Pilot Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Spatial Plan. Summary.

Top Twenty Tips For Scottish Regional Marine Planning

1. From the earliest stage, determine what the partnership wants their plan to deliver taking time to establish a joint vision and set of objectives.

2. Set out clear steps to achieve outcomes desired with realistic timescales.

3. Be clear from the outset what funding is available and where it will be allocated.

4. Ensure existing 'Lessons Learned' reports and wider experiences of marine spatial planning are studied from the outset.

5. Small core Working Group works well: requires full-time staff with a mix of expertise including planning, project management, stakeholder engagement and environmental disciplines.

6. Wider advisory group helps keep progress on track, adherence to legal requirements and provides a range of expertise.

7. Need one person with good organisational skills to manage the whole project, supported by dedicated administrative staff.

8. Staff costs are the most significant resource therefore need to be aware of how much staff time will be required.

9. Start data gathering exercise early to provide an evidence base and to identify data gaps from the outset.

10. Additional studies at plan or sub-plan level may be required to address data gaps therefore need to ensure appropriate time and resources are allocated to them.

11. Identify the spatial approach at an early stage e.g. will the Plan identify opportunities for future development.

12. Establish a web based GIS system to support the marine spatial plan and provide up to date spatial data e.g. National Marine Plan interactive ( NMPi).

13. Significant data are now available on NMPi to provide baseline evidence.

14. Be clear from the outset what is required and who will lead on the various support documents required.

15. Have at least one person dedicated to stakeholder engagement activities e.g. a Plan Communications Officer.

16. Provide regular, short updates on progress via email or newsletter.

17. Consider innovative engagement methods to involve wider stakeholders beyond the 'useful suspects'.

18. Recording and addressing consultation responses requires significant time which should be appropriately built into the work programme.

19. Subsequent Marine Planning Partnerships should explore ways to streamline their plans and their plan making process e.g. overarching national guidance on generic issues.

20. Expectations of what can realistically be delivered needs to be carefully managed as the process of marine spatial planning evolves.