"Hello. I'm Karen Carlton, the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland. I work independently to monitor the way the Scottish Ministers make appointments to the boards of our public bodies. You could describe me as the public appointments watchdog, here to make sure Scotland has an open and fair appointments process driven by who you are, not who you know.
Scotland's public bodies are vital to our quality of life.
Without them we wouldn't have fresh drinking water or a national health service.
Without them we wouldn't have the collection of art housed in our national galleries, or the history housed in our national museums.
Without our public bodies who would protect our wildlife and scenery? Who would control pollution?
Jobs, health, education, justice, the environment, rural affairs, recreation, travel - public bodies contribute to our quality of life in all of these areas. They're vital to the well-being of Scotland and they need your help.
So, what could you do for Scotland's public bodies?
Public bodies are led by a board of non-executive directors, people who have applied and been appointed to their positions, just as you would apply for any job - a position on the board of one of Scotland's public bodies is open to anyone with the necessary skills and knowledge.
Scottish Ministers are committed to harnessing all the skills and talent the people of Scotland have to offer. So what you can do is apply to sit on one of these boards and help shape the future delivery of the services we all rely on.
This website will tell you how - good luck!"