Susan Smith is sceptical about the pulling power of OSCR's open board meetings but believes charities should consider following its lead anyway

The trains will be packed, traffic will come to a standstill and the Scottish hordes will descend on Dundee in a way not seen since the unveiling of the Desperate Dan statue. Never mind the opening of the V&A, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has announced it is to hold open board meetings.

One could be forgiven for thinking that as board meetings go, OSCR's may not be the most riveting, especially as the the genuinely juicy bits about ongoing investigations will still be discussed in private.

However, a quick look through the minutes of January’s meeting suggests some genuinely interesting looking discussions about the third sector environment, what makes a charity (or what doesn’t), and public trust and engagement with the sector. So, not just dry updates on the latest developments in charity accounts then.

OSCR’s announcement that it would be holding open board meetings from now on coincided with the release of its latest sector trust statistics. This suggested the Scottish public have not lost faith in charities over the last two years, despite negative media stories.

This is broadly similar to SCVO’strust research from the end of 2017, which did suggest a 9% drop in trust but maintained 73% of the public think Scottish charities are trustworthy.

But charities need to be aware that the hyper vigilant digital media generation will not continue to give their trust easily. As the existence of most charities depends on public good will, they need to keep their eye on this prize.

The truth is, the doors of Quadrant House (OSCR HQ) will stay firmly on their hinges despite the opportunity to hear its board members debate the implications of the Barclay Review. That doesn't matter, as OSCR’s demonstration of transparency is a great way to lead from the front – and for it, the prize will be to see other organisations follow its lead.

Understandably though, this may give pause for thought from some with vociferous and passionate members – it's hard to see how the National Trust for Scotland would get any work done at all.

Susan Smith is editor of Third Force News.