Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The Scottish Digital Academy sits within the Digital Directorate – People, Strategy and Corporate Services Division.

Anyone working within the public and third sector in Scotland can register to attend one of our courses or programmes.

Yes. Most of the training opportunities are designed for individuals, unless otherwise stated. You must be employed within the public or third sector in Scotland. Unfortunately, our offer does not extend to contracted staff or suppliers.

All fees are illustrated on the course information page.

We recommend that you attend the entire course or programme so that you don’t miss any important information.

Yes. Email us digitalacademy@gov.scot and tell us your ideas. We can’t guarantee to provide the course for you but we will listen and include it in our demand planning.

As a result of Covid restrictions, all our training is delivered online unless otherwise stated. We use a variety of online platforms and you’re advised to check the course details for further information.

Yes. Email us digitalacademy@gov.scot and a member of our team will speak to you about your requirements.

Our courses are not accredited or certificated unless otherwise stated.

Once your course has finished, we will be in touch to request a PO number which will be referenced on our invoice. You can then choose to pay either through the invoice or by your organisation’s credit card. Instructions are given on the back of the invoice.

Funding for Scottish Government (Core)

At present, we fund spaces on courses for core Scottish Government Directorates through corporate recharge allocations which is an internal process. We are able to provide this as our funding is allocated as a corporate offer.

Non Scottish Government

Executive agencies, local authorities, NDPBs and other public sector organisations are required to pay through a recharge and invoice process to cover the cost of training. This recovery model allows us to procure the best value for the public sector on demand, to better address skills gaps at any given time.

The Scottish Digital Academy runs on a cost recovery model. Specialist resource, operational and ad hoc costs need to be recovered.

The charges for attending courses and for using our service are outlined in our Terms and Conditions. All organisations have delegated learning & development budgets and we are only seeking to recover the cost of delivering courses.

We do fund a small selection of agile courses which are free to attend for anyone in the Scottish public or third sectors:

• Curious About Agile
• Agile Mindsets
• Why Agile?
• Introduction to Scrum
• User Story Mapping
• Product Vision and Roadmapping
• Sizing and Estimating
• Leading in a Digital World
• Empowering Women to Lead Cyber Security
• Empowering Women to Lead Digital Transformation

We will evolve our funding and cost recovery model during 2022. We’d be more than happy to have a chat with teams about how the Scottish Digital Academy can support any future learning needs.

If you have booked to attend a course, you will receive an automated email from us. This will contain the details that allows you to cancel. Please note that a cancellation fee may apply.

Cancellation fees are illustrated in our terms and conditions.

Yes. Our Agile Coaches and Lead Specialists are on hand should you wish to speak to them about our coaching service or training opportunities. Contact us for more information.

We work with a range of suppliers and contractors. If you wish to discuss your services with us, we would be happy to learn more. We are unable to purchase services and products directly and all contracts are procured. Suppliers must be registered on Public Contracts Scotland.

Our alumni are senior leaders drawn from across the Scottish public and third sectors, whom have completed our Digital Champions and Digital Leadership Programme.

You can join the Alumni community if you have completed the Digital Champions or Digital Leadership Programme. Membership is not open to other courses or programme participants. We will automatically subscribe you to our Alumni updates unless you ask us not to.

Our Stakeholder Forum is a representative group of leaders from public and third sector organisations in Scotland. They act as our critical friend and help us to plan our strategic priorities.

The Stakeholder Forum is a representative group of people drawn from across the public sector in Scotland. If you’re a senior leader from a public sector organisation and you would like to join, contact us.

Yes. We accept success stories and blog articles related to digital skills, professional learning, transformation and agile coaching. We also accept submissions related to the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) Profession. Submissions must be related to the public and/or third sectors in Scotland. Please note that submissions will be quality assured before publication.

Please direct your complaint to Lee Dunn, Head of the Scottish Digital Academy lee.dunn@gov.scot