setting smart project material...setting objectives – stage 3 •having identified aims and...

Setting SMART project objectives

[email protected] 01234 752979 www.therrc.co.uk

Dr Ulrika Åberg Restoration and Information Adviser

www.therrc.co.uk

http://www.therrc.co.uk/


• Ecosystem restoration is a fast growing undertaking¹, yet evidence-based assessments are limited

• Only ~17% of completed projects have some form of monitoring²

• Essential step to: – Develop scientific understanding – Improve best practice in the field – Adaptive management – Meet legal requirements (e.g. WFD, EU Directives)

Sources: ¹UN Environment Programme ²RRC’s National River Restoration Inventory (NRRI) – April 2012

Monitoring ecological restoration


Need to convince funders and policy makers that B is better than A (for multiple benefits)

B A


Constraints

• Very little money for monitoring and assessment of river restoration projects

• Needed a cost effective approach to increase our understanding of the effectiveness of different river restoration approaches.


Rivers are complex and

dynamic so need clear integrated objectives and

clear foci

Water low in pollution

Full of native wildlife

Natural structure and connectivity

Sufficient water

flow


• Setting SMART project objectives early provides framework of monitoring

• Helps define ‘success’ and identify what needs monitoring

• Reduces risk of not being able to show what it happening

• Will also help you to identify what baseline data to collect and when

So…….


Specific

• Set concrete, detailed and well defined targets which can be evaluated by specific monitoring methods.

Measurable • Define what is realistic in terms of quantity, quality,

equipment and expertise.

Achievable • What can be achieved should be determined from a

review of evidence of success on other, similar sites.

Realistic • Consider available resources (money, people, time)

and factor in longer-term post-project management

Time-bound • Set deadlines for actions, but allow some flexibility.

Timing is often crucial both for works and monitoring.

The SMART approach


Questions to consider

• If your focus is to increase river forms and processes, what will be the benefit for the ecology (specific fauna and flora and, where appropriate, part(s) of life cycle(s))?

• If your focus is to increase ecological (habitat) diversity for a range of fauna and/or flora, which parts of the life cycle are you aiming to restore for and what physical river features are you expecting to develop to support this?

• Are your objectives: – Clear (Specific)? – Quantifiable (Measurable)? – Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound?


Interrelated objectives

• Interrelationships between hydromorphological and ecological processes – restoration of natural forms and processes

– improving biodiversity

• Hydromorphological processes and patterns are the prime drivers of ecosystem functioning

• Understanding the pressures on the system and the links between river processes and biodiversity is the key to setting SMART project and monitoring objectives


http://www.wiser.eu/results/conceptual-models/






http://www.therrc.co.uk/rrc_pragmo.php





Objective

Aim: Increase salmon spawning and egg survival by introducing gravels and narrowing the river to increase flow velocity variability.


Setting objectives – stage 1

Define the Aim Firstly determine the overall aim of the project.

For example: • Restore floodplain dynamics by reconnecting to the

river;

You now know what you wish to achieve, but this does not define how you are going to do this

or how to measure success.



Specific project targets

This requires the overall aim to be defined as specific targets. Aim : Restore floodplain dynamics by reconnecting the river

Targets: • Cut a new sinuous course at a new bed level to encourage a more

natural floodplain connectivity flow regime;

• Establish floodplain vegetation by planting;

• Lessen flood risk to properties.

You can now identify your key aim(s) and specific targets in terms of river restoration techniques



• Having identified aims and targets, (S)MART objectives can be set.

a) The project objective needs to be Measurable – to track progress and evaluate success

b) Define what is realistic both in terms of project size and available time/resources

Specific and Measurable, with A, R & T applying more generically


Achievable, Realistic and over what Time-frame

• A - What can be achieved should be determined from a review of evidence of success on other, preferably similar, sites to the one in question.

• R - Consider carefully your available resources (money, people, time) and factor in longer-term post-project management.

• T - Not only do you have to consider the duration of the project works in order to allocate your resources, but the timing may be critical.


Restoring a floodplain

T


Questions?

setting smart project material...setting objectives – stage 3 •having identified aims and...

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