All leaders and other stakeholders require to play their part in considering how the actions set out in this article can be taken forward and how gaps such as education, fellowship experience and media engagement can be addressed in the future.

Scotland is currently developing a nursing and midwifery research strategy. This paper briefly describes the process and the groundwork carried out so far. Consultation on initial proposals took place during May 2002 and, as this issue of NT Researchgoes to press, the responses are being collated. Further consultation will take place over the summer of 2002 and the strategy is due to be launched in Autumn 2002.

This article describes the application of a systematic approach to training needs analysis prior to a major change in practice. The authors suggest that such a systematic approach is a central component in the successful management of change.

In light of the current cost-orientated, rapidly changing health service, continuing education providers are challenged to achieve the greatest benefits for the service. Given this culture it is argued that it is essential for nurses to acquire the skills to continually learn, and that for managers there is seen to be a measurable change in a recommended practice or behaviour. To meet these challenges it is essential that continuing educators plan, implement and evaluate programmes in partnership with clinicians and managers. A literature review revealed that most evaluations did not address whether continuing education has resulted in a change in practice. This paper describes a study on the use of goal attainment scaling as an evaluation tool to measure changes in learner behaviour and as a means of promoting self-determination among the participants. It is proposed that goal attainment scaling can be used to measure changes in participant behaviour following an educational programme. In addition, this analysis of participant interviews indicates the tool's usefulness as a self-reporting instrument and this appears to foster the skills of self-assessment and appraisal of performance.

Nurses and midwives form the workforce that provides the greatest proportion of direct care to service users. They have the ability to make a significant impact not only on the quality and outcomes of patient care, but also on service users' and carers' perceptions of the care experience. It is therefore vital that nursing and midwifery practice has a robust knowledge and evidence base. The Scottish Executive Health Department, in partnership with other key stakeholders, launched in 2004 an 8 million pounds funding package for research and development capacity and capability initiatives for nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions. This article seeks to describe the process of engagement and partnership building that enabled this scheme to be developed. It will attempt to illustrate how the convergence of political, policy and professional agendas has provided the opportunity for nurses and midwives to set a direction of travel for research and development that will enable them to become key players within multidisciplinary research at United Kingdom and international levels.