Offshore renewables - social impact: two way conversation with the people of Scotland

Appendix 3: Final Round 1 Dialogue Process Plan

CORR/5536 A two way Conversation with the people of Scotland on the Social Impact of Offshore Renewables

Dialogue Objectives

The Project A Two Way Conversation with the People of Scotland on the Social Impacts of Offshore Renewables, aims:

To engage with the people of Scotland in areas of renewable energy potential, through a series of public dialogue sessions, to explore the social impact of renewables development, using a process that is mutually beneficial in line with Sciencewise guiding principles.

The central driver and focus for the Project are the six main challenges defined by Marine Scotland, which set its broad context. We have used the various issues raised within the challenges to identify objectives for the dialogue project overall, as well as specific objectives for the dialogue events.

The Round 1 events are expected to achieve the project’s objectives by generating the key outputs shown in Table A3.1.

Table A3.1: Relationship between challenges, objectives and Round 1 Dialogue Outputs

Challenges to address

1. Open Policy Making - giving the public the opportunity to participate and influence policy

Objectives for the dialogue

To design and run a dialogue process that gives members of the public the opportunity to identify and assess the social values that could be impacted by the development of offshore renewables.

To understand how members of the public would like to engage with Marine Scotland consultations with respect to the social impacts of offshore renewables.

To incorporate information from the dialogue into policy-making.

Round 1 Dialogue Outputs

i. A record of the event that reflects a high level of engagement and participation by all public participants.

ii. A list of physical features, activities and relationships that public participants value in their lives (also addresses Challenge 3).

iii. Reflections by public participants on how they think about valued and important features of their lives.

iv. Exploration by public participants of realistic scenarios for the installation of offshore renewables technology and how this might affect the things they value, including both positive as well as negative aspects.

v. Suggestions from public participants of things that would facilitate and improve their future engagement with Marine Scotland on the social impacts of offshore renewables.

Challenges to address

2. Getting the right representation

Objectives for the dialogue

To involve a wider audience not previously engaged about marine development issues.

Round 1 Dialogue Outputs

vi. The social characteristics of the public participants at each event provide a fair reflection of the composition of the local community.

Challenges to address

3. Asking the right questions – assessing

Social Impact

Objectives for the dialogue

To develop and try out new approaches to understanding and assessing social impacts that are able to account for complex social interactions and heterogeneous communities and that reflects lived experience.

Round 1 Dialogue Outputs

[A list of physical features and relationships that public participants value in their lives (Also addresses Challenge 1)]

Challenges to address

4. Meeting multiple policy objectives

Objectives for the dialogue

To provide a wider understanding of what people value and their aspirations for the future, as a basis for assessing social impacts in other policy areas.

Round 1 Dialogue Outputs

vii. [Reflections by public participants on wider societal impacts of offshore renewables (Partially covered in Round 1. Also addresses Challenge 6) ]

Challenges to address

5. Up skilling

Objectives for the dialogue

To provide Marine Scotland Marine Scotland staff with experience of engaging in two-way conversations with members of the public.

Round 1 Dialogue Outputs

viii. Staff from Marine Scotland participate as specialists in the dialogue events.

Challenges to address

6. Interacting with other research

Objectives for the dialogue

To consider the socio-economic impacts of marine offshore renewables in the context of other areas of marine policy and planning and how public dialogue could be developed for these.

Round 1 Dialogue Outputs

[Reflections by public participants on wider societal impacts of offshore renewables. (Partially covered in Round 1. Also addresses Challenge 4)]

Of these outputs, (i), (vi) and (viii) will be delivered over the whole day. Outputs (ii) – (v) and (vii) will be delivered by specific exercises.

Dialogue Participants

The Round 1 dialogue events will bring together a group of around 15 public participants and up to 3 specialist participants in six different locations.

Process Plan

The dialogue event will run from 10 am to 4 pm, with two breaks for tea and coffee and one longer lunch break during the day.

The Process Plan in the table below sets out the timing and description of each activity, the materials to be used, the team members and /or experts to be involved in it and its expected outputs.

Time

08.00

Activity

Set up

Set up venue – move furniture, set up IT equipment, put out materials, check facilities, etc

Person responsible

Facilitation Team: CTR, DA, DB, RL

Time

09.00

Activity

Briefing for specialists

Short review of role and how the day will run in the venue. Specialists will already have received the process plan and briefing for specialists and have had the opportunity to talk through the plan and any queries with a member of the Project Team.

Materials

Briefing for specialists sheet

Person responsible

Lead Facilitator

Time

09.30

Activity

Registration, tea and coffee

Materials

Registration List

Activity

Individually welcome participants, get them to register, provide them with materials

Before and After Exercise [Three flip charts, each with a question and a scale^[44]

Expectations Exercise [Blank postcard for participants to imagine they are writing to a friend about what they are expecting from the day – put in box for facilitators to use afterwards]

Materials

Badges

3 Flipchart sheets with Before/After exercise

Post cards (18)

Person responsible

Support Facilitators

Time

10.00

Activity

Session 1: Welcome and introductions (25 mins)

• Health and Safety information
• Welcome and introduction by the facilitator
  • Event is part of a project commissioned by Marine Scotland and Sciencewise to engage with the people of Scotland in areas of renewable energy potential in order to explore the ways that the development of offshore renewable energy technologies could affect people’s lives.
• Introductions around the room (public participants, specialists, facilitation team and independent evaluator. (7 mins)
• Marine Scotland introduction
  • What MS is doing on renewable energy
  • Why MS is doing it
  • When communities can participate
  • Why understanding how the social aspects of people’s lives will be affected (alongside environmental and economic factors) is important.
  • How the input from the dialogue will be used. (10 mins)

  Clarifications (3 mins)

• What dialogue is and the role of Sciencewise (2 mins)
• Facilitator goes through programme for the day
  • Breaks, end time,
• Payment of incentives
• Ground rules (3 mins)

Materials

[NB: If possible put all the slides into a single file or same folder]

Slides: Facilitator’s slides

Slides: introduction to the dialogues

Facilitator slides – programme, ground rules

Person responsible

Note-taker (throughout session):

Support Facilitator

Lead Facilitator

Marine Scotland Specialist

SciencewiseLead Facilitator

Lead Facilitator

Time

10.25

Activity

Session 2 Exercise What is important to you

Session 2A Individual pictures

Lead Facilitator: We want to know what is important to you, what are the things that you care about. We are going to work in two groups for this first exercise.

Move into two groups

Facilitators: The sheet of paper in front of you shows a person at the centre of a series of increasingly large circles. Imagine that you are that person. Please draw/write the things that you value in the circles around you. The first circle represents things/people/places/activities /environments that you value the most or are most important to you and the second and third circles represent the things/people/places/ activities/environments that you value but to lesser degrees.

Feel free to write/draw whatever comes into your head - there are no right or wrong answers. We can give you some ideas to help you think about what you might put in your picture and feel free to discuss/share your thoughts within your group or in pairs to help you develop your picture.

(1 min)

Facilitators prompt people to think about what’s important to them and in relation to the things they do:

• on a daily basis
• free time & weekends
• at other times

(9 mins total)

Prompts for group:

• You’ve identified places and physical things. What about other things that are important like activities, views, etc? Do you have to be able to see, visit or experience things for them to be important?

  (5 mins)

Recorder at each group takes notes of conversations, comments etc.

Materials

18 A3 sheets of paper with 3 concentric circles

Thin pens

Marker pens

Kitchen timer

[Set timer for 15 mins]

Tape recorders (2)

Person responsible

Lead Facilitator

Lead Facilitators

Support Facilitators

Time

10.40

Activity

Session 2B: Building your Community - Mapping the things that are important to you

Facilitators: Now that you all have your personalised pictures of what is important to you, we would like you to look at them in relation to a place. This is an imaginary place that doesn’t actually exist, but we have given it characteristics that are typical of lots of places on the Scottish coast.

In this next exercise we would like you, as a group, to create ‘a location or community’ that supports the range of values or the things that are important for you. Using this map of the hypothetical location which has a coastline, small settlement (c. 6,000 inhabitants), some hamlets, links to larger towns, plus a few environmental, urban and transport infrastructure elements, please make it into a place where you could live by putting in the things that you said you value.

Please use the icons to represent places and activities– if you can find the pictures you need, take those icons. We also have blank ones in different colours that you can draw or write on if you can’t find a particular picture. If the icon is not quite right, feel free to change it to make it what you want. You can also write explanations on the icons or on post-its.

(5 mins to find initial icons)

Now let’s see where the things you value go on the map. So for example: Let’s take one of the things on your personal picture, say ‘work’. What places or physical things do you associate with work? (e.g. places of work such as port, farm, train station to get to the city etc). Are there any key places of work for this location? (e.g. ferry, fishing, farming? Do people commute?). Can you put these ‘work’ icons on the map to show those locations?

Please note; If you don’t think that there are any physical places or things associated with your value, please write that on a post-it and stick it at the edge of the map.

Let’s see what you have got (invite someone to start by showing an icon they have chosen). Go round the others to see if they have something similar. When no more similar icons, ask people to put their icons on the map where they think is right and comment on where they have put them. Repeat this process for other values, with a different participant starting each time, until there are no further icons to discuss. (15 mins)

Let’s look at what we have got:

• Any general comments on this hypothetical community?
• Any comments on why / how you selected your icons – did you go for any particular types of pictures or colour coding? Have any icons or icon categories been selected more frequently than others?
• Are there things that are missing?

  (5 mins)

Materials

Plain Map with Icons with general categories of things and plain icons in different colours

Blutac/stands to stick icons

Range of pens

Post-its

Tape recorders (2)

(Set timer to 5 mins]

[Set timer for 15 mins]

Tape recorders (2)

Materials

Plain Map with Icons with general categories of things and plain icons in different colours

Blutac/stands to stick icons

Range of pens

Post-its

Tape recorders (2)

(Set timer to 5 mins]

[Set timer for 15 mins]

Tape recorders (2)

Person responsible

Lead Facilitators

Time

11.05

Activity

Session 3: Plenary

Before taking a break, let’s get your views about the communities you have created.

• Let’s stand up and look at Group 1’s map:
• Would Group 1 like to mention any important characteristics or features of your community? [Group members point out any key features on their map]
• Now let’s go to see Group 2’s map. Can Group 2 tell us something about their community? [Group members point out any key features on their map]
• Did you have any comments on the way that you selected your icons – any icons chosen more / less frequently than others?
• Looking again at your personal values pictures, is there anything missing from your community? What? Why did you not manage to get it on the map?

  (10 mins)

Materials

Completed maps on tables

Support Facilitator writes key points from plenary discussion on flipchart

Tape recorder (1)

Time

11.15

Activity

Break

[Facilitators meet to:

• Make a quick check of postcards – anything to bear in mind later?
• Consider whether anything needs to be added to the maps to reflect what one or other group has said during the plenary. It won’t necessarily be the same things that are added to each map. If changes are made, facilitators will take care to point this out when their group returns from the break]

Person responsible

Facilitation Team consider if anything needs to be added to maps

Support Facilitator takes photos of group work

Time

11.35

Activity

Session 4: Short presentation by Marine Scotland: Introduction to offshore renewable energy technologies and installations and Q&A.

Themes to cover:

Technology - The range of technologies being employed

Geography - locations and geographic spread of developments (map)

Timescales of development – when are technologies expected to be developed (i.e. are they ready for commercial use? What is the timescale for that to happen?)

Scale of installations (how small -> how large?)

Phases for development/main things that happen at each stage:

• Planning and design
• Construction
• Operation
• [Decommissioning]

(15 mins)

Followed by Q&A

(10 mins)

Materials

MS Slides

Flipchart & pens

Person responsible

MS specialist

Lead Facilitator to note Q&A on flipchart

Support Facilitator to type notes of questions & answers

Time

12.00

Activity

Session 5A: Future scenarios – Generic changes

Plenary

Lead facilitator explains the scenario approach:

We are going to use scenarios to explore what might happen in certain situations in the future. A scenario is a plausible future situation, not a proposal for what should happen. We are going to go on using the maps you have been developing, to look at a hypothetical coastal community, not a real place. We will go on working in our two groups.

Each of your groups will have one specialist working with you. They are not there to tell you what to do but as a resource. So if there is information or clarifications that you need, you can ask your specialist.

Working in two groups

Generic components of renewable energy projects.

There are elements which are common no matter what the technology: survey activity, offshore and onshore cabling, increased vessel traffic, onshore compounds, increased numbers of people and increased transport.

Facilitator gives out the generic factsheet, describes the changes and puts them on the map. The group considers what this will mean and asks the specialists for any information or clarifications they need. Recorder notes questions as well as comments and discussion.

(10 mins)

The group discusses:

• What are the positive impacts of this planned development for the local community?
• What negative impacts could there be?
• How do you feel about these changes?
• What could be done to ensure that positive impacts are realized and negative impacts are prevented or limited?

  (15 mins)

Summary:

The Facilitator asks the group to review the discussion:

• Which groups/individuals’ views have been captured? Have any views or perspectives in the community been left out? If so, whose? [Facilitator to suggest groups or sectors not represented, if these are apparent]
• Any other reflections?

We’ll now have a 50-minute lunch break. Please take the opportunity to have a look at the other group’s work at some point during the break. Could you make sure that you are back at this table at 1.15?

(5 mins)

Materials

Maps with information added by participants

Stick on information on the elements for the generic scenario

• Survey activity
• Cable laying
• Vessel traffic
• Onshore substation
• People
• Transport

Pens

Post-its

Tape recorders (2)

Person responsible

Lead facilitator

Lead Facilitators

Support Facilitators

Time

12.30

Activity

Lunch

Person responsible

DBSupport Facilitator takes photos of the two groups’ work

Time

13.15

Activity

Session 5B: Scenario 1: Wind 1

[Plenary]

Lead Facilitator. During the afternoon we are going to look at scenarios for the development of three different renewable energy technologies. Remember that the scenarios are hypothetical situations, not actual developments that are necessarily happening or going to happen. We will be asking you to think about these developments:

• How might they affect things that are important to you individually and to the community
• How might they affect particular people or groups.
• What actions you might take in response to these changes?
• If there are any particular things of importance that you feel should be protected.

This session focuses on the first of three scenarios for offshore renewable technologies. We will now discuss the technology in more detail in our two groups.

[Working in groups]

Scenario Wind 1

The facilitator hands out the Scenario Factsheet for this scenario and then briefly describes the scenario and tweaks puts the pieces on the map to show the Wind technology scenario 1:

• Map insert with array;
• Supply chain (Scottish-level industry/technology);
• O&M Base with helicopter pad;
• Communications infrastructure;
• 200 houses.

What initial queries or comments do you have about what is going on in this scenario?

(10 mins)

How would you respond to these changes:

• What would be the impact on the things you value?
• How would you feel about the situation?
• What actions might you take if this technology was introduced?

(15 mins)

Let’s think about whether there are any people in the community who might have different views on this scenario. [Use the prompt list to find relevant characters, e.g. if the group has talked about the importance of the school, the facilitator could ask them about how they think the school teacher might feel]

• What opportunities and threats would this person see?

(10 mins)

Materials

Wind energy Scenario 1 Factsheets (26) Wind energy scenario 1 elements to add to the map Pens

Post-its

Tape recorders (2)

[Set timer for 35 minutes]

Prompt list of characters

Person responsible

Lead Facilitator

Lead Facilitators

Support Facilitators

Time

13.50

Activity

Session 5C: Scenario 2: Wind 2

Now we are going to look at another scenario for the development of offshore wind energy. [The facilitator removes the movable pieces from the previous scenario, describes briefly the specifics and tweaks the generic infrastructure to show a Wind 2 technology scenario:

• Map insert with array;
• small O&M base;
• static platform by array;
• 50 houses.]

We have been joined for this session by X. X, could I ask you to briefly describe this scenario?

After the short introduction, participants ask questions about the scenario.

(5 mins)

How would you respond to these changes:

• What would be the impact on the things you value?
• How would you feel about the situation?
• What actions might you take if this technology was introduced?

  (15 mins)

Let’s think about whether there are any people in the community who might have different views on this scenario. [Use the prompt list to find relevant characters]

• What opportunities and threats would this person see?
• What about the community as a whole: do you think there would be any overall impacts on relations between people within the community, general well-being or ability to cope with shocks, stresses and change generally?

  (5 mins)

Materials

Wind 2 Scenario Factsheet (26)

Elements to put on the map for the Wind 2 scenario

Pens

Post-its

Tape recorders (2)

[Set timer for 25 mins]

Prompt list of characters

Person responsible

Facilitators: CTR + DA

Recorders: DB + RL

Time

14.15

Activity

Break

Person responsible

Support Facilitator takes photos of the two groups’ work

Time

14.35

Activity

Session 5D: Scenario 3: Tidal energy

Now we are going to look at a scenario for the development of different kind of offshore energy: tidal energy.

The facilitator removes the movable pieces from the previous scenario, and adds the pieces to show the Tidal Scenario:

• 60-turbine array, bigger supply chain;
• large local storage area;
• same O&M Base;
• 270 houses.

Our specialist for this session is Y. Y, could I ask you to briefly describe this scenario?

After the short introduction, participants ask questions about the scenario.

Materials

Tidal energy Scenario elements to add to the map

Tidal energy Scenario Factsheets (26)

Pens

Post-its

Tape recorders (2)

[Set timer for 25 minutes]

Person responsible

Lead Facilitators

Support Facilitators

Activity

(5 mins)

How would you respond to these changes:

• What would be the impact on the things you value?
• How would you feel about the situation?
• What actions might you take if this technology was introduced?

(10 mins)

Let’s think about whether there are any people in the community who might have different views on this scenario. [Use the prompt list to find relevant characters]

• What opportunities and threats would this person see?
• What about the community as a whole: do you think there would be any overall impacts on relations between people within the community, general well-being or ability to cope with shocks, stresses and change generally?

  (5 mins)

Summary of scenarios sessions

• Looking back at your discussions of the scenarios, how do the scenarios compare in terms of their positivenegative impacts on things of value to local people and the local community?
• Are there any key things that you would want to see protected? Why? [e.g. because they are easy to damage, because they are critical to the functioning of the community, etc. Facilitator marks these things on the map.]
• What are the main opportunities that you have identified (up to two)? Are they associated with one or more technology or could be associated with any? What would be the benefit of these for local people? [Facilitator marks these things on the map.]

(5 mins)

Materials

Prompt list of characters

Worksheet with the three questions

Time

15.00

Activity

Session 6: Plenary reflection on the scenarios exercises

Lead Facilitator: Thank you for all your work. Let’s have a look at what the two groups discussed about the scenarios for the development of offshore renewable energies and how they might affect what is important for local communities.

Let’s come over to Group 1 [Everyone stands up and moves to look at Group 1’s map] Group 1 – would you like to say what key things you noted from your discussions:

• Main differences between scenarios in terms of their impacts on things you value?
• Main things of value to be protected?
• Main opportunities?

Members of Group 1 comment on the points noted on their maps.

Now let’s move to Group 2’s map. Group 2 – would you like to say what key things you noted from your discussions:

• Main differences between scenarios in terms of their impacts on things you value?
• Main things of value to be protected?
• Main opportunities?

Members of Group 2 comment on the points noted on their maps. (15 mins)

Before you go back to your tables, could I ask you to take the three dots you have been given and stick one on each of the three posters we asked you to full in when you arrived this morning?

Facilitator encourages a short discussion about:

• Things that people generally felt strongly about (similar opinions)

• Things where opinions were divergent
• Areas in which participants felt that they needed more information / clarity

Do you think we have covered the main issues coming out of your discussions? Does anyone have anything they would like to add?

(5 mins)

The lead facilitator invites comments on two questions:

• Did the process allow you to identify the main impacts or do you think there are others that we haven’t considered?
• What other information would you need to help you understand and assess the social impacts of offshore renewables?

(10 mins)

Materials

Flip chart

Pens

Yellow dots (3 x 18)

Start and finish posters

Person responsible

Lead Facilitator

Support Facilitators

Support Facilitators to distribute dots

Time

15.30

Activity

Session 7: How would you like to engage with the Scottish Government? (15 mins)

Working in plenary

We would like to understand better how we should communicate with members of the public on offshore renewables. We would like to hear your ideas on:

• How you would like to/think you should be involved? How should we get information to you? What forms of communication would be most useful, accessible?
• How would you like to see your values represented?

Materials

Flip chart Pens

Person responsible

Lead Facilitator

Support Facilitator

(Flipchart recorder)

Support Facilitator (typed record)

Time

15.45

Activity

Session 8: Conclusions and Next Steps

• Review the responses to the questions asked at the start and end of the day – what has changed and why?

(5 mins)

• Remind participants about the Round 2 event (which will look in more depth at some off the issues raised in these Round 1 sessions and will consider ways of assessing social impacts of offshore renewables in the future) and encourage people to sign up
• Ask participants to complete evaluation forms and leave time for this [these will be provided by the Independent Evaluator]

(10 mins)

Materials

Start and finish posters

Evaluation forms

Person responsible

Lead Facilitator

Independent evaluator or Lead Facilitator

Time

16.00

Activity

CLOSE

Payment of incentives

Materials

Round 2 Sign-up list

Payments in envelopes

Person responsible

Lead Facilitator