Challenge 8.4: How can technology help us better assess and identify projects and opportunities that will improve and increase investment in Scotland’s marine natural capital? 

Key information for applicants

Please note: you must apply for this Challenge via Public Contracts Scotland

Launch date
Wednesday 9 November 2022

Closing date
Midday, Wednesday 30 November

Exploration Stage interviews
Monday 12 December 2022

Exploration Stage
9 to 27 January 2023

Accelerator interviews
Tuesday 31 January 2023

Accelerator Stage
27 February to 9 June 2023

Maximum contract value
£650,000

What does this mean?

Q&A session

A live Q&A session was held with the Challenge Sponsor team on Monday 14th November 2022. A recording of the session can be viewed here:

Why does this Challenge need to be solved?

Marine natural capital benefits people. Nature loss has become a crisis and a systematic risk for businesses and people.  The ecosystem services that marine and coastal nature provide have direct financial or indirect benefits.  We need to work across sectors to protect, enhance and restore marine nature. Attracting private investment to support action on marine natural capital will be essential for effective delivery.

The ability to assess (and therefore promote) opportunities for effective marine nature capital improvements to guide policy, and attract private investment, is currently limited due to challenges with:

• information on where the best opportunities are for protection, enhancement and restoration, linked in part to the coverage and quality of environmental data

• evidencing the links between natural assets and the benefits that they ultimately provide, and embedding this evidence in governance and investment decisions.

We invite solutions that address any or all of these aspects of the challenge

How will we know the Challenge has been solved?

Currently, there are limitations in the ability:

• To visualise the opportunities, and current projects, for marine nature enhancement and restoration at a national scale to guide policy, private investments and new data collection

• To quantify the value/return (or potential value/returns) of marine nature protection, enhancement and restoration projects in terms of both environmental, economic and social benefit, including both quantitative and qualitative benefits.

• To define and communicate the dependencies between certain types of economic or social benefits (such as recreation, tourism, nutrition, arts, public health, climate regulation and general quality of life) and the overall condition of ecosystems)

• For potential investors to understand the value of investment to their business, wider society and the integral role that nature has in the success and stability of business and investment portfolios now and into the future. 

We will know the challenge has been solved by one or more of the following measures:

• An increase in the availability and accessibility of data on marine natural capital in Scotland

• A measurable improvement in marine natural capital stock condition and extent

• An increase in genuine private investment in marine natural capital, with robust and identified positive marine outcomes

• The ability to attract private investment and pursue effective marine nature restoration projects on the basis of economic and social benefits that arise from marine natural capital, whether these are direct or more diffuse, indirect or spatially undefined benefits.

• Marine users and private investors being able to understand and communicate the benefits of their investment

Who are the end users of the solution likely to be?

• Public sector e.g., Marine Scotland, NatureScot, Local Authorities 

• Investors in, and users of, the marine environment (public and private sector) 

• NGOs / Third Sector organisations 

• The public e.g., coastal communities and users 

• Industry e.g., wind developers and aquaculture companies 

Has the Challenge Sponsor attempted to solve this problem before?

• The Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) is a voluntary marine and coastal restoration and recovery fund that was launched in 2022. The fund accepts voluntary donations from users of the marine environment and uses it to create a grant pot for projects which enhance the natural capital these sectors rely on. The Fund is managed by a steering group of NatureScot, Marine Scotland and Crown Estate Scotland.

• The SMEEF team have undertaken an initial review to understand the work required to map opportunities for marine and coastal nature enhancement out to 3 nautical miles in Scotland. It became clear that the scope and audience for that work stretches beyond SMEEF, and therefore it was decided that a more holistic and collaborative approach was required, which we hope that the CivTech challenge will achieve.

• Sector specific opportunities have explored in an ecosystem sense (eg restorative aquaculture) but the value of this or the reward / accreditation is halting investment. 

Are there any interdependencies or blockers?

• To effectively solve the challenge, applicants will need to locate and access relevant marine data from the public and private sectors. To increase the effectiveness of any solution, we would seek for solutions to be developed with involvement of marine users and/or investors.

• Any solution should be developed in line with emerging policy frameworks, guidance, regulations and standards for specific types of investment

Will a solution need to integrate with any existing systems or equipment?

The solution should be user-friendly, accessible and compatible with Scottish Government IT infrastructure. It would be beneficial for a solution to integrate with Marine Scotland’s National Marine Plan Interactive

Is this part of an existing service?

No.

Any technologies or features the Challenge Sponsor wishes to explore or avoid?

No.

What is the commercial opportunity beyond a CivTech contract?

There is growing global demand for marine nature enhancement projects from both the private and public sector.  The UN State of Finance for Nature Report sets out the need to triple investment in nature-based solutions by 2030. The World Bank and other major international organisations are seeking technology solutions to enable investment, unlock integrated development planning and nature-based solutions.

We anticipate that there would be opportunities for applicants to further develop the national-scale solution into a tool for considering individual regions or project-level opportunities. This would be of interested to marine developers such as the offshore wind sector, aquaculture companies, port developers etc. as well as local authorities or regional marine planning partnerships

Who are the stakeholders?

• Marine Scotland 

• Joint Nature Conservation Committee 

• Crown Estate Scotland 

• NatureScot 

• Select private investors for safe testers 

• Enterprise Agencies 

• SEPA 

• Coastal community groups

Who’s in the Challenge Sponsor team?

Marine Scotland is the Directorate of the Scottish Government that is responsible for integrated management of Scotland’s seas. Marine Scotland’s purpose is to manage Scotland’s sea for prosperity and environmental sustainability, working closely with other government departments and external stakeholders. Marine Scotland, being part of Scottish Government, exercises a full range of policy/ administrative capabilities related to comprehensive engagement with stakeholders and ensures compliance with legislation relevant to its marine planning responsibilities, including the SEA and Habitats/Species Directives.

Marine Scotland is leading the development of the Scotland’s Blue Economy Vision and approach.  The Vision sets out, for the first time, a long-term, outcomes based approach for the management of our marine environment. It provides an overarching framing for Scotland’s marine policies, plans and decisions. We know that data and digitalisation will be a key enabler for our Blue Economy Vision.

The challenge sponsor team will be led by two core members of the Blue Economy team: Iona Campbell, who leads on Natural Capital for Blue Economy and Sophie Sellers, our Marine Scotland Green Finance lead.

What is the policy background to the Challenge?

Scotland has rich marine natural capital assets, and Scottish Government has committed to increasing natural capital through our National Performance Framework and the National Strategy for Economic Transformation, including a target to “Rebuild Scotland’s natural capital by 2032”. The Blue Economy will further develop marine natural capital approaches as a framework to balance economic, social and environmental goals for Scotland’s seas.  Adopting a natural capital approach will mean tracking the overall status of marine natural capital stocks, and accounting for the potential impacts of decisions on the capacity of nature to provide us with monetary and non-monetary benefits. A natural capital approach also means pursuing opportunities to proactively protect and restore marine nature. This will improve the sustainability and effectiveness of our policy choices, and secure the long-term future of economic and societal resources.