Effective practice in marine spatial planning: a participatory evaluation of experience in Southern England

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is a new component of the marine governance framework in England. Two MSP pilot studies undertaken on the south of England are evaluated in this paper to obtain key reflections from participants and process organisers. The evaluation was conducted through two phases of personal interviews. Three key reflections emerged related to effective practice in MSP. First was that MSP should be inclusive, which is delivered through adequate participatory opportunities, clear leadership, exploiting trusted pre-existing communication channels, and supporting participants to develop their marine planning capacity. Second, was that the MSP evidence base should maximise the quality and extent of evidence available and offer clarity over data gaps and uncertainty. Third, that adequate resources are critical to successful MSP, particularly to ensure that stakeholder groups should allocate sufficient staff time to fully engage in MSP and that MSP process organisers should allocate sufficient resources to fully support stakeholders throughout the MSP process.