Towards a new coastal classification: stakeholder engagement

How we are working with multiple stakeholders at local, regional, and national levels
A group discussion.
Stakeholder engagement is a key part of the ESRC funded towards a new coastal classification project. Through workshops, online questionnaires and focus groups stakeholders will:
  • identify key variables that differentiate coastal from non-coastal places;
  • advise on technical and methodological issues (such as clustering methodologies); 
  • and provide recommendations on how to make the classification relevant, useable, and updatable. 
 

Stage one: workshops

Stage one entails qualitative research in the form of six online and/or face-to-face workshops (to avoid digital exclusion as we know this to be an issue in coastal communities), consisting of up to 20 people undertaken across six English regions with a significant coastal presence (North-East, North-West, Yorkshire, South-East, East of England and the South-West). 
The purpose of the workshops is to: (i) introduce the project; (ii) provide a forum for questions and answers; and (iii) solicit input on the design, content and targeting of an online questionnaire stakeholder survey.
What will you have to do if you agree to take part in face-to-face and/or online workshops?
Attendance to both the face-to-face and online workshops is voluntary. During the workshop, your views on the focus, design, content, useability, and updatability of a coastal classification will be sought to inform the creation of a stakeholder questionnaire that will be used to aid its co-design.  
For the face-to-face workshops, an electronic consent form will be supplied and completed by each participant in advance of the workshop, while for the online workshops consent will be a requirement of registration (see informed consent below). The workshop recordings are for transcription purposes only; they will not be made publicly available and will be destroyed after 30 days of the event.  Other than your name, the name of the organisation you represent, and a contact point, no other personal data will be collected.  At no point will personal, identifiable data about yourself be used as this information has no relevance to the aims of this research project.   
Timeline
The workshops will be held across six regions (Southwest, Southeast, Northwest, Northeast, Yorkshire, and the East of England) between October 2023- October 2024.
 

Stage two: online questionnaire

Stage two involves the distribution of a co-designed stakeholder online questionnaire survey hosted by JISC and disseminated via a web-based platform. This survey will comprise questions aimed at identifying coastal stakeholder views on what guiding principles and objectives should underpin the coastal classification, as well as a series Likert Scale questions relating to demographic (people), economic (work), settlement (place) and locational variables thought likely to differentiate coastal from non-coastal communities and between different coastal communities. 
What will you have to do if you agree to take part in this questionnaire?
There is no obligation at all to complete this online questionnaire, but your views are greatly appreciated as they are extremely valuable in informing the co-design of a coastal classification. It explores yours and the organisation you represent views on the focus, design, content (e.g. attributes and characteristics), useability, and updatability of a coastal classification, and the results will be used to inform its co-design.
 

Stage three: review survey results and statistical analysis

Stage three encompasses a review of the survey results and statistical analysis, to identify areas of conflict or consensus and to propose initial guidance on objectives, principles, variables, and desired outputs. Drawing on the Delphi technique, the results will be communicated via our online platform and further face-to-face and online workshops where appropriate, and coastal stakeholders will be asked to provide an email response if they wish to do so. The initial guidance will be further modified and re-communicated until such a point when a broad consensus is reached. 
Getty image. survey
 

Stage four: focus groups

Stage four entails the formation of a national focused coastal stakeholder group and there will be facilitated face-to-face and online discussion around the project team’s technical response to the initial guidance produced to inform the preparation of a final set of guiding objectives, principles, etc. to underpin the classification. This group will be further consulted in Work Package 4. We will seek written responses to our findings and preliminary recommendations (including using questionnaires to elicit responses to key issues). This will then be followed by a series of structured online workshops aimed at reaching a consensus regarding the final classification of coastal communities and how it might be used to impact policy and practice.
If you would like to get involved in these workshops, please email: englishcoastalclassification@plymouth.ac.uk
What will you have to do if you agree to take part in the online expert focus groups?
Participation in the expert online focus groups is entirely voluntary.  During the session, your views on the focus, design, content, useability, and updatability of a coastal classification, and in particular on the technical aspects of the coastal classification will be sought and used in its co-design. To participate, you must consent to the recording of this event, to the use of the information you supply for research purposes and to being contacted again regarding matters relating to coastal communities.  This consent will be a prerequisite for registration for the online focus groups. The focus group recordings are for transcription purposes only; they will not be made publicly available and will be destroyed after 30 days of the event. No personal data will be collected and only information pertaining to the broad service area in which you work will be collected as this may have a bearing on the usability of the coastal classification.  At no point will personal, identifiable data about yourself be used as this information has no relevance to the aims of this research project.   

Taking part: policies, procedures and privacy

 

What will happen to the results of this study?
The study results will inform the co-design of a coastal classification. We will distribute the results of this study via our project website and, to those who request it, by email. We may also publish some of the results via a variety of mediums (e.g. report, blog, press release or an academic publication). 

What are the advantages or disadvantages of taking part?

You may find the project interesting and enjoy bringing your own views, knowledge, experience, and expertise and that of the organisation you represent to inform the research. Once the study is finished it is anticipated that a coastal classification will be produced which is linked to small area data and which will enable the identification and analysis of the socio-economic outcomes of different types of coastal communities to be undertaken.  Additionally, it will provide the evidence base to benchmark and inform decision-making that is often required by practitioners and policymakers.  

Right to withdraw

We hope that you feel able to help us with this study. If decide that you do not want to continue to take part in the study, you are free to withdraw any time up until the following dates:
  • Workshop withdrawal 1 January 2024 
  • Online questionnaire withdrawal 1 July 2021
  • Focus groups withdrawal 1 October 2024
Any information that we collected from you will be destroyed within 30 days of your withdrawal notification.  

Will my taking part in this study be kept confidential?
Your participation and the organisation you represent will remain confidential.  Given the aims of this project, we are only interested in your views, expertise, and experience in relation to the co-design of a coastal classification.  
If you are taking part in our workshops your name, the organisation you represent, and your contact details will be stored securely on a password protected excel spreadsheet saved to the University of Plymouth’s Sharepoint site. 
You are not required to provide any personal details or sensitive information when taking part in the online questionnaire survey or focus groups.
All information will be handled in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations (2021).

Privacy notice for participants
The University of Plymouth is the sponsor for this study based in the United Kingdom. We will be using information provided by yourself to undertake this study and we will act as the data controller. This means that we are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly. The University of Plymouth will keep study data for 10 years after the study has finished. If you have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of this study, please contact the Faculty Research Ethics Administrator: FAHBethics@plymouth.ac.uk

If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer who will investigate the matter. If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data in a way that is not lawful you can complain to the University’s Data protection Officer. The University’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted by e-mailing: dpo@plymouth.ac.uk. 

Informed consent

Workshops
Your participation is voluntary, and it is up to you to decide if you wish to participate. You may decline to respond to any question that you would prefer not to answer. If your consent has not been obtained in advance of the workshops, you will not be allowed to participate.  In advance of the workshop, you must read the information below before giving consent:

I confirm that:
  • I voluntarily accept to participate in the research project and understand that I can withdraw at any time without giving reasons. 
  • I will not be penalised for withdrawing nor will I be questioned on why I have withdrawn.
  • I understand that my name and identity will be concealed.
  • I can withdraw my data from the study up until 1st January 2024
  • I have been given the opportunity to ask questions about the project and my participation.
  • The procedures regarding confidentiality and privacy information have been clearly explained to me. 
  • The use of the data on research publications, sharing and archiving has been explained to me. 
  • I agree to the recording of this workshop/focus group.

Online questionnaire
Your participation is voluntary, and it is up to you to decide if you wish to participate. If you wish to ask questions about the project and about your participation in advance of completing the questionnaire, please email sagarwal@plymouth.ac.uk. Before you have access to the online questionnaire, you must read the information below before giving consent:

I confirm that:
  • I voluntarily accept to participate in the research project and understand that I can withdraw at any time without giving reasons. 
  • I will not be penalised for withdrawing nor will I be questioned on why I have withdrawn.
  • I understand that my name and identity will be concealed.
  • I can withdraw my data from the study up until 1st July 2024
  • I have been given the opportunity to ask questions about the project and my participation.
  • The procedures regarding confidentiality and privacy information have been clearly explained to me. 
  • The use of the data on research publications, sharing and archiving has been explained to me. 

Focus groups
Your participation is voluntary, and it is up to you to decide if you wish to participate. Before you can register for the online focus group, you must read the information below before giving consent:
I confirm that:
  • I voluntarily accept to participate in the research project and understand that I can withdraw at any time without giving reasons. 
  • I will not be penalised for withdrawing nor will I be questioned on why I have withdrawn.
  • I understand that my name and identity will be concealed.
  • I can withdraw my data from the study up until 1st October 2024.
  • I have been given the opportunity to ask questions about the project and my participation.
  • The procedures regarding confidentiality and privacy information have been clearly explained to me. 
  • The use of the data on research publications, sharing and archiving has been explained to me. 
  • I agree to the recording of this focus group.  

Further contact details

workshops
If you wish to withdraw your data from the study up until 1 January 2024, and for all enquiries or concerns relating to this research, please contact sagarwal@plymouth.ac.uk or englishcoastalcommunities@plymouth.ac.uk

Online questionnaire
If you wish to withdraw your data from the study up until 1 July 2024, and for all enquiries or concerns relating to this research, please contact sagarwal@plymouth.ac.uk.

Focus groups
If you wish to withdraw your data from the study up until 1 October 2024, and for all enquiries or concerns relating to this research, please contact sagarwal@plymouth.ac.uk.
 

Get involved

It is important that everyone’s voices are heard. If you are interested in helping to design solutions to address challenges in the area where you live, please contact: englishcoastalclassification@plymouth.ac.uk
Project page

Towards a new coastal classification: An ESRC funded project