Impact case study database

The central impacts of this research have: 1) led to changes in the processes and practices of committee witness selection in the Scottish Parliament; and 2) made a significant contribution to wider acceptance of the benefits of committee witness diversity, including at Westminster and in the United States House of Representatives.

1. Changes in the processes and practices of committee witness selection in the

Scottish Parliament

Following the identification of concern by the Conveners Group at the end of Session 4, Bochel’s Academic Fellowship research addressed the characteristics of witnesses to the Scottish Parliament’s committees, highlighting the value and importance of ensuring diversity among committee witnesses, and its recommendations have led directly to changes in the guidelines and processes of the Parliament, to more women appearing as witnesses, and the introduction of an ongoing survey to monitor committee witnesses’ characteristics and inform the Parliament. The Parliament’s Presiding Officer noted, ‘ You have identified the issues which shape which witnesses are called and more importantly, what we can do about it’ [5.1], while the Head of Committees and Outreach stated, ‘ this research has been extremely valuable and has allowed us to establish a baseline and to develop an action plan to increase the diversity of those giving evidence to committees’ [5.2].

The report was published by SPICe and discussed by the Conveners Group (the conveners of all of the Parliament’s committees) in both January and February 2018 [5.3], which tasked the Committee Office to develop an action plan to take forward the recommendations. In May 2018 the Conveners Group approved the Action Plan, with timescales, lead offices and main target groups identified for each of the main tasks [5.4]. It also agreed a data collection pilot. Changes resulting from the research and Action Plan have included [5.5a]:

1. new ‘Witness Diversity Committee Clerk Guidance’ for committees on calls for evidence and witness selection highlighting the benefits associated with hearing a diversity of voices [5.5b];

2. new guidance for organisations providing witnesses, encouraging them to consider diversity when choosing witnesses [5.5c];

3. piloting of possible approaches to gathering the gender and other protected characteristics of witnesses, with Bochel being closely involved in those discussions. A new, ongoing, comprehensive survey was planned to be introduced for all committees from September 2020 to provide that data, although the Covid-19 pandemic meant that was delayed until 2021 [5.5d];

4. for the first time, and to ensure ongoing scrutiny of witness diversity, the Conveners Group gave the Equalities and Human Rights Committee responsibility for annual consideration of the figures. Bochel was asked to continue to provide witness figures for committees for two years, replicating the work for the original report, with the collection and collation of the data then shifting to the Parliament, including through the new survey of witnesses. The results for 2018-19 were received by the Conveners Group and the Equalities and Human Rights Committee in September and November 2019 respectively, and for 2019-20 by the Equalities and Human Rights Committee in November 2020 **[**e.g. 5.5e]. Some committees now also publish figures on witnesses in their Annual Reports, including from Bochel’s work [5.5d, 5.5f (example Health and Sport Committee report) ]

5. in addition, other recommendations relating ‘to engagement more widely’, for example improved support, especially for first-time witnesses, are ‘being taken forward through other work streams’ (Clerks to the Equalities and Human Rights Committee report to Scottish Parliament Conveners Group, September 2019) [5.5a].

Bochel’s later analyses, requested by the Parliament, show that, following his research and the commencement of the implementation of the Action Plan, the proportion of witnesses who were women increased steadily from 38 per cent in 2016-17 [5.5e] to 43 per cent in 2019-20 [5.5f].

The research has also fed into other important elements of the Parliament’s work, including being reflected in the new public engagement strategy for 2018 setting the goal for ‘Members to be able to hear a more diverse set of views and evidence to inform their scrutiny and legislating work’, and the strategy for 2018-21 for the newly-established Committee Engagement Unit including, ‘Drawing on witness diversity survey data, work with 2-3 pilot committees to help them develop a diversity strategy for their area and identify learning for other committees’. In July 2020 the Head of Committees and Outreach wrote to Bochel, ‘ We couldn’t have got to this stage without you and it’s making such a positive difference’ [5.6].

1. Significant contribution to wider acceptance of the benefits of committee witness diversity

Although the recommendations are still in the implementation stage at Holyrood, impact has already occurred elsewhere. In the UK Parliament, Bochel has met regularly with the leads on witness diversity for House of Commons select committees to share information and ideas, and his work has been used in internal training on witness diversity [5.7a]. In June 2018, the Liaison Committee published a report on the gender diversity of witnesses, which devoted one page of its substantive 14 pages to highlighting Bochel’s research, citing all of his recommendations to the Scottish Parliament directly, and noting that these were being considered for the Commons [5.7b]. In that report the Committee agreed the importance of diversity, that in most circumstances there should not be all-male panels of witnesses, and an aim that at least 40 per cent of ‘discretionary’ witnesses (not ministers or heads of key organisations) should be female, ideas reiterated in a further Liaison Committee report in 2019. The Sessional Returns for 2017-19 subsequently showed that 39 per cent of the 4,000 discretionary witnesses were female, up from 32 per cent in 2016-17. Bochel has also discussed with Committee Office staff the plans for a survey of the broader characteristics of witnesses to select committees. Subsequently, a pilot was approved but was then delayed due to Covid-19 [5.7c]. Bochel’s work on witnesses also encouraged the publication of gender data on public bill committee witnesses in the 2017-19 Sessional Returns for the first time, which showed that only 28 per cent were female, with the Clerk of Legislation noting that his involvement had ‘ telescoped this process so that we were able not only to benefit from your insights in the data collection but also make a start on influencing behaviour by the very fact of your asking the right questions to the right people in the process’ [5.7c].

In June 2018, Bochel was also invited to a private meeting with the Chair and Clerk of the House of Lords Liaison Committee, and other House of Lords officials, to discuss witness diversity before committees in relation to potential developments in the Lords. A House of Lords Liaison Committee report produced during 2019 reiterated the importance of achieving a greater diversity of witnesses.

Beyond the UK, in December 2019 the US Congressional Hispanic Caucus (leading a Tri-Caucus initiative also involving the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus) approached Bochel about both the principles and practice with regard to their desire to monitor witness diversity in the House of Representatives, which was initially introduced as a pilot from January 2020 [5.8a], with his advice, drawing on his research on the Scottish Parliament, being seen as ‘So helpful’ [5.8b]. During 2020, the Tri-Caucus sought to have the monitoring of witnesses institutionalised, using Bochel’s research to ‘ fortify our own argument with colleagues across Capitol Hill’, to ‘ anticipate committees’ challenges’, and to learn best practice [5.8c], with the result that at the end of 2020 the Rules for the 117^th Congress included requiring ‘ the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to develop a system, which the House will implement, to ensure that the House tracks the diversity of witnesses as a next step in the effort to increase witness diversity’ [5.8d, page 33 ], with this system to be introduced by the end of July 2021. In December 2020, the Policy Coordinator for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus wrote that Bochel’s ‘research and expertise has been valuable every step of the way’ [5.8c].

In addition, organisations such as the OECD have taken note of the research, with a report on gender equality in Canada [5.9a], citing Bochel’s research and its recommendations as something that the Parliament of Canada could learn from, and the Commonwealth Partnership for Democracy inviting Bochel to contribute to the Westminster Workshop on Gender Sensitive Scrutiny in June 2019, which involved elected representatives from more than twenty legislatures, with the programme intended to allow the sharing of knowledge and experience and to allow parliamentarians to reflect on their roles, responsibilities and opportunities [5.9b].