Evaluation of the Adaptation Scotland Programme

29 Oct 2026 12:09 PM

Findings from a process and impact evaluation of the Scottish Government's Adaptation Scotland Programme. The Programme supports the delivery of Scotland’s National Adaptation Plan.

Introduction

This report presents the findings of an evaluation of the Adaptation Scotland Programme, commissioned by the Scottish Government and undertaken by Ipsos. The evaluation examined the design, delivery and governance of the Programme, as well as the extent to which it contributed to its intended outcomes. The findings are intended to inform consideration of the Programme’s future direction, identifying opportunities to strengthen its contribution to Scotland’s adaptation objectives and the support it provides to stakeholders, while ensuring the Programme can scale effectively in response to growing demand for support to understand, plan for and act on climate adaptation and resilience.

Policy background

The Adaptation Scotland Programme is a long-standing Scottish Government funded national capacity-building programme that supports public bodies, businesses, communities and third sector organisations to prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Established in 2005, the Programme has evolved alongside Scotland’s climate adaptation policy and legislative framework, including statutory duties established under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

Climate adaptation and resilience is a shared responsibility that is taken forward by national and local governments, public bodies, businesses, communities and the third sector.

Scotland’s national adaptation planning cycle operates on a 5-year timeline. The current Scottish National Adaptation Plan 2024-2029 (SNAP3) sets out a comprehensive set of actions to build Scotland's resilience to the impacts of climate change over the next five years, fulfilling the legal duty established under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. The plan commits to delivering over 200 policies and actions across 23 national objectives. The current plan is the third iteration of national adaptation planning and follows on from the first Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme (SCCAP) published in 2014 and the second iteration (SCCAP2) published in 2019.

The Adaptation Scotland Programme is critical for the delivery of SNAP3 and its activity is broken down into seven delivery clusters. These clusters focus on strengthening the skills and capacity of businesses, communities, third sector and public sector organisations to adapt to climate change through capacity building, advice and collaborative action.

Programme overview

The current contract period for the Adaptation Scotland Programme (April 2023 to March 2027) coincided with the development and publication of SNAP3. Programme delivery was therefore structured across two phases. Phase one covered the first two years of the contract, 2023-2025, and phase two covered 2025-2027.

• Phase one (2023-2025): The initial Programme specification was developed primarily by the Scottish Government Climate Adaptation Team, with review and sign-off from the Adaptation Scotland Board. Following contract award, Verture programme managers worked with Scottish Government to develop the programme structure and activities.
• Phase two (2025-2027): Following publication of the third Scottish National Adaptation Plan (SNAP3), Scottish Government and Verture redesigned the Programme, drawing on delivery experience, stakeholder feedback, engagement with networks including the Public Sector Climate Adaptation Network (PSCAN), and input from the Adaptation Scotland Board.

As part of the current contract, the Programme has focused on supporting leadership across sectors, while emphasising place-based approaches. This aligns closely with SNAP3's commitment to driving adaptation action across all of Scotland's regions through both national and local initiatives. The Programme directly supports 16 out of the 23 objectives set out by SNAP3 and is a key vehicle for building capacity and catalysing adaptation action. Adaptation Scotland leads PSCAN which provides opportunities for learning and knowledge sharing across the public sector. Alongside its public sector-facing work, the Programme aims to increase engagement and support adaptation action across private sector, community and third sector leadership, delivering training, advice and learning resources.

Purpose of the evaluation

In 2025, the Scottish Government commissioned Ipsos to evaluate the Adaptation Scotland Programme. The overall aim of the evaluation was to provide an independent assessment of the current iteration of the Programme. It also sought to generate evidence-based insights and recommendations to inform any re-procurement and redesign of the Programme beyond 2027, as well as shorter-term changes to support improvements during the final phase of the current Programme.

The evaluation explored how and how well the Programme’s activities contributed to adaptation outcomes, focusing on the perceptions, experiences and insights of those involved in or supported through the Programme. More specifically, the aims of the evaluation were to:

• Assess the overall impact of the Adaptation Scotland Programme and its progress towards its five intended outcomes.
• Engage with both recipients of Adaptation Scotland support and Programme Management and delivery staff to identify what aspects of the Programme have been effective at contributing to outcomes, what could be improved and what may be missing from the current Programme.
• Identify best practice examples as well as any gaps in delivery or barriers to accessing support across the seven delivery clusters.
• Develop actionable recommendations for changes in Programme design and delivery for enhancing the Programme's effectiveness in supporting Scotland's adaptation efforts.
• Develop a set of updated KPIs to guide future monitoring for the next round of the Programme.

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