12Sep 2018
CEP contribute to climate resilience book

CEP author of communication, collaboration and co-production chapter on building climate resilience

A new book on climate resilience “Resilience to Climate Change – Communication, Collaboration and Co-production” by Candice Howarth, Katya Brooks and Sian Morse-Jones has recently been published (August 2018) by Palgrave Pivot, which brings together multiple work on the challenges and opportunities of climate shocks.  

The Chapter “The importance of Communication, Collaboration and Co-production” by Candice Howarth and Sian Morse-Jones examines how communication and collaboration could be enhanced, in order to build resilient responses to nexus shocks.

For further information please contact Dr Sian Morse-Jones, Senior Consultant.

Team CEP
12Sep 2018
CEP Survey on Local Partnerships

Survey on local partnerships and the delivery of economic, social and environmental benefits

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is seeking information on local partnerships and the delivery of economic, health and environmental benefits. Defra has commissioned independent research consultancy, Collingwood Environmental Planning (with its partners the Ecosystems Knowledge Network and New Economics Foundation) to undertake a survey on this topic.

The survey is aimed at people involved in organisations or partnerships in England working below the national level to achieve economic, health or environmental outcomes. We are really keen to hear from a range of economic, health and environmental partnerships.

The results of the survey will be used by Defra to find ways to further increase the value of local partnerships’ contribution to delivering the 25 Year Environment Plan. 

Your responses will be really valuable. The survey is voluntary and takes about 15 minutes to complete.  Most of the questions are multiple choice and do not ask for personally identifiable data.

Please CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY , before Friday 5th October 2018. 

Please do share this survey link with relevant contacts as appropriate.

If you have any queries about this survey, please contact Paula Orr at Collingwood Environmental Planning (p.orr@cep.co.uk).

Many thanks for your help,

Collingwood Environmental Planning Project Team

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12Sep 2018
CEP to run EU foresight system on emerging environmental issues

CEP to provide the secretariat for new EU foresight system to detect emerging environmental issues (FORENV)

CEP has been commissioned by the European Commission DG Environment to run a new EU foresight system to detect emerging environmental issues. Named FORENV, the project aims to ‘improve the understanding of policy-makers of emerging environmental issues by supporting yearly cycles of the system set up by the Environment Knowledge Community (EKC) for the identification of emerging environmental issues and related risks and opportunities (FORENV)’.

CEP will be working, initially over the course of the next 12 months, with colleagues from Milieu (Belgium), Cranfield University (UK), the German Federal Environment Agency and Vision Communication (Spain) to:

  • Conduct a broad scanning to compile and characterise at least 100 weak signals of emerging issues for Europe’s environment.

  • Through a participatory sense-making exercise, identify ten emerging environmental issues, including related risks and opportunities on the basis of a broad range of sources and expertise.

  • Characterise the identified emerging issues and define related risks and opportunities for the environment, through recent scientific literature and expert involvement.

  • Inform policy-makers, stakeholders and the public on the identified emerging issues through appropriate reporting and communications.

The project follows on from an earlier project undertaken by CEP and Milieu to develop a participatory methodological framework for the systematic identification of emerging issues for the environment (and environmental policies). This project will put that methodology into practice.  Subject to the first year the contract will be renewable for up to a further three times (to 48 months) to continue the detection of new emerging issues that could impact the environment and environmental policies, in order to allow the European Commission to put in place appropriate responses where necessary.

For further information please contact Owen White (Technical Director) or Paula Orr (Technical Director).

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12Sep 2018
CEP delivering EEA workshop on urban sustainability

CEP delivering workshop to support EEA’s assessment of urban sustainability

For the first time, the European Environment Agency (EEA) will be explicitly addressing urban sustainability in the European Environment State and Outlook Report for 2020 (SOER2020). As part of CEP’s current framework contract with the EEA on forward-looking analysis, sustainability assessments and systemic transitions, CEP in partnership with LSE Cities, PBL and cChange is currently undertaking a contract on urban sustainability to support this aspect of SOER2020. Specifically, the project is building on the knowledge base and other deliverables from a previous contract undertaken by CEP and will deliver an analytical framework and select nexus analysis for urban sustainability assessments 2019-2020. Another important aim of this project is to develop the approach to an urban sustainability meta-benchmarking exercise.

On Thursday 13th September, CEP’s Ric Eales and Rolands Sadauskis together with partners from LSE Cities and PBL are running a one-day workshop with EEA experts in Copenhagen to facilitate their input to the ongoing work.

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28Aug 2018
Environmental assessment and ecosystem services training now booking

Incorporating natural capital and ecosystem services into environmental assessment: Exploring best practice

CEP, in association with Ecosystems Knowledge Network (EKN), will once again be running this popular CPD-level one-day training course in London in November 2018.

“Very informative. Trainers very knowledgeable and approachable. Use of case study
examples ideal.” Course participant, London May 2016.

The concepts of natural capital and ecosystem services are becoming prominent across Europe, along-side growing interests in nature-based solutions. There is now strong interest in what ecosystem services, natural capital and nature-based solutions mean for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA). This training course will cover:

  • Why these concepts are useful in environmental assessment
  • How the concepts can be used in EIA, SA and SEA
  • How you might use ecosystem services in theory and practice
  • Challenges and opportunities (data requirements; legal compliance; guidance)

Date and venue: 22nd November 2018. Tideway, Cottons Centre, Cottons Lane, London, SE1 2QG.

Who is the training for? The course is for professionals involved in environmental assessment processes (EIA, SEA and SA) across diverse sectors including built infrastructure and development planning, transport, energy, water resources and flood risk management.  It will be applicable to environmental assessment practitioners and stakeholders working from project level to strategic plans; and in relation to terrestrial and marine environments.

Trainers

Dr Bill Sheate: Technical Director of Collingwood Environmental Planning and Reader in Environmental Assessment at Imperial College London.

Špela Kolarič: Senior Consultant at Collingwood Environmental Planning. An environmental and spatial planning specialist.

For prices and booking visit the EKN website at:
https://ecosystemsknowledge.net/events/training-environmental-assessment

 

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22Aug 2018
Workshop on Local Delivery of the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan

CEP is to hold a workshop on Partnerships and Collaborative Governance across the Environment – Economy – Health Sectors

CEP is leading a consortium that has been commissioned by Defra to explore how best to support local organisations and partnerships to work together to deliver the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan. 

Our consortium is inviting practitioners in the North of England to contribute to co-producing more effective approaches to local delivery through a workshop to be held in Leeds this autumn.

The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan provides a guiding framework for achieving the goal of improving the environment within a generation.   This is vital to protect and enhance our environmental assets and resources and to support wider social and economic objectives. 

Local delivery is essential to the Plan’s success.  The workshop will be an opportunity for participants to share their expertise and generate proposals for improving local outcomes.

Who should attend: directors, managers and trustees of organisations working across the environment – health – economy sectors at the regional or local level; local authority planners; members of local partnerships such as Local Enterprise Partnerships, Health and Wellbeing Boards, Local Nature Partnerships and others.

Date, time and venue

The workshop will be held from 10am – 4pm at Leeds Town Hall on 02 October 2018.

The evidence and proposals generated at the workshop will inform our report to Defra on the local delivery of the 25 Year Environment Plan.

For information and registration, contact Paula Orr, Technical Director (p.orr@cep.co.uk)

The project is a collaboration between CEP, the New Economics Foundation (NEF) and the Ecosystems Knowledge Network (EKN)

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7Aug 2018
CEP finalists for RTPI Research Excellence awards

CEP shortlisted for two RTPI research excellence awards

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We are delighted to announce that CEP has been shortlisted as a finalist for two Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Research Excellence Awards 2018.  Our recent project Clyde Regional Marine Plan Dialogue for the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership is shortlisted for both The Sir Peter Hall Award for Wider Engagement and the Consultancy Award, the only institution or company with the same project shortlisted for two awards.

CEP designed a public dialogue on the Clyde Regional Marine Plan for the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership (CMPP) that engaged audiences beyond academia, supporting enhanced public understanding of marine planning challenges. The research design and questions were targeted to meet the evidence needs of the CMPP and the interests and knowledge of participating members of the public: the dialogue engaged people in two Clyde communities in exploring issues from their own perspective with technical experts and policy-makers.   The project adapted participatory planning techniques from research and practice and integrated these within a process comprising group work and plenary sessions.

The project authors were: Peter Phillips, Paula Orr, Izzy Cotton (CEP), Jasper Kenter, Jake Ainscough, Lucy Greenhill (Scottish Association for Marine Science Research Services Limited), Ellie Murtagh, Philip Mellor (University of Strathclyde)

The RTPI Awards for Research Excellence recognise and promote high quality, impactful spatial planning research from RTPI accredited planning schools, and planning consultancies, in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and internationally. Winning and commended entries will be announced on 3 September 2018 during the opening ceremony of the UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference, in Sheffield.

For further information contact Paula Orr (Technical Director) or Ric Eales (Managing Director)

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6Jul 2018
CEP attending CECAN annual conference

CEP attending CECAN’s annual conference on policy evaluation in London on July 11th

Dr Bill Sheate will be attending CECAN’s annual conference in London on July 11th. The theme of the conference this year is Policy Evaluation for a Complex World – The Challenges that Complexity Poses for Policy – Solutions and Benefits. 

Bill led a meta-evaluation study for CEP – Learning lessons for evaluating complexity across the nexus: a meta-evaluation of CEP projects – published in 2017 as part of our involvement as partners in CECAN.

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3Jul 2018
CEP participating in Austria climate change adaptation workshop

CEP participating in workshop on climate change adaptation and natural hazards for the Austrian Climate Research Programme

On 5th July Dr Clare Twigger-Ross will be participating in a project workshop for Climate Change Adaptation and Protection from Natural Hazards: capacity building for people with a migration background in Austria.  The project is part of the 8th Call Austrian Climate Research Programme and runs from 2016 for 34 months.  It is led by the University of Natural Resource and Life Sciences, Vienna. 

The project aims to explore the potential vulnerability and capacity of migrant groups in the context of Climate Change using a cross-analysis of several embedded case studies in Austria.  Clare has been invited to share her experience in the area of flooding and climate change resilience, with a specific focus on approaches to researching groups who may be more vulnerable to negative impacts because of social factors.

Team CEP
2Jul 2018
CEP-led Consortium delivers first set of European Environment Agency contracts

CEP-LED CONSORTIUM SUCCESSFULLY DELIVERS FIRST SET OF CONTRACTS UNDER EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY FRAMEWORK CONTRACT

CEP is pleased to announce the successful completion of the first seven contracts awarded under the CEP-led framework service contract for the European Environment Agency (EEA) which provides assistance to the consolidation and update of the knowledge base on global megatrends and resource nexus in support of SOER 2020 (the European Environment State and Outlook Report).

Awarded in May 2017, CEP has overseen the preparation and delivery of seven projects awarded under the framework contract to date.  The seven projects have had the overarching objective of supporting the framing and content of SOER 2020 by consolidating the evidence and knowledge base across a range of topics as well as providing new analysis to assist in the framing of the content of SOER 2020.  Examples of stock-taking and updating of EEA’s knowledge base include in relation to outlooks across multiple environmental themes (second specific contract), planetary boundaries (third specific contract), global megatrends and the resource nexus (fourth specific contract), and an assessment of the knowledge base on society’s dependence on natural capital (fifth specific contract).  The development of new assessment frameworks included the development of an integrated approach to support urban sustainability assessments (first specific contract) and research into the implications of sustainability transitions research for policy and governance (sixth specific contract).  The seventh specific contract provided a review of different perspectives on quality of evidence to inform EEA’s future research.

All the projects were completed between September 2017 and March 2018 and have helped EEA by exploring what is, and is not, possible in terms of SOER 2020, which is intended to diverge from previous European environmental reporting by exploring environmental issues from a systems perspective and proposing a transitions governance approach to addressing Europe’s environmental challenges.

CEP led the delivery of four of the seven projects delivered so far, including overall project management, technical lead on research tasks, and preparing reporting to summarise findings to provide maximum support to the EEA in relation to SOER 2020.  CEP’s work on these projects has involved collaboration with a diverse range of partners including universities and research institutions, consultancies, national environmental agencies and European networks of experts (such as the Eionet network of foresight experts).

For more information please contact CEP’s Owen White, the overall Framework Contract Manager, or Dr Bill Sheate, the Framework Contract Director.

Team CEP