5.3.8 Plymouth Sound to Fowey: Governance mapping to support the assessment
The case study governance framework analysis highlighted a large volume of plans and strategies with numerous inter-linkages, horizontally amongst the plans themselves and also vertically in relation to the activities and to marine ecosystems within the site.
In response to this, Plymouth University sought to map these governance connections. The purpose of this was twofold: firstly to trial methods for constructing and visualising governance, with the second objective relating this work being used by the stakeholder to support scenario development within the case study.
The mapping activity was shown to the Task and Finish Group during two of the stakeholder workshops, allowing them to improve and validate the connections between strategies and to feedback on visualisations methods, for example Microsoft PowerPoint and web-based versions (see following figures).
Figure: An early iteration of the Plymouth Sound- Fowey governance mapping, showing connections between Task and Finish Group member’s plans and strategies, the supporting legislation, and connections through to marine and coastal sectors and activities within the site
Positive feedback from stakeholders highlighted the value they could see in such mapping and visualisations, to help simplify the complex governance landscape that they as managers and regulators operate in.
The mapping allowed stakeholders to explore connections amongst various aspects of site governance and interventions within marine ecosystems; thus supporting greater awareness of ecosystem-based management.
The final version was developed in collaboration with the Marine Biological Association of the UK to create a web-based interactive site. It is supported by a Microsoft Excel file that makes nodal connections between organisations, strategies, legislation, marine sectors and activities. These are then highlighted when the viewer clicks on a node of interest: http://dassh.ac.uk/demonstrations/valmer/valmer_governance_2/
Figure: Screen grab of the web-based governance mapping, by clicking on one of the boxes known as ‘nodes', all the related nodes then highlighted to the viewer
