UK Marine Science, Policy and Regulatory Relational Frameworks

From Silos to Systems

Relational Frameworks to foster Collaboration, unlocking Value for Marine and Coastal Management

The aim of this conference is to explain relational frameworks in order to demonstrate their power in enabling collaboration and unlocking value to help drive solutions to solve our most pressing issues in the marine environment.

Sponsored by:

Environment Agency

There is a sponsorship package for the conference – contact Lissa Batey at for details lissa@lboceanconsulting.com Phone: +44 7733 405707

Please circulate to colleagues who might be interested

The conference is being organised by the co-ordinators of the Relational Framework project: 

Lissa Batey lissa@lboceanconsulting.com, Hayley Hinchen hayley@seasensemarineconsulting.com and Bob Earll bob@bobearll.co.uk

Introduction

The aim of the meeting is to explain relational frameworks in order to demonstrate their power in enabling collaboration and unlocking value to help drive solutions to solve our most pressing issues in the marine environment.

The objectives of the meeting are to:    

1. Explain and understand the Relational Frameworks between UK marine science and governance in terms of regulations, licensing and policy development
2. Demonstrate how successful collaboration works and enable participants to understand the key lessons.
3. To explore what specific topics could benefit from greater collaboration built around relationships between frameworks, to deliver real value for the marine environment and wider society

The meeting will provide a unique platform to forge crucial connections and drive tangible change by covering three main topics:

1. Seeing the Whole Picture – The Relational Frameworks Project

For too long, marine science, policy, and regulation have operated independently. Using simple tables, the Relational Frameworks project has begun to map how marine science, regulation and policy fit together. This meeting will demonstrate and help you understand the broader connections and relationships between science, policy and regulation. This will show how the people and expert groups and the finance and value chains involved in our current framework are related. By seeing the "whole picture," you can better align your work with others, creating a more impactful, collaborative and cohesive effort. Operational examples of Relational Frameworks and how they can be used will be provided.

1. Boosting Collaboration and Efficiency – Solutions Beyond Silos

"We’ve treated the ocean like it’s separate from us. It never was... We lost sight of the ocean and of ourselves. Now we reimagine that relationship. From distance to belonging. From extraction to care. 

From silos to shared responsibility." Dr Sylvia Earle (Marine Biologist & Oceanographer)

"Nature doesn’t work in silos, neither should we." The Commonwealth Secretariat (2026 Blog)

The management issues arising from fragmentation and siloed working are well known and this is no less apparent in the marine environment. Silos serve a useful function but often the challenges of the marine environment require a more integrated and collaborative approach. The Relational Framework project provides a clear map of key organisations and expert groups, revealing where to find the right people and how to form effective partnerships. The meeting will explore what successful collaborations across silos look like and what they can achieve with examples that lead to better-designed projects, less duplication, more strategic resource allocation, and a more streamlined approach to achieving our collective goals.

3. Understanding interrelated marine frameworks to unlock collaboration and value to shape the future

This workshop is not just about listening; it's about actively shaping the future by identifying issues, challenges and topics where better collaboration could make a real difference. Collaboration is key to coming away with tangible action and adding value covering the financial, environmental and social dimensions (capital) which are key to sustainability. We aim to demonstrate:

• financial and decision-making value of the evidence being collected and used across nested groups in a coordinated and consciously interrelated way;
• value to marine environmental outcomes;
• the social value of connection - collaboration to meet defined ends.

The meeting will include a mix of presentations and in-depth discussions. You will have the chance to identify and address the current weaknesses in the UK's marine science and regulatory programmes and propose solutions. Your input will directly contribute to the outputs of the event and to building a more collaborative and forward-thinking systems approach that breaks out of the silos. The sessions will be being interactive and outcome oriented.

Programme

09.00    Registration and refreshments

Session 1          Beyond silos  – Relational Frameworks in the Marine & Coastal Environment

09.45 – 09:50   Welcome - Beyond silos            Chair - Prof Matt Frost, Plymouth Marine Laboratory 

09:50 – 10:05   Relational Frameworks: how the project developed – Lissa Batey LB Ocean Consulting Ltd, Bob Earll & Hayley Hinchen, Sea Sense Marine Consulting Ltd

10:05 – 10:15  Q&A

10:15 – 10:30  Relational Frameworks in practice – how you could use them

10:30 – 10:40  Q&A

                            Further Examples of existing relational framework projects

10.40 – 10.55   A European project perspectives of mapping science – policy - regulation interactions - Prof Mike Elliott & Gemma Smith, International Estuarine & Coastal Specialists Ltd

10.55 – 11.10   Defra family ‘Blue Monitoring’ - Hayley Hinchen, Sea Sense Marine Consulting Ltd

11.10 - 11.40    Discussion - The benefits and uses of Relational Frameworks – Your Examples – What next?

11.40 – 12:20    Break 1 sandwich buffet & refreshments

Session 2         Understanding the Benefits of Collaboration – Chair to be confirmed

12.20 – 12.35   Lessons from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Marine CoLABoration (CoLAB) Project - Speaker to be confirmed

12:35 – 12:50  Collaborating to inform decision makers - UK Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) - Prof Matt Frost, Plymouth Marine Laboratory     

12:50 – 13:05   Collaborating at the coast – Lessons from the Coastal Partnerships - Natasha Bradshaw, The Coastal Collaborative

13:05 – 13:20   Collaborating for offshore wind – Lesson from the Offshore Wind Evidence & Change (OWEC) Programme - Rachael Mills, The Crown Estate

13:20 – 13.50   Discussion: What are the benefits of collaboration? How do we break down the barriers? How do we access the knowledge on what works? How do we use relational frameworks to understand how best to collaborate?

13.50 – 14:30   Break 2 Sweets and refreshments

Session 3: What Next? – Provocations: What are the Priority Challenges facing the Marine Environment that need collaboration to unlock value?

14:30 – 14:35    Introduction to the Provocations                Chair - Roger Proudfoot, Environment Agency

14:35 – 14:50    Provocation 1 – The needs of the South Coast Marine Recovery Programme - Ruth Williams, The Wildlife Trusts

14:40 – 14:55    Provocation 2 – The needs of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) process for the UK Marine Strategy Programme of Measures -Dickon Howell, HMC

14:55 – 15:10    Provocation 3 – Marine Recovery Action Plans: Linking regional priorities to national assessments - Tara Hooper, Natural England

15:10 – 15:25    Provocation 4 – What is data anyway, and how can we break out of our data silos to add value? - Ross Bullimore, Cefas

15.25 – 15.55   Discussion: What lessons do we need to learn from these provocations?

                            What is the single biggest roadblock we can dismantle if we pool our resources?

15.55                  Chair’s closing comments, next steps and evaluation

16.00                  Close

Image by Keith Hiscock