Biodiversity - strategic framework: consultation analysis

Research Method

Independent research company Wavehill was appointed in December 2023 to undertake a thorough, systematic and objective analysis of consultation responses received by the Scottish Government during the consultation period.

Analytical Approach

The authors of this report conducted a quantitative analysis of all closed responses and a detailed thematic analysis of all free-text responses to analyse the perspectives offered by respondents. This approach systematically examines each response, highlighting the themes and issues that are raised. Based on this analysis, the team was then able to explore how widely certain views and perspectives are held.

The analysis was undertaken in two distinct phases. The first phase included the development of a thematic framework which provided a structure through which to capture the issues and themes raised by respondents within and across all qualitative responses. The thematic framework is important because it sets out the range of issues and themes highlighted by respondents. Responses provided via email were manually inputted into the final dataset of responses relating to each section or question where relevant. Secondly, each response was analysed and mapped against the framework to determine the significance of each issue and perspective. This enabled the analysis to draw out the prevalence, including any areas of consensus or disagreement surrounding responses to the consultation questions and the documents.

The research team reviewed and coded responses received across different formats, including the consultation form, as well as unstructured responses submitted via email. This was followed by an exploration of the frequency of certain views or perspectives across responses to individual questions, identifying any emerging trends in responses within particular stakeholder groups (e.g. individual or organisational respondent). This enabled a more fine-grained analysis of responses that drills down into certain issues or priorities.

Terminology

Whilst the research team has quantitatively analysed open questions, to aid the reader, descriptive terminology is used to provide clarity and understanding as to the views captured during the consultation exercise. Details on how these terms are defined are provided below:

• Several/Many – more than 10 responses
• Few – fewer than 10 responses
• Majority – the greatest proportion of similar views expressed
• Some – used to illustrate or introduce an issue or theme but without specifying the amount or number.

Limitations

It is important to note some limitations regarding this analysis. The respondents who kindly contributed their views and perspectives are not necessarily representative of all views in Scotland. The self-selection of respondents increases the possibility that those who responded hold different views and perspectives from those that are found amongst people and communities from across Scotland more broadly. For example, for responses relating to proposed amendments to National Park legislation, it is likely that the sample of respondents is more favourable towards proposals strengthening the leadership role of National Parks in relation to the climate and biodiversity.

Responses varied in length and detail, which may be partly due to the wide-ranging nature of the proposals within the framework. This also acknowledges that some respondents will have an interest in all of the proposals, while others will wish to focus on those of greatest interest to them. Not all respondents answered every question, and it was not always possible to accurately determine their full position from the information provided.

We have therefore sought to communicate the balance of opinion qualitatively. We have only made statements of prevalence where clear patterns have emerged, e.g. where themes or sentiments are widely held amongst respondents, or if they are peripherally held only by a few. In this respect, qualitative terms are only indicative of opinions based on those who responded. Therefore, statements of prevalence should not be assumed to relate numerically back to the total number of people and organisations that responded to the consultation, or to the broader population.

Navigating this Report

This report presents a summary of the key themes and perspectives raised across responses to the consultation. It is structured against the consultation sections and questions.

Where relevant, sections and subsections may include a short summary of the proposals put forward in the consultation document that is set out in bold and surrounded by a green border, formatted like this text. This is designed to provide context and detail to aid comprehension of this report, which can be read without reference to the consultation document itself.

Subject to the publishing preference of the survey respondents, this report draws on extracts of responses to illustrate specific themes, ideas or issues raised. These are either attributed directly to the respondent or attributed anonymously as either an individual or an organisational response.