Methodology & Approach to Designing this Guide

The first draft of this guide was one element of a larger FIRNS (The Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland) funded project: "Community Benefits Standard for the UK Nature Investment Market, developed in Scotland", delivered between September 2023 - March 2024.

FIRNS is a joint initiative between Scottish Government, NatureScot, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, supporting the development of environmental projects in Scotland.

The project delivered the following outputs:

• Best Practice Guide: Community Inclusion for Community Benefit
• Best Practice Literature Review: Community participation for community benefit
• Business Case and Route to Market
• Community Benefits Standard: Draft Criteria

These separate workstreams came together with the following aims:

• Identifying the appetite for community inclusion and community benefit from buyers, developers and investors.
• Identifying best practice from academic and peer reviewed sources, as well as existing policy frameworks from Scotland and beyond.
• Co-designing a best practice guide with practitioners and experts.
• Translating that guide into a systematic means for natural capital projects to demonstrate good practice in community relations.

This Best Practice Guide has been developed utilising a co-design approach with input from the following organisations:

Project Lead:

• Deciding Matters

Delivery Partners:

• Finance Earth
• James Hutton Institute
• Scottish Land Commission
• Scottish Forum on Natural Capital (Scottish Wildlife Trust)
• Soil Association Certification Ltd
• University of Strathclyde

Case Study Partners:

• Anstruther Improvements Association: Dreel Burn Catchment
• Bioregioning Tayside: River Ericht Catchment
• City of Edinburgh Council: Edinburgh New Gardens – Water of Leith Catchment
• CreditNature: Drumadoon Farm
• Dumfries and Galloway Council: Solway Coast and Marine Project
• Highlands Rewilding: Tayvallich Estate
• NorthWest 2045: Kinlochbervie NW2045 Land+ Futures
• Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust: Almond Headwaters

Advisory Group:

• Abrdn
• British Standards Institute
• Community Land Scotland
• Community Woodlands Association
• Development Trust Association Scotland
• Federated Hermes
• Greenbank Investments
• Foundation Scotland
• National Parks Partnership
• Peatland Code
• Scottish Land & Estates
• Scottish Marine Environmental Fund
• SRUC
• Wildlife Works
• Woodland Carbon Code

We also consulted a wider set of stakeholders through the Community Benefit Advisory Group (hosted by Scottish Land Commission), Nature Finance Certification Alliance (hosted by Fife Coast & Countryside Trust) and Scottish Nature Finance Pioneers (hosted by Scottish Wildlife Trust).

Throughout the design of this Guide, progress and draft outputs have also been shared regularly with stakeholder groups through forums including:

• Community Benefit Advisory Group (hosted by Scottish Land Commission),
• Nature Finance Certification Alliance (hosted by Fife Coast & Countryside Trust) and
• Scottish Nature Finance Pioneers (hosted by Scottish Wildlife Trust)

This created opportunities for discussion and feedback to ensure this document aligns with the wider sector, emerging policies, and existing guidance.

As well as expert and community input, this guide was strongly influenced by a Best Practice Literature Review written by University of Strathclyde, as well as existing frameworks and policies linked throughout this document.

Development was achieved throughout a series of activities:

Pilot Site Project Leads Workshop 1: Practitioners delivering high quality community engagement activities came together to explore the challenges to community inclusion for community benefit.
Pilot Site Project Leads Workshop 2: Practitioners prioritised key challenges to address and started to identify possible solutions.
Pilot Site Project Leads Workshop 3:Practitioners drafted actions and principles for best practice.
Advisory Group Workshops: Advisory experts reviewed draft actions and principles and identified areas for alignment with wider best practice and policy.
Wider Community Engagement: Pilot Site Project Leads reviewed the draft actions and principles with their own local communities to determine whether community need would be met through these proposed solutions.
Partners Input: Project Partners reviewed draft actions and principles to ensure alignment with other workstreams (Best Practice Literature Review and Business Case).
Pilot Site Project Leads Workshop 4: Practitioners reviewed feedback from all groups and refined the recommendations noted above.

Sessions were designed and delivered by Deciding Matters using online platforms.