Radio nan Gàidheal is a comprehensive speech and music service for Gaelic speakers aimed at a wide range of audiences in Scotland with output covering a wide range of genres.

Radio nan Gàidheal provides an accurate and independent news service and plays a central role in reporting and scrutinising national political life. It provides platforms where issues can be tackled and debated by listeners and experts. The service supports Scottish and Gaelic music and arts, and offers local, national and international news and analysis in Gaelic, topical debate and features, programming for children and young people, and religious programmes. It promotes digital technologies to audiences and uses them to encourage audience interaction.

This year the priorities for Radio nan Gàidheal include:

Priority	Rationale
Maintain the service's overall audience reach.	In an increasingly fragmented media environment, this is an increasingly challenging target.
Provide substantial broadcast reporting and analysis of the Scottish parliamentary and local elections in May, including daily campaign coverage, analysis of the key campaign issues and a simulcast TV/radio community debate offering the audience access to representatives of the political parties.	A core element in delivering an accurate, impartial and independent news and current affairs service for our audiences, and in enabling our audiences to hold those in power to account. Even more vital where audiences are scattered.
Develop and commission content with cross-platform potential. We will build on the experience of the recent multi-platform commission Rapal, pilot a weekly satirical news review format on radio with a view to development on television and, in Highland Year of Culture 2007, make innovative use of archive online to support multi-media output .	The natural progression of BBC Scotland's wider objective to work with the Gaelic Media Service and relevant bodies to develop a partnership for the delivery of a Gaelic digital service (launch subject to approval).

Sustaining citizenship and civil society
Radio nan Gàidheal will continue to provide an impartial news service, combining reporting and analysis with individual and community involvement, with a particular focus on those issues that interest and affect Gaelic audiences. Other speech programming, such as Coinneach Maciomhair, will provide insights into issues and aspects of contemporary Scotland. News will be scheduled at major junctions in the schedule, with bulletins broadcast frequently across the day. Political coverage such as Aithris na Maidne and Aithris na Seachdain will focus on Scottish affairs but will also cover the Westminster and European parliaments.

Radio nan Gàidheal will offer a platform for the Gaelic-speaking communities of Scotland. It will, as appropriate, version the BBC's wider media literacy initiatives for its own audiences.

This year we will:

• Provide analysis and opportunities for debate of Scottish parliamentary and local election campaign issues which are important to the Radio nan Gàidheal audience and offer live, continuous coverage and analysis of election results as they are announced.

Representing the UK's nations, regions and communities
Radio nan Gàidheal broadcasts to the whole of Scotland, including its island communities, and reflects the diverse lives of its listeners through its output, including events, ceremonies and anniversaries of national significance. Throughout 2007/2008 we will continue to interact with our audiences through outreach at a local level and encourage them to participate in our programmes through phone-ins and staged debates, giving voice to a range of viewpoints. We will use our sites on bbc.co.uk/alba to extend this work.

We will continue to offer past and present-day reflections on place and the Gaelic community through individual programmes and programme series which will focus on rural and urban issues.

We will also work to broaden our reach and appeal to younger sections of the audience, developing cross-media potential with programmes such as Rapal, and developing skills among children and young people through outreach work in schools and in conjunction with partner organisations.

Promoting education and learning
Radio nan Gàidheal will continue to provide opportunities for informal learning across a wide range of subjects in our features, factual and documentary output. In particular we will broadcast formal and informal education series that support Gaelic learning and development, including programming for primary stage pupils to stimulate reading, speaking and listening (in a transition year for the Scottish educational curriculum).

We will continue to support language learners and produce a variety of output which offers informal learning opportunities for adults, in collaboration with external agencies and organisations. This will include encouraging and supporting Gaelic writing in partnership with the Gaelic Books Council.

As appropriate, we will participate in pan-BBC social action campaigns in Scotland, adapting them where necessary to enhance their appeal to our particular audiences.

Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence
Radio nan Gàidheal will continue to nurture and build appreciation of traditional and contemporary Scottish culture and provide a platform for the best of Scottish talent and creativity. We will offer platforms for people and passions, seeking to allow new voices to be heard and discovering and supporting writing, musical and entertainment talent.

This year our schedule will offer special programmes and themed weeks to complement events taking place under the banner of Highland Year of Culture 2007.

Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK
Radio nan Gàidheal brings the world to the UK though its regular coverage of international events and issues in its news and current affairs output. It brings Scotland to the world by making Radio nan Gàidheal content available on bbc.co.uk.

Emerging communications
Radio nan Gàidheal output can be found on digital radio and is streamed live on the internet, with a large proportion available on the Listen Again online facility, within a seven-day window. We strive to make innovative content for younger sections of the Scottish audience, for delivery via broadband and mobile devices. bbc.co.uk/alba encourages audience interaction and media literacy and introduces users to related content and services.

Reach: Radio nan Gàidheal should contribute towards the maintenance of combined BBC weekly reach for all BBC services at over 90% by aiming to maintain its own weekly reach.

Quality: Audience perceptions of Radio nan Gàidheal as high quality and innovative. Also, the proportion of originated programmes across all hours (including repeats).

Impact: Audience perceptions of Radio nan Gàidheal as engaging and challenging.

Value for money: Radio nan Gàidheal's cost per listener hour.