Improvement Service

ACOSVO is a forum for Chief Officers and Senior Managers in the third sector in Scotland, promoting excellence in leadership and management across the sector. It provides professional development opportunities through a range of services and activities to members across Scotland.

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) is the professional voice of the Scottish Police Service. It works in partnership with central and local government to set strategic objectives for policing in Scotland and to ensure better, joined up, services for Scotland's communities.

The Association of Directors of Social Work is a constituted group of senior social workers who work in Scottish local government. It promotes social welfare and social inclusion and the interests of those who use the services; disseminates research, information and best practice; discusses policy; and to communicates members views on key social work issues.

APSE is a not-for-profit local government body working with over 300 councils throughout the UK to promote excellence in public services. It hosts a network for front line service providers in areas such as waste and refuse collection, parks and environmental services, leisure, school meals, cleaning, housing and building maintenance.

The Chartered Institute of Housing is the professional body for people who work in housing. Members work predominantly in local authorities, housing associations, arms length management organisations (ALMOs) and the private sector in the UK and overseas. The site provides information about the activities of the CIH in Scotland and the latest developments in housing policy and practice.

CIPFA is a professional accountancy body which specialises in the public sector. It is responsible for the education and training of professional accountants and for their regulation through the setting and monitoring of professional standards. CIPFA also has responsibility for setting accounting standards for local government.

The Chief Fire Officers' Association is the foremost official organisation for principal fire officers in the UK. Members meet to discuss fire related or government influenced matters, with the aim of reaching a combined understanding of what each UK Fire Brigade needs to improve operations and training within their Service.

CoSLA is the representative voice of Scottish local government and also acts as the employers association on behalf of all Scottish councils. It aims to promote the position of local government as the legitimate tier of governance closest to the people of Scotland and to take the lead in shaping the future of local government and ensuring that local Councils remain at the heart of public service delivery.

EDAS is the country's foremost membership driven association for all organisations and individuals with an interest in economic development. It aims to facilitate a substantial improvement in the effectiveness of economic development activity in Scotland by helping to raise the knowledge, skills and networks of those involved in all aspects of economic development.

Heads of Planning Scotland is the new name for the Scottish Society of Directors of Planning, formed in 1975 to promote planning at local and national levels by providing a forum for discussion and study of subjects connected with planning.

LARIA was established to promote the role and practice of research within local government and provide a supportive network for those conducting or commissioning research. Membership is open to anyone working in research and intelligence for a local authority, or in an allied field.

The Local Government Association promotes the interests of English and Welsh local authorities. It aims to put local government at the heart of the drive to improve public services and to work with government to ensure that the policy, legislative and financial context in which they operate supports that objective.

Part of the research project, Public Services Reform in Scotland: current knowledge and future prospects. The site is used to disseminate and advertise the project's work and to serve as a forum for the Scottish Public Management Network (SPMN).

The Association of the 14 Scottish Lands Valuation Assessors and their senior staff exists to facilitate a consistency of approach in the administration of the valuation, council tax and electoral registration services in Scotland.

The Scottish Council for Development and Industry is an independent membership network which seeks to strengthen Scotland's competitiveness by influencing Government policies to encourage sustainable economic prosperity.

SCVO is the national body representing the voluntary sector. It seeks to advance the interests of the voluntary sector by fostering co-operation, promoting best practice and delivering sustainable services.

SLAINTE is an online service for library and information professionals in Scotland. The website combines the work of the two professional bodies for librarians in Scotland: the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland (CILIPS).

SCOTSS comprises professional officers representing every Scottish local authority trading standards service. Its aim is to properly co-ordinate the enforcement activities of discrete trading standards services across the country.

SCOTS gives policy advice and acts as a forum for the exchange of information on all policy matters affecting transportation including roads, traffic management, road safety, lighting, public transport and issues related to land use and development.

The professional association for ICT managers working in and for the public sector. It provides a forum for the promotion, use and development of ICT best practice and plays a significant role in the implementation of local e-government in the UK.

The Scottish Branch of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (UK) operates largely independently as the representative body for senior managers working within local government.

The key objectives of the Society of Local Authority Lawyers and Administrators in Scotland are to confer on matters relating to local government, to promote sound administrative and legal practice within Scottish local authorities and promote the knowledge and talents of its members.