This report presents research undertaken to test a set of principles which were developed to guide best practice in engaging people with nature-based interventions, the Principles for Engaging Communities with Nature. The principles were developed in response to increasing recognition of the importance of connecting communities with nature to support both people and the natural environment. The principles were co developed with Natural England teams, colleagues across Government, Arm’s Length Bodies, non governmental organisations and representatives from the voluntary and community sector, drawing on shared experience and best practice.
The research brought together evidence from community projects, partners and existing literature to assess how far the principles reflect current practice and to identify opportunities to strengthen them in ways that increase participation and support more inclusive engagement with nature.
It also explored how the principles could be supported by a set of underpinning standards. The development of standards is identified as a next step, building on the findings of this research.
The principles are:
- Targeting – to support equality, diversity and inclusion
- Understanding Communities – to understand local needs, context and priorities
- Co-design – to work with communities to shape solutions
- Evaluation – to support learning, improvement and accountability
- Sustainability – to ensure long term benefits for people and nature
The question the research set out to answer was: How well do the principles reflect existing practices, what changes to the principles are needed, and how can they be developed into standards?
The methodology involved triangulating findings from three approaches to assess whether the principles developed through a co development process reflect current best practice across organisations working with people and nature:
- A literature review to assess whether the principles are reflected in current practice across organisations working with communities and nature. As the principles were developed with a range of organisations, the assumption for this project was that adherence to the principles constitutes best practice.
- Two rounds of interviews with the same community projects engaging people with nature.
- A partner roundtable to validate and refine the principles, drawing on stakeholder perspectives and experience.
At each stage, recommendations for the development of the principles into a set of standards were sought. Generative Artificial Intelligence was used in a transparent way to support data organisation, extraction and comparison to support the work of the researchers.