CEFAS24-52 RFQ for technical advisory services

Tender description

Request for Quotation for technical advisory services in Natural Capital for the Seascapes Part II Programme. Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (mNCEA) The Marine Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (mNCEA) programme is a flagship science innovation programme that is addressing integrating natural capital and ecosystem assessment approaches into policy and decision making for marine and coastal environments. Ecosystem assessment tells us about the health of our natural environment and how this is changing over time, whereas natural capital describes the economic, social and environmental value our natural assets hold for people, from food to carbon storage to health and wellbeing. The mNCEA programme is funded by Defra and delivered by its partners (The Arm’s Length Bodies - ALBs). Seascapes Part II The Seascapes Part II programme will continue to build, develop and operationally implement the natural capital-based evidence and products that Cefas has developed in the mNCEA programme to date. Cefas requires the Supplier to provide technical advisory expertise and experience in Natural Capital delivery across a series of work packages within the programme. Requirement: Work Package 1: Design and implement frameworks to derive and understand trade-offs in stakeholders’ preferences for possible combinations of ecosystem services. The Supplier will: 1. Using a provided case study, empirically measure stakeholders’ preferences and trade-offs for ecosystem services (ES) produced in Seascapes part I in the context of different marine space use scenarios. In particular, the planned case study will focus on demand-side stakeholders’ trade-offs between “provisioning” services (e.g. food or energy extraction/production) and “regulatory” (carbon and nutrient cycling, coastal and marine biodiversity). This will be achieved by developing and administering a stated preference method (choice experiment) which will empirically capture the preferences and utility that stakeholders (such as the general public, recreational users, fishers, etc.) attach to ES delivery (e.g., seafood provision, climate regulation, food-web support, waste remediation) related to competing or compatible uses of the marine space. In addition, spatial and socio-demographic components will be expected to unveil potential differences in stakeholder preferences and utilities across habitats, space, and user segments. 2. Conduct a survey with the aim to achieve circa 1500-200 respondents from a national representative sample including NUTS2 (Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics) or NUTS3 level representatives. This will then ensure the possibility to disaggregate national results to lower geographical levels. The Supplier will then work with Cefas to identify any specific areas of interest. 3. Work to strengthen the links between Natural Capital and other major national programmes, such as exchanging knowledge and information with the EcoWind / OWEC (Offshore Wind Evidence and Change) programmes regarding offshore windfarms cumulative impact assessment and with the SMMR (Sustainable Management of UK Marine Resources) programme regarding fisheries management and marine spatial planning. Work Package 2: Embedding cultural ecosystem services and values into marine decision-making. The Supplier will: 1. Review the current data collection strategy. In 2023, Cefas worked with a third party supplier to target postcodes to capture views of users and beneficiaries of the coastal path across online surveys, focus groups and interviews. Cefas now wish to review this approach to make improvements and apply lessons learned. This review will include but is not limited to, sampling design, online data collection, and approaches to improve data quality. The aim is to reach our target audience within the East Marine Inshore Plan area using the most streamlined methods for data collection. 2. Review the current data collection structure and content to expand the 2-dimension conceptual model of place attachment and explore, in-depth, the impact of other dimensions such as natural environment, community context, socio-demographic determinants. 3. Review the participatory GIS approach and spatial data analysis to ensure coastal and non-coastal place attachment attributes are adequately mapped. To unveil potential differences in stakeholder preferences and utilities across habitats, space and user segments, and consider opportunities to scale to specific case studies 4. Propose approaches to examine the relationship between Sense of Place and Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) to better understand how attachment to place is influenced by the appreciation of CES benefits. 5. Review methodological approach to and support with data analysis in order to better understand determinants of place attachment as well as the influence of deprivation on Sense of Place Work Package 3: Ad-hoc support and services. The Supplier will also be required to provide ad-hoc support and services for work within the Natural Capital Framework and Natural Capital accounting, in the context of the Seascapes Part II project. This may include but is not limited to: • Input to report writing • Quality control (QC) on writing, reports etc. • Workshop attendance, (primarily online, although in-person may be required within the UK) for conversational input, working group discussions and possibly to present on the tasks included in this document. Deliverables: 1. Kick-off meeting with Cefas to review the tasks (WP1, WP2 + WP 3) To be delivered by 24th May 2024 2. Development of the survey-based stated preference study (WP1) To be delivered by 30th September 2024. 3. Review of the methodology: technical support with i) data collection strategy, including sampling design, online data collection approaches to improve data quality and survey structure revision (WP2) To be delivered by 30th September 2024. 4. Data to be collected (WP1) To be delivered by 31st December 2024. 5. Data analysis, definition of trade-offs and utilities write up (WP1) To be delivered by 28th February 2025. 6. Review methodological approach to and support the data analysis to better understand determinants of place attachment and links with cultural ecosystem services, as well as the influence of deprivation on Sense of Place (WP2) To be delivered by 28th February 2025. 7. Completion of ad-hoc requests (WP 3) To be delivered by 28th February 2025. Location for services to be undertaken: Remotely, with an in-person meeting at the Cefas Lowestoft office potentially required.