A refresh of the NBN Strategy has been taking place over the last six months and many of you will have been involved in workshops and consultations which have been part of this process. We now want to update you on the current status of the strategy and the next steps.
The first draft of the new NBN Strategy is being published and will be sent to everyone on the NBN database w/c 2nd February. We hope you will give feedback on the Strategy contents either in general or by responding to a series of questions contained within it. These responses will help to us to prepare a final document to be published in April 2015.
In conjunction with the Strategy, a five-year Action Plan is also being developed. This will outline the objectives and priority actions for each Strategic Aim and will be published in Spring 2015. We will engage with all members over the roles and responsibilities for implementation of the Action Plan in due course.
The Strategy seeks change in how biological data in the UK are collected, verified, managed, analysed, disseminated and used. The Strategy sets out five Strategic Aims and 21 objectives to achieve the vision that: “Wildlife data collected and shared openly by the Network are central to the UK’s learning and understanding of its biodiversity and is critical to all decision-making about nature and the environment.”
For those of you who are unaware of this work, and by way of background, the development of a new Strategy actually started two years ago, when two (annually) consecutive Extraordinary General Meetings brought about a draft skeleton structure. Wider consultation and input was sought via a Strategy Refresh Questionnaire, and a series of workshops in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland gathered country focussed perspectives. A needs analysis questionnaire of the NBN Gateway was completed by 150 Network members and a critique was undertaken by an external consultancy. Individual discussions with staff in the NBN Trust, coupled with this wide engagement process resulted in over 450 Network members and associates, data providers and potential collaborators and NBN Gateway users throughout the UK engaging with the development of the new five year strategy. The collaborative nature of the Network is truly reflected in the Strategy and we hope that everyone involved feels that they are part of a very exciting stage in the further development of the NBN.
Previous information on the NBN Strategy can be found at the following links:
NBN Strategy Refresh – update and request for input
Help us to determine the strategic direction of the NBN