Devon design sprint report : June 2023

Over the course of five days, a group of stakeholders involved in the land use decision-making process in Devon worked together as a team to create a prototype decision support tool aimed at facilitating carbon-focused land use decisions in the rural environment. After the prototype was developed, it was tested by a range of intended users to assess its usability and effectiveness. The work presented here was funded by the Geospatial Commission as part of the National Land Data Programme which fed into the Devon Land Use Framework. Land is a finite resource. In the UK the limited land area and growing population makes managing competing priorities and land use functions particularly complex. Land use is often multifunctional and yet is subject to various trade-offs. The design sprint focused on long-term carbon sequestration and storage in rural land use decisions, with an understanding that carbon forms a component of a range of ecosystem services. Spatial data and modelling tools provide an opportunity to support the assessment, planning and management of land use. The design sprint team began by identifying pinch points in the decision-making process where geospatial data and tools might support land managers and their advisors to make and influence land use decisions. The team worked collaboratively on designing a prototype decision support tool that addressed these pinch points. The key requirements the team agreed to incorporate into the prototype were: ›› Baseline and future land cover options; ›› Clear summary of economic incentives and impact of any land use changes; ›› Simple and easy to use; The user testing demonstrated the need for shared digital evidence upon which to base conversations at both the strategic and granular/ site scale. This included using field-scale data wherever possible to facilitate conversations at both on-farm and landscape scales. Users also said they wanted functionality that could support the creation of a ‘community of change’ to help people work together to leverage better environmental, social and financial outcomes. The design sprint and prototype led to an understanding that a suite of spatially explicit data and decision support tools is integral to a land use framework. Having access to easy-to-use data is a critical part of having informed discussions around land use change. A shared evidence base is central to ensuring that leaders and local stakeholders are able to understand and communicate the benefits, trade-offs and shared outcomes possible from land use decision making