Step 1. Form the project core team - Participatory Assessment

Summary

Once the need for a strategy has emerged on a territory in answer to an environmental issue, the first step is to identify the project core team that will lead the process. It can be one stakeholder or more often and more efficiently, a partnership between managers or regulators and scientists. This project core group or team will run the participatory assessment and will be in charge of the stakeholder engagement. This group has to be legitimated in its action on the territory for the project to be efficient.

For example, most European projects funding ask for stakeholder engagement in the project to ensure that the research is relevant to society.

This has led to many case studies originated and led by scientists, with a top-down approach of research choosing the environmental issue and presenting their results and solutions to stakeholders with a quite nominal implication (Voinov and Bousquet, 2010). For example, the framework of ecosystem services valuation – developed to support sustainable decision making and tradeoffs – has inspired a lot of academic literature but not that many ‘real life’ utilisation (Laurans et al, 2013)

Various reasons or events may lead to address environmental issues such as biodiversity loss, water quality, floods, fires…

For example:

Issue arising from public awareness
Development of a land-use plan
Elaboration or implementation of a public policy
Recurrent issue dealt with on an ongoing basis by an institution
Crisis
Scientific questioning or awareness-raising on a specific issue

Once the need for a management strategy has arisen in an area in response to an environmental issue, the first step is to identify the core project team that will lead the process.

Most European project funding requires stakeholder engagement to ensure that the research is relevant to society. This has meant that many case studies are initiated and led by scientists, with a top-down approach of researchers selecting the environmental issue and presenting their results and solutions to stakeholders with rather nominal involvement[47]. For example, the ecosystem services valuation framework – developed to support sustainable decision-making and trade-offs – has inspired much academic literature but not much ‘real-life’ application[30].

For the participatory assessment to be effective, the leadership of the project should be carefully chosen. It may be a single stakeholder or, more often and more effectively, a partnership between managers – or regulators – and scientists. This group or core project team will lead the participatory assessment and be responsible for involving stakeholders. This core team must be legitimised in its action in the territory for the project to be effective.

Solid and balanced project leadership between management and science is essential to achieve strong stakeholder engagement and relevant perspectives on the issues at stake.

For additional information

Download the PDF of the roadmap
The project

Date: November 2017-2020

This work has been funded through the ALICE project. ALICE is a project funded in 75% by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the umbrella of INTERREG Atlantic Area with the application code: EAPA_261/2016. The 11 partners involved in the project are from Portugal, Spain, Northern Ireland, France, The Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The three-year project started in November 2017 has cost 3 million euros with 25% covered by the beneficiary partners.

Credits: Denis Bailly, Johanna Ballé, Klervi Fustec, Juliette Herry, Michel Lample, Manuelle Philippe.

[Next Step] [PHASE 1]

A territory-science partnership

In the “Couesnon watershed” ALICE case study, an initial partnership was established between two scientists – a geographer and an ecologist – and the local water management body – SAGE Couesnon (water development and management scheme) – to address strategies for Blue and Green Infrastructure Network (BGIN) implementation.

After preliminary discussions, the project team identified that the governmental body in charge of planning BGIN strategies of the territory was the SCOT (Schéma de cohérence territoriale), a strategic planning tool at the inter-municipal scale. The director of the SCOT of the city of Fougères and coordinator of other municipalities of the Couesnon catchment area as well as a representative of a government agency were invited to join the ALICE project process.
This core team of Science-SAGE-SCOT-Government Agency brought a wealth of perspectives to the process to discuss BGIN strategies in the Couesnon catchment. This partnership allowed the scientific team to co-construct landscape management simulation models, particularly regarding the scenario building aspect, with four workshops organised with a large forum involving local managers.
The director of the SAGE Couesnon emphasised the importance of close collaboration between researchers and local partners throughout the process and before the workshops.
The BGIN assessment was finally presented to a panel of more than ninety elected officials, state representatives and various local bodies at a feedback meeting in April 2021.