As well as the nine existing public bodies on the roster, a further 24 will be added to the consortium in an effort to maximize financial efficiency. These will include varying sized clients such as SEPA, Scottish Natural Heritage, and Caledonian MacBrayne.

Despite the rise in the number of organisations in the Government consortium, the budget will remain at an estimated value of between £40m to £80m over the 43 months of the contract period.

Due to EU policy, in order that the Government can show “absolute transparency” for its decisions, mini-pitches will also be introduced for each piece of work, in order that agencies cannot claim “favouritism” for appointments made. This, Roger Williams, head of marketing at The Scottish Government, admits will become a more time consuming process, but is something that they cannot avoid.

Williams also told The Drum that despite the extra workload, the marketing department at The Scottish Gorvernment would remain unchanged.
The closing date for pretender applications is 25 February, with the process currently scheduled to be completed by 1 September.