National marine plan 2: engagement strategy

3. Vision for engagement and theory of change

3.1 Vision for engaging stakeholders on NMP2

Our vision for engaging stakeholders during the development of NMP2 reflects the lessons learnt and best practices on engagement across Marine Scotland Directorate and wider Scottish Government.

Our vision for engaging stakeholders during the development of NMP2 is:

"Everyone who uses, relies on or has an interest in Scotland's seas has the opportunity to inform decision-making in the marine space, and they embrace the National Marine Plan as a key resource to guide decision-making."

The vision is underpinned by outcomes for engaging stakeholders during the planning process, and the actions we will take to achieve those outcomes.

3.2 Outcomes for engaging stakeholders and actions we will take

The outcomes presented in the "Theory of Change"^[5] in Table 1 outline what we want to achieve by engaging stakeholders on the development of NMP2, and shape the style and scope of the engagement activities we will undertake. Table 1 also includes example actions we will take to deliver on these outcomes.

The actions provided in Table 1 are not exhaustive, rather, they provide an indication of the types of engagement we will undertake with specific stakeholders and throughout the entire plan development process. A timetable of proposed stakeholder engagement activities, including target stakeholders and methods for engagement, is also provided in Annex A.

Table 1: Theory of change highlighting key outcomes and associated actions for stakeholder engagement throughout the development of NMP2.

Vision for engaging stakeholders during the development of NMP2

• Everyone who uses, relies on or has an interest in Scotland's seas has the opportunity to inform decision-making in the marine space, and they embrace the National Marine Plan as a key resource to guide decision-making.

Outcomes – the long-term changes we want to see as a result of our actions

• Stakeholders understand the planning process and the effect and practical implications of NMP2.
• There is sustained and proportionate engagement from stakeholders throughout the planning process.
• There is a shared understanding of interests and priorities among stakeholders and officials.
• Stakeholders feel that their voices have been heard in the process of developing NMP2.
• Stakeholders have all of the information they need to participate, in an appropriate form.
• A wide variety of stakeholders are engaged on the development of NMP2.
• Power dynamics among stakeholder groups are managed so that there is appropriate and proportionate participation from all users of Scotland's seas.

Outputs – what we hope to deliver as a result of our actions

• The NMP2 Stakeholder Engagement Strategy meets statutory requirements for consultation applicable to the NMP and outlines our expectations for stakeholder engagement.
• The new NMP2 online hub is a 'one-stop-shop' for all updates on the planning process.
• There is a record of stakeholder feedback on the plan development, including how feedback has been taken into account, for each stage of the planning process.
• There is a record of stakeholder feedback on the engagement process, including how feedback has been taken into account.
• There are surveys at stakeholder engagement meetings, workshops and events to keep track of who is participating and whether they perceive the engagement to be effective.

Actions – an indication of what we will do to achieve our intended vision

• We will identify existing fora for marine stakeholders and stay informed of the feedback shared therein.
• We will provide updates at each stage of the planning process.
• We will design and tailor engagement activities based on stakeholder groups and interests.
• We will be active in responding to stakeholder enquiries, and balance this alongside our proactive engagement plans.
• We will keep track of who participates in stakeholder engagement meetings, workshops and events.
• Officials working on the plan will take training and development on conflict resolution and engagement.

The theory of change outlined in Table 1 is based on the assumption that all stakeholders invited to take part in the development of NMP2 have the capacity and resources to participate in the activities we have proposed.

We also acknowledge that there may be factors beyond our control that do not allow for our proposed planning timelines to be met, and that we will do our best to adjust our stakeholder engagement activities as appropriate, and with advance notice to stakeholders.

3.3 Principles that will guide our engagement with stakeholders

In order to deliver the vision and outcomes for engaging stakeholders outlined in Sections 3.1 and 3.2, and reflect the lessons acquired from previous efforts, we commit to carrying out engagement that is:

• inclusive; ensuring that a broad and diverse range of stakeholder groups have the opportunity to share their views at various stages of plan development.
• targeted; carrying out effective and efficient engagement to avoid repetition and fatigue, but still gather valuable insight and knowledge from stakeholders.
• transparent; taking a strategic and consistent approach to engagement, by publishing updates at each stage of plan development and communicating how feedback has been taken into account.

We recognise that different stakeholder groups have distinct needs, interests and capacities, and have proposed a suite of engagement activities that reflect these differences. The precise level of stakeholder engagement will depend on the stage of NMP2 development. Engagement levels could range from basic informative updates to active cooperation.

We also understand that our engagement with stakeholders throughout the national marine planning process needs to stay flexible. Stakeholder interests may change or emerge throughout the planning process (e.g. due to new or emerging industries, innovation in existing practices). Therefore, the example actions listed in Table 1, as well as stakeholder engagement timetable outlined in the SPP in Annex A, are necessarily high-level. The Marine Scotland Directorate will provide more detailed information on specific activities and events in the coming months. We commit to the vision, outcomes and principles for stakeholder engagement outlined here as a guide, and will monitor progress towards these outcomes as we move through the plan development process.

3.4 How we will measure our progress against these outcomes during the national marine planning process

We plan to carry out light-touch monitoring of the outcomes outlined in Section 3.2 to ensure that our approach to stakeholder engagement is inclusive, targeted and transparent.

We intend to monitor:

Indicator: Level of stakeholder understanding of the planning process and NMP2

Monitoring mechanism: Pre- and post-meeting/workshop/event surveys

Indicator: Level of participation across stakeholder groups, interests and diversity indicators (e.g. age, gender, etc.)

Monitoring mechanism: Meeting/workshop/event attendance lists, analysis of existing stakeholder databases

Indicator: Stakeholder validation of engagement findings and feedback

Monitoring mechanism: Citizen Space consultation feedback

Indicator: Level of satisfaction in the planning process

Monitoring mechanism: Pre- and post-meeting/workshop/event surveys; Citizen Space consultation feedback

Indicator: Level of understanding and use of NMP2 by relevant authorities

Monitoring mechanism: Post adoption: number of times NMP2 is accurately referenced in licensing and consenting applications