By Susan Murray

CAN good ever come from bad? We hope so, because the past year has seen such terrible loss of life, loneliness, and the suspension of normal human contact.

It’s a question the David Hume Institute is working hard to answer, which is why we have launched our “What’s Your Action” initiative.

Since October 2020, we have been listening to people in conversations across Scotland. In January, we commissioned nationwide polling to check what we were hearing. The research shows that people in Scotland want the place they live and the wider world to be better than it was before Covid-19, and they are already taking action to make that happen.

Our research worked hard to reach people of all ages and backgrounds across Scotland. We worked with national organisations like Scottish Youth Parliament, the Children’s Parliament and U3A, and local organisations like InspirAlba in Campbeltown and Resonate Together in Alloa.

Capturing conversations of people who might not normally meet, discussing what action and building forward better means to them was incredibly powerful. It is clear positive change is under way. The three broad areas identified where action is already being taken relate to being kinder, supporting nature and climate change, and making conscious choices with money.

In difficult circumstances, the research tells us that more than three-quarters of adults in Scotland have been helping neighbours and more than two-thirds gave to charity.

Four in 10 people spent more time outside in nature, with another three in 10 spending about the same amount of time outside.

One in 10 – still equivalent to around half a million people in Scotland – say the change they would most like to see as a result of the pandemic is more people shopping locally and supporting local businesses. In conversation again and again, people were saying they were being much more conscious about the difference their money could make.

Everyone will have their own ideas for what they would like to do in their own community, and it is important that we do not miss this moment.

We are encouraging people throughout Scotland to visit WhatsYourAction.scot to share their own priorities. This is a resource for everyone who is interested in taking action to improve their own lives and others.

We have focused first on releasing findings about individuals and communities, because we believe this is the area where we can achieve fastest change.

Over the next six months, we will be releasing further findings from the research, including about sustainable places and the economy, where longer term actions could help meet people’s priorities.

We are also going to track progress to see if these priorities change as we move out of the pandemic.

WhatsYourAction.scot is a tool to help build a more prosperous, sustainable, inclusive and fair country. By magnifying the action and energy of individuals across Scotland, we can translate local actions into even bigger collective impact.

Susan Murray is director of The David Hume Institute