Bridging the national and local in landscape decision making: building effective regional partnerships that deliver on climate policy objectives
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Geosciences
Abstract
Research Translation Fellowship supporting the development of Regional Land Use Partnerships in Scotland
The development of Regional Land Use Partnerships (by 2021, and their associated Frameworks by 2023) is a Scottish Government commitment, given urgency by the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2019. The core purpose is to drive delivery of the land use decisions needed to meet the 2030 and 2045 climate targets. These innovative Regional Land Use Partnerships will be put in place across all regions of Scotland. They will be the primary mechanism for delivering strategic land use decision-making that also meets climate policy objectives in Scotland. They will help implement the principles of Scotland's Land Use Strategy and Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement. The current context provides an open and radical space to deliver change. Scotland, and the wider UK, have ambitious climate targets, a generational shift in expectations, a re-design of public funding models, emerging natural capital finance, community empowerment; and an opportunity to do this well.
The objective of this Fellowship is to feed cutting edge landscape decisions research into the design of these institutions, by linking into the growing landscape decisions research community. It will help to strengthen the role of research and evidence in these crucial processes. The Fellow will work closely alongside the Scottish Land Commission - the main organisation tasked with advising the Scottish Parliament on the objectives of the new Partnerships and in helping the regions with their design. Key questions they are considering include how should partnership be governed? What is their strategic fit in terms of their relationships to existing policies and institutions? What will their data and information requirements be? What are the resource requirements for effective implementation and how might these link to incentives and regulation? Overlying all these questions is how these institutions can be structured to ensure more strategic land use decision making.
The research translation activities will take three forms: 1) Translating research findings from work that has recently been commissioned (e.g. on international experience in regional land use planning) along with other relevant landscapes decisions research into products (e.g. policy briefs targetted at Local Authorities) that help inform the governance structures of new Partnerships. 2) Designing and implementing processes to share knowledge between Partnerships as they develop, and to feed in other relevant landscapes decisions research to address specific governance challenges (e.g. how Partnerships might be structured to access new areas of capital such as climate finance whilst accounting for trade-offs between land uses). 3) Provision of thematic technical advice based on the Fellow's core areas of technical expertise and making links through the Landscapes Decisions Programme. The Fellow will also share insights from these processes with the wider UK landscapes decisions community through participation in conferences and the production of a research translation report that captures insights from the process.
The development of Regional Land Use Partnerships (by 2021, and their associated Frameworks by 2023) is a Scottish Government commitment, given urgency by the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2019. The core purpose is to drive delivery of the land use decisions needed to meet the 2030 and 2045 climate targets. These innovative Regional Land Use Partnerships will be put in place across all regions of Scotland. They will be the primary mechanism for delivering strategic land use decision-making that also meets climate policy objectives in Scotland. They will help implement the principles of Scotland's Land Use Strategy and Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement. The current context provides an open and radical space to deliver change. Scotland, and the wider UK, have ambitious climate targets, a generational shift in expectations, a re-design of public funding models, emerging natural capital finance, community empowerment; and an opportunity to do this well.
The objective of this Fellowship is to feed cutting edge landscape decisions research into the design of these institutions, by linking into the growing landscape decisions research community. It will help to strengthen the role of research and evidence in these crucial processes. The Fellow will work closely alongside the Scottish Land Commission - the main organisation tasked with advising the Scottish Parliament on the objectives of the new Partnerships and in helping the regions with their design. Key questions they are considering include how should partnership be governed? What is their strategic fit in terms of their relationships to existing policies and institutions? What will their data and information requirements be? What are the resource requirements for effective implementation and how might these link to incentives and regulation? Overlying all these questions is how these institutions can be structured to ensure more strategic land use decision making.
The research translation activities will take three forms: 1) Translating research findings from work that has recently been commissioned (e.g. on international experience in regional land use planning) along with other relevant landscapes decisions research into products (e.g. policy briefs targetted at Local Authorities) that help inform the governance structures of new Partnerships. 2) Designing and implementing processes to share knowledge between Partnerships as they develop, and to feed in other relevant landscapes decisions research to address specific governance challenges (e.g. how Partnerships might be structured to access new areas of capital such as climate finance whilst accounting for trade-offs between land uses). 3) Provision of thematic technical advice based on the Fellow's core areas of technical expertise and making links through the Landscapes Decisions Programme. The Fellow will also share insights from these processes with the wider UK landscapes decisions community through participation in conferences and the production of a research translation report that captures insights from the process.
Publications
Peskett L
(2023)
Regional scale integrated land use planning to meet multiple objectives: Good in theory but challenging in practice
in Environmental Science & Policy
Reed, M. S.
(2022)
Land Use Partnerships using a natural capital approach: lessons for Scotland
| Description | The award has helped to feed in research and evidence on environmental governance into the development of new regional land use planning partnerships in Scotland. The different activities, including reviews of learning from existing partnerships, facilitated knowledge exchange partnerships between those involved in the new partnerships, and higher level, more critical research on the policy process, have, according to feedback, helped strengthen the process. Whilst the policies are still in development, it has had tangible results, for example, by helping to determine the relationship of new land use partnerships to existing institutions in one of the regions where they are being piloted. This should help to reduce duplication and deliver a more coherent regional strategy. The project also looked more broadly at whether new regional scale institutions can help to deliver more integrated land use that delivers economic, social and environmental benefits at large scales. Using Scotland as a case study, this demonstrated the huge challenges involved in delivery and particularly the importance of strong political leadership, devolution of decision making powers to regional levels, and sufficient resourcing. Without these three things, initiatives like this are likely to fail. This has large implications because many countries are relying on well integrated land management to scale up 'nature-based solutions' that will help to address the climate change and biodiversity emergencies. This work is written up as a journal article currently under review in Environmental Science and Policy journal. |
| Exploitation Route | The outcomes are relevant for many similar initiatives in the wider UK (e.g. current debates about an English Land Use Framework and associated regional pilots) and globally. The research framework and participatory action research approach proved useful tools for understanding policy evolution and impact at regional scale, and could be useful to tracking and understanding development in other areas. The methods are written up in the accompanying journal article that is currently under review. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Description | This is a 'Research Translation' Fellowship in collaboration with the Scottish Government so most of my 'findings' are a synthesis of existing research. Through the production of written products and facilitation of lesson-sharing events between policy practitioners and researchers, the findings have helped to shape the development of Scotland's Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs). The work has helped to inform policy makers about the options and issues - for example, one government partner commented that it has been "really useful for giving us an understanding of existing partnerships in Scotland and the related issues, as well as outlining some of the key questions we'll definitely need to consider". Attendees at the workshops have found them "very useful" or "useful" in helping them to think about the form of the new RLUPs. The findings are also being used more directly in regional implementation - one of the counterparts at regional level commented that a report helping to outline the governance structure of the new partnership is "excellent" and will help to define the structure for this ambitious new institution with and evidence-based approach. The report helped directly in the decision to incorporate the new RLUP into the Regional Economic Strategy, in order to better integrate the environment into decision making, reduce duplication, and improve coordination. The report draws on the results of my synthesis work along with new primary data based on interviews with stakeholders. Covid has been a significant challenge to the work, which has been conducted solely online. Given that the project is focussed on research translation, it would have been easier to build relationships through in-person meetings, but the online process has been a good supplement, which has allowed the project to progress. I have synthesised the work in a journal article that is currently under review for Environmental Science and Policy journal. This takes a broader and critical review of the Scottish Government's approach to integrated land use planning to help meet multiple objectives. The draft has been shared with the government and we expect further engagement with them once the work is published, as we suspect that the findings might support discussions with stakeholders about the progress of the approach. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Influence on South of Scotland Regional Land Use Partnership institutional structure |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | The work has helped to clarify the links between different policy processes in the region and particularly the links between economic and environmental/land use strategies. |
| Description | Landscape Decisions Programme: Policy Interface Fellowship |
| Amount | £67,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Heriot-Watt University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2022 |
| End | 07/2023 |
| Description | James Hutton Institute, workshop facilitation |
| Organisation | James Hutton Institute |
| Department | Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I have led the development of three knowledge exchange workshops (intellectual lead, management and writing up), two of which JHI staff have co-hosted. I have led the development of a paper on regional land use partnerships, currently in review in Environmental Science and Policy journal. |
| Collaborator Contribution | JHI staff have helped with intellectual input on the content of the workshops, facilitation and edits on the write ups. JHI have contributed intellectual input on the content of the journal article. |
| Impact | Three knowledge exchange workshops (15-20 people) along with detailed event reports with actions for central and local government participants. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Scotland's Rural College, Natural Capital in RLUPs |
| Organisation | Scotland's Rural College |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Research input, review and advice on a report and guidance that is being produced on the integration of natural capital into land use planning. Attendance at regular team meetings to help with this task. I feed in learning from my UKRI Fellowship into this project as it is highly complementary. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Leading the research process and the production of the report. |
| Impact | Still in draft form |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Scottish Government, Directorate for Agriculture and the Rural Economy |
| Organisation | Government of Scotland |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I conducted research and research synthesis work for an internal discussion paper to help guide teams within Scottish Government and Local Authorities responsible for developing the new Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs) in Scotland. This combined synthesis of existing research on land use partnerships in the UK and more broadly, with more detailed primary research on 13 existing Scottish land use partnerships (as I discovered significant gaps in the literature). This paper received extremely positive feedback from my government counterparts. I have also written a public policy brief targeted at wider policy makers and stakeholders with an interest in the new Regional Land Use Partnerships in Scotland. I planned and organised three knowledge exchange workshops between June 2021 and Feb 2022. These involved key decision-makers from Scottish Government, Local Authorities/National Parks and existing land use partnerships in Scotland. Each workshop includes a detailed written report (internal, given confidentiality concerns) capturing key insights, recommendations and actions that are helping to guide the government process. The feedback from the workshops has been extremely positive and their have been follow up requests for the report. Reports available on request. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Scottish Government team have held regular monthly meetings with me to discuss their research translation needs, and the needs of the land use partnership pilots they are funding. They have provided access to the monthly meetings they hold with the pilots and to key colleagues at regional level. They have also helped shape the three knowledge exchange workshops and have hosted them on my behalf to ensure good integration between my project and their process. |
| Impact | - Discussion paper on land use partnerships, reviewing evidence from the literature and from existing partnerships in Scotland - Policy brief on land use partnerships - Three knowledge exchange workshops with 10-20 participants each |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Climate Emergency Response Group (CERG) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Facilitating a session on future land use as part of the Climate Emergency Response Group (CERG). This is an influential group of leaders from Scottish public and private organisations providing advice to government on a rapid transition to net-zero. The Group's recommendations have previously been influential in Scottish Policy, e.g. in the actions listed in the Programme for Government, though not aware of specific impacts from this report yet. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://cerg.scot/new-report-scotlands-civic-and-business-leaders-challenge-scottish-government-to-a... |
| Description | Contribution to Special Advisory Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I have been working with the team leading a Special Advisory Group of land acquisition for carbon, providing research inputs, review and facilitation. Around 70 people joined a roundtable on this topic to develop recommendations targeted at various government processes, such as committees developing rules for post-Brexit agricultural funding schemes in the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Seminar at James Hutton Institute |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Seminar presentation to the research group, which sparked collaboration on a series of workshops with policymakers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Technical support to South of Scotland Enterprise |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I have been working with the Steering Group (7 people) at South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) which is developing a new regional land use partnership (RLUP). I have been translating relevant research to support the group in its decision making, through providing evidence-based policy recommendations and options for the structure of the partnership. The work is ongoing, so there has not been impact on decisions as yet. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Webinar on natural capital mapping and modelling tools in strategic land use planning processes |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was a 2-hour webinar with participants from the Scottish Government and 5 regional bodies in Scotland (groups of local authorities/NGOs/national parks). I presented research work carried out during the Fellowship on the application of natural capital mapping and modelling processes in strategic land use planning. This gave an overview of the different tools available and presented case studies. The aim was to help inform the approaches used by the 5 regions in their pilot work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.climatexchange.org.uk/research/projects/land-use-partnerships-using-a-natural-capital-ap... |
| Description | Workshops with Scottish Government |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Developing and running a series of lesson sharing workshops with central and local government policy makers as part of their formal network meetings. These have helped to guide the government's work programme. Feedback from all of the staff present: all of them found it 'Very interesting or 'Interesting' and 'Very useful' or 'Useful' for their work. One participant stressed the value of the workshop in their free comments: "Such meetings are really important... The RLUP's must deliver real benefits on the ground." Participants gave useful written feedback on their future needs, which I am using to plan my next outputs and ensure they are demand-led. Participants from central Scottish Government also gave positive feedback, such as: "The facilitative environment was really useful from a Central Government point of view, as things surfaced that wouldn't have done otherwise." and "it went really well normally some pilots don't say much but this helped draw out new things". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |