Digital

Scottish Government Digital Academy: Progress Update on Deliverables

July 16, 2026 by deborahamzil No Comments | Category Digital Capability, Digital Strategy for Scotland, National Standard for Professional Learning, Open Education Resources, Scottish Government, Scottish Government Digital Academy

Lee Dunn, head of the Scottish Government Digital Academy provides an update on the progress being delivered through the Scottish Government Digital Academy. 

The Digital Strategy Vision Statement and the Sustainable Public Services Delivery Plan were published in November 2025. Co-owned by the Scottish Government and Local Government (Digital Office for Scottish Local Government and COSLA) these documents set out a shared programme of work to support the transformation of public services between 2026 and 2028. 

Last year, we established the Digital Capability Advisory Group, bringing together representatives from public and third sector organisations across Scotland. The group’s purpose is clear: to reduce duplication, strengthen collaboration and coordinate a more joined-up approach to developing digital capability. 

Our work is currently focused on five key areas. 

Open Education Resources (OER) 

We are working with our delivery partner, This Is Milk, to engage stakeholders and better understand the current landscape for Open Education Resources (OER). 

This discovery work will inform the next phase of development as we move towards prototyping practical guidance and approaches that support greater collaboration. Our ambition is to create a more coordinated approach to professional learning, enabling organisations to share resources more effectively and reduce unnecessary duplication in content development. 

While OER is not a new concept, the opportunity to apply it more systematically across the public sector remains significant. If we are serious about increasing collaboration and maximising the value of public investment in learning, we need to move beyond discussion and establish sustainable ways of sharing and reusing learning resources. 

National Standard for Professional Learning 

Digital and data professionals rely on continuous professional learning to keep their knowledge current, challenge their thinking and ensure their practice remains informed by evolving technologies and approaches. 

However, we know that the professional learning landscape is fragmented. Learning experiences can vary considerably between organisations, teams, suppliers and training providers. 

To address this, we have completed our first series of stakeholder workshops, testing and validating the core principles and characteristics of effective professional learning. These discussions have helped shape a shared understanding of what high-quality professional learning looks like and how it can support capability building across the public and third sectors. 

Our goal is to develop the National Standard for Professional Learning in partnership with stakeholders. The standard will provide a common language, shared expectations and clear aspirations for digital and data learning. It will help inform the design, structure and delivery of professional learning, while supporting learning designers and providers to better meet the needs of learners. 

Importantly, the standard will also underpin future procurement activity, ensuring greater consistency and quality across commissioned learning provision. I will share more detail on this work later in the year. 

Once developed, supporting resources and guidance will be made available through both the Digital Academy website and the Digital Scotland Service Manual. 

Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI)e Professional Learning 

Data and AI continue to reshape how organisations operate and deliver services, and the demand for capability in this area will only continue to grow. 

Across the wider ecosystem, there is significant work underway, including the UK Government’s development of a new Digital, Data, AI and Innovation Skills Framework. I’ll share more about these developments later in the summer. 

Within the Digital Academy, our focus is on creating a sustainable and scalable approach to developing data and AI capability. We are moving away from one-off interventions and short-term learning activity towards an embedded offer that forms part of our long-term prospectus. 

Following the completion of our work with the Data and AI Literacy Academy, we are now progressing a pilot with the University of St Andrews to develop stackable micro-credentials. The research phase has concluded and we have now moved into content design and development. 

A key principle underpinning this work is that professional learning must support practitioners at every level. While foundational awareness is important, we also need opportunities for those already working in specialist areas such as software engineering, data science and technical delivery to continue developing advanced expertise. 

You can expect to see further progress and early outputs emerging throughout the autumn. Eventually, this pilot could be replicated across the further and higher education landscape.  

Leadership 

Leadership development remains a core component of the Digital Academy’s offer. 

Our leadership prospectus has evolved significantly over recent years. Beginning with the Digital Champions Programme, we subsequently developed Leading in a Digital World, designed by senior leaders for senior leaders. 

Since then, we have expanded our offer to include learning opportunities focused on agile leadership, data and AI, cyber security, technical architecture, digital ethics, service design and the adoption of common digital solutions developed across government. 

The next phase of this work is a comprehensive refresh of the leadership prospectus to ensure it remains relevant in an environment where technology, public expectations and service delivery models are changing rapidly. 

Alongside this, I am working closely with Verity Hislop from the Digital Office, who co-chairs the Digital Capability Advisory Group with me, to design a new leadership programme spanning both Scottish Government and local government. 

We share a strong belief that effective digital leadership is fundamentally human-centred. Throughout my previous articles and speaking engagements, I have consistently advocated for leadership approaches built on empathy, curiosity, intuition and meaningful connection. What I often describe as human Wi-Fi remains a critical capability for leaders seeking to navigate complexity and drive successful transformation. 

Government Digital and Data Job Profiles 

The Scottish Government continues to align with the UK Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework (previously known as Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT)). 

In Scotland, we have incorporated Cyber Security as a dedicated job family alongside Architecture, Data, IT Operations, Product and Delivery, Quality Assurance and Testing, Software Development and User-Centred Design. 

To strengthen consistency across government, the Digital Academy has developed a suite of standardised job profiles covering roles across these job families. These profiles provide a clear description of each role, outline typical responsibilities and define the skills and capabilities required for successful performance. 

By creating greater alignment across government and agencies, these profiles will support workforce planning, recruitment, career development and capability building. 

Later this year, we intend to make these resources available to the wider public and third sectors. 

Looking Ahead 

We will continue to share progress across each of these deliverables as the work develops. 

An important principle guiding our approach is to work iteratively and incrementally, focusing on delivering value early and learning through continuous improvement. As projects move beyond discovery and prototyping, we will begin releasing beta versions of products, standards and resources, allowing stakeholders to engage with them sooner and help shape their ongoing development. 

By working collaboratively across government, local government and the public and third sectors, we can build stronger digital capability, reduce duplication and create the conditions for more effective, sustainable and user-centred public services. 

Tags: Digital Scotland Service Manual, Digital Strategy for Scotland, local government collaboration, professional learning

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