Open Government Partnership

‘To trust or not to trust’ – Final reflections on levels of trust in Scotland by SGSSS intern Lilli Wolland Blomberg

September 10, 2026 by Open Government Team No Comments | Category Uncategorized

Lilli Blomberg, SGSSS Intern

Lilli has completed her sixth-month part-time SGSSS internship for the Scottish Open Government.

Her main objective was to map existing knowledge about trust in Scotland. Read her first blog post to see where this work started. Lilli’s report, Re-thinking trust in Scotland: from theory to practice, has now been published. These are her final thoughts on the experience and the findings from her work.

Purpose of my work

The report titled “Re-thinking trust in Scotland: from theory to practice” aims to answer the questions of: what evidence do we have about trust in Scotland? And what can we do to improve our understanding and measurement of levels of trust?

To answer these questions, the report covers:

1. Literature review: thinking about trust
2. Reflections: rethinking trust
3. Case studies: initiatives to improve trust
4. Recommendations

Selection of findings and recommendations

1. Family of trust

There are different levels of trust: The report encourages us to understand and measure trust as part of a ‘family of trust’ (trust, mistrust, and distrust). This helps us move beyond a binary understanding (to trust or not to trust).

It is the rise of widespread ‘cynical distrust’ that poses  a potential threat to representative democracy and its institutions. By acknowledging the different levels of trust and their different functions in a democratic society, the report encourages more research on how to prevent ‘cynical distrust’. The report also encourages finding ways of constructively engaging with citizen’s scepticism as an important and healthy sign of a democracy.

As a result, these steps of (re)thinking trust and how to measure it can assist in developing more effective and problem-specific initiatives. The end goal is to improve levels of trust in Scotland.

2. Importance of cooperation

Another recommendation is for more cooperation and transparency across local, national and international levels. This is why the report includes three cases studies from different countries. We can learn from existing initiatives on how to improve trust.

If you wish to read more about my findings and recommendations, please read the full report.

Nordic+ event

We got to be one of the first groups to get a guided tour of the art in the newly opened ‘Regjeringsskvartalet’ (Oslo). The artwork in the photo is made by Outi Pieski.

As I am recommending more cooperation, it was so exciting to present the report on trust to the Nordic+ Group, at the Nordic+ Meeting in Norway in May 2026.

At the meeting, Doreen Grove, Head of Open Government in Scotland and Floortje Fontein (Netherlands) reflected on ‘national priorities, emerging challenges, and opportunities ahead’. Doreen shared more about Scotland’s upcoming Open Government Action Plan and the new vision for trust and transparency that will guide the work of Open Government in Scotland over the next four years.

My report is one of the first steps in developing this strategic approach to trust and transparency in Scotland. And speaking to this gathering of government officials and civil society from across Europe felt like a full-circle moment for my work.

Final reflections

This internship for the Scottish Open Government has been such a valuable and enriching experience. I am so thankful to the Open Government team and everyone contributing to shape the report.

I hope that the report can be of relevance to a wide audience of those interested in engaging and rethinking levels of trust, considering that (political) trust is the very glue in healthy democratic societies.

Get involved

Are you working on democratic resilience, citizen participation, anti-corruption, ethical technology or open data?

The Scottish Government are looking for individuals and organisations with the relevant knowledge and skills to collaborate on our Open Government work in Scotland.

Find more information about the roles available across key areas of work:

• Trust and transparency
• Anti-corruption and accountability
• Ethical use of digital technology and open data
• Public participation
• Communications and engagement

Related content

If you are interested in the topic of trust in government you can also read:

• Scottish Government People’s Panel 2026-27 Event 2: Trust in Government – gov.scot
• Interim Report: Co-creation of the next Open Government Action Plan – trustworthy government
• A conversation with Sarah Davidson on trust and the First Minister’s Democracy Gathering

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