Short Abstract

How Natural England combined evaluation insights, futures thinking, and staff co-design to create its new Science, Evidence and Analysis Framework—embedding evidence at the heart of decisions for nature recovery. Learn what worked, what didn’t, and lessons for others.

Description

This session will share how Natural England used evaluation insights, futures thinking, and staff co-design to create their new Science, Evidence and Analysis Framework (SEAF) a practical step toward embedding science, evidence, and evaluation at the heart of decision-making for people and nature.

Evaluation of our previous science strategy revealed significant challenges: fragmented governance, stretched capacity, and a culture that struggled to turn learning into action. At the same time, horizon scanning highlighted a future of accelerating environmental change and uncertainty, raising critical questions about how we could truly become evidence-led. By combining evaluation findings with foresight, we identified priority areas for investment and transformation.

Key elements of our approach:

• Developmental Evaluation in Action – Using “What? So what? Now what?” cycles to feed real-time insights into design decisions.

• Blending Foresight with Evidence – How horizon scanning and scenario planning shaped priorities and governance structures.

• From Theory to Tools – Translating evaluation into practical solutions like the Scientific Hive for evidence access and the Evidence Buddy network for capability building.

• Staff co-design – Involving staff as part of the process, under6and the nature of the problem and co-designing solutions.

The new SEAF provides a blueprint for how we use science and evidence to deliver nature recovery at scale through five themes: Data Science and Digital Innovations, Building Strategic Science Partnerships, Growing Scientific Capability, Science Communication and Impact, and Learning What Works.

We will share what worked well, what didn’t, and the lessons learned along the way. For other public sector organisations, this case offers a replicable approach: combining evaluation and futures thinking to design strategies that are both evidence-informed and resilient.