH vary in size, geography, sector, commercial model, offering, atmosphere and drivers. Consequently, there is no simple ‘off the shelf’ solution and local community needs will be an important consideration should the public sector seek to intervene to counter market failure. Ideally, place-based needs should help guide this intervention and there may be complementary drivers that are locally important such as improved internet connectivity, community resilience, accessing services locally, training/reskilling, or community regeneration.
Our work finished with a comprehensive report with a series of recommendations.
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Regional Screen Scotland (RSS) and INDY commissioned MainStreet to undertake a feasibility study into touring and part-time cinema provision in Scotland.
RSS operates the excellent Screen Machine (SM), an articulated lorry that transforms into an 80-seat cinema: it shows a range of films including recent releases at 45 locations across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. INDY is a leading cinema operations company.
They wanted to examine the potential demand for part time Digital Cinema Package (DCP) screenings in Scotland. The two organisations also wished to consider how they could more formally partner to support Universal Cinema, to expand access to cinema across Scotland.
The study undertook four distinct pieces of research with the following key messages:
- Questionnaires with current part time or touring DCP operators, DVD/Blu-ray exhibitors, and other groups considering showing community cinema
- Benchmarking – studying what other countries do and how cinema can help achieve placemaking, support community cohesion, and achieve social objectives
- Stakeholder interviews – including Creative Scotland, Scotland’s Town Partnership, Film Hub Scotland, UK Cinema Association, and the DCP Exhibitors’ Group
- Mapping of cinema provision across Scotland – this showed that most Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) post codes are urban and so are not covered by SM or part time or touring cinemas.
The research led to various options being considered and, given the current context, in the short term, RSS and INDY should adopt a Commissioning Model. In this model, RSS would commission INDY to provide additional services to it with priorities being:
- Working together to develop a joint touring schedule
- Providing leadership and support to part time/touring DCP exhibitors
- Profile raising of SM and the role of cinema in placemaking.
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“MainStreet produced a really thorough and detailed report, which was very thought provoking. It was a really valuable piece of work for RSS.”
Robert Livingston
Director
Regional Screen Scotland
SCOTLAND
Crown Estate Scotland (then as Interim Management) commissioned MainStreet Consulting to review its commercial arrangements with a range of managing agents – on coastal activities, rural estates, commercial property, on Mines Royal and Minerals-related activity, and on its legal advisory services. The work was clearly to aid this new organisation to make an informed, evidenced-based decision on a future operating model.
The project team undertook an extensive stakeholder engagement exercise – interviewing 70 people across 50 interview sessions; as well as CES and agent staff, this work included tenants and discussions with other community groups and trusts – as well as desktop research into performance, customer feedback, and future plans for the organisation.
Following an extensive period of analysis, MainStreet set out several possible options for CES to consider for delivery of these relevant services. These range from a model through which all services are delivered in-house by CES’s staff, through to completely (with caveats recognised on its extent) outsourced services.
The recommendations were presented to the Executive Team and Board in early 2020.
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“I appreciated the way MainStreet went about the review, with a high level of engagement both internally, with our service providers and wider stakeholders. They have made an important contribution to the life and development of Crown Estate Scotland”.
Simon Hodge
Chief Executive
Crown Estate Scotland
SCOTLAND
HES is responsible for safeguarding the nation’s heritage by designating sites of special architectural or historic interest. Facing increasing demand, resource constraints, and evolving public expectations, the Designations Service at HES needed to review its effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement. MainStreet was asked to conduct a comprehensive stakeholder engagement exercise to gather feedback and provide recommendations on the challenges and opportunities facing the designations system in Scotland. The core objective was to inform HES’s new strategic plan for 2025.
Our approach involved a structured, five-stage process with the main phase an extensive stakeholder engagement effort, which included individual and small-group interviews with over 100 external stakeholders. These participants represented a wide range of interests, including local authorities, the Scottish Government, heritage professionals, developers, and community groups. We also facilitated a workshop with Designations staff to discuss emerging findings and recommendations. This broad and deep engagement provided a representative and qualitative account of the views across the sector.
Key outputs included:
- A detailed report covering stakeholder views on the current state of designations, their impacts, and priorities for the future.
- A comprehensive SWOT analysis that summarised the project’s key findings.
- Recommendations on how to address critical issues such as resource allocation, outdated records, and a lack of clarity in designation criteria.
Key outcomes from the recommendations:
- A refined strategic focus: The report advised HES to focus on its core remit and be more explicit about what the service will and will not do.
- Enhanced collaboration: The findings highlighted the opportunity for HES to act as a leader and “convener” for the sector, fostering alignment between national and local priorities.
- Modernisation: There was strong support for leveraging technology, such as AI and LiDAR, to improve data collection and management, as well as modernising processes to be more efficient and transparent.
- Proactive approach: Emphasising need for HES to be more proactive in identifying threats to heritage assets and engaging with the public to raise awareness of the benefits of designations.
The findings from this review are expected to directly influence the development of HES’s long-term strategy, helping to shape the future of heritage protection in Scotland.
SCOTLAND
MainStreet was engaged by CES to provide interim programme management support for Phase 2b of its ‘Advance programme’. The programme was deemed critical to delivering on the organisation’s new corporate plan, with a focus on empowering people, enhancing delivery, and building organisational resilience. Our role was to provide the structure and support needed to deliver these strategic objectives.
We worked closely with the CES leadership to design and deliver the programme. A key part of our approach was to establish a robust framework for managing the change process. This involved a detailed analysis and scoping of over 50 initiatives, which were then prioritised and grouped into 18 related projects. We developed a clear governance structure, including establishing a Programme Board and defining reporting frameworks for workstreams and the overall programme. We also provided hands-on PMO support, setting up processes for benefits, risks, and issues tracking, and helping to manage a portfolio of ‘quick win’ initiatives.
Key outputs from the engagement included a programme blueprint, a robust governance structure, and a series of communications tools designed to ensure a smooth transition. The programme was successfully ‘hard-wired’ into the organisation’s daily activities, with the structure, governance, and tools supporting the new corporate plan for the following 18 months. The successful outcomes included improved capacity, capability, and resilience within CES, leading to more effective and efficient decision-making processes. The project established a clear and lasting framework for strategic change, ensuring the organisation was better prepared to achieve its long-term goals.