UofG Spotlight

In this episode of Spotlight, Kezia Dugdale speaks with Jim McCormick, Chief Executive of The Robertson Trust, about the Scottish Government's new Child Poverty Framework and what truly drives progress on lifting families out of poverty, from boosting incomes to delivering strong local services.
Kezia is joined first by Dr Thomas Rochow to preview insights from the Centre's State of Poverty project and why income support alone isn't enough without accessible services and joined‑up systems.

Higher education is facing one of the most challenging periods in its recent history. Rising financial pressures, declining international student numbers, and shifting expectations. So what does a sustainable, inclusive, and future‑ready higher education system look like?
In this episode, Prof Nicola McEwen explores the future of higher education with two leading voices.
First, she speaks to Prof Sir Anton Muscatelli, former Principal of the University of Glasgow and now President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Anton sets out the scale of the financial pressures facing universities across the UK and the implications of the contrasting tuition fee policies north and south of the border. He also makes the case for an independent review of tertiary education. 
Later in the episode, Nicola is joined by Prof Catherine Lido, Professor of Psychology and Adult Learning and Associate Director of the Urban Big Data Centre. Catherine takes us beyond fees and admissions to explore what true educational equality looks like today. She discusses the barriers that still prevent people from participating in education and examines how AI and technological change are reshaping both education and the labour market.

In this episode, Nicola McEwen and Graeme Roy look ahead to the challenges facing the next Scottish Government as it confronts a tight fiscal landscape. 
 
Nicola speaks with Matt Donoghue from the State Government of Victoria about Australia's Early Intervention and Investment Framework (EIIF) - an interesting approach to pooled budgeting and preventative spending that's gaining international attention. They explore how the model works, how departments are incentivised to collaborate, and what it takes to shift resources toward long‑term prevention. 
 
Nicola then returns with Graeme and Fiona Duncan, Independent Strategic Adviser to The Promise Scotland, to consider what lessons Scotland might draw from this approach. Together they discuss whether models like pooled budgeting, whole‑family wellbeing funding, and cross‑government decision‑making can help tackle system‑wide challenges.

This week Kez Dugdale is joined by Professor Kathleen Riach and Professor Melanie Simms from the University of Glasgow to discuss work, ageing and employment rights.  
Kat takes us through her recent research on work and ageing, looking at what it means to become older in work, whether policymakers and employers are doing enough to support people and what impacts how 'old' we feel. 
Then Mel discusses the details, politics and implications of the Employment Rights Act, which recently received Royal Assent in Westminster. She talks about how the changes could impact workers and employers, and what it means for collective rights and the trade unions.

We're kicking off Season 7 of our UofG Spotlight podcast with a live episode challenging our political leaders on public service reform in Scotland.
Recorded live on Monday 19 January 2026 at our event, Stop/Start: Making Public Service Reform Stick in Scotland, our host Professor Kezia Dugdale talks to:
Michael Marra MSP - Scottish Labour
Alison Thewliss - SNP
Dr Sandesh Gulhane MSP - Scottish Conservatives
Graham Simpson MSP - Reform UK
Jamie Greene MSP - Scottish Liberal Democrats
Gillian Mackay MSP - Scottish Greens
Kez quizzed our panel about whether politicians can work together to deliver for Scotland, the fiscal challenge facing Scotland, prevention, the future of the NHS, devolution, and more.
We closed with a big question: What would each member stop spending money on, how much money that would save and what you would spend it on?
The Centre for Public Policy will be publishing lots more insights and outputs from speakers at our Stop/Start: Making Public Service Reform Stick in Scotland event, including Professor Graeme Roy as discussed in this episode.
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