Stakeholder Analysis. Report on stakeholder analysis including evaluation of engagement, training needs and capacity building

NaturaConnect is a Horizon Europe research project, which aims to work closely with key stakeholders to co-develop tools and build capacity that will assist European Union Member States to design a resilient, coherent, and well-connected network of protected and conserved areas – the Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N). The project aims to elicit stakeholder visions and to tailor knowledge and tools, resulting from engagement and dissemination efforts across Europe and in six specific case study areas. This report provides an overview of the stakeholder engagement during the first half of the project, outlines the capacity building approach and briefly discusses the main communication activities. An overview of applied methods in the stakeholder analysis, results from the stakeholder mapping and an evaluation of the engagement activities conducted until end of 2023 are described. Capacity building is a crucial project component in developing knowledge, understanding, skills and competences for users of the NaturaConnect frameworks, data and tools. The capacity building evaluation of this report focuses on the NaturaConnect Learning Platform and the NaturaConnect Training Needs Assessment. This mid-term report assesses engagement activities conducted until date in order to address any identified bottlenecks. The capacity building part provides an overview of applied methods and tools for assessing training needs and describes key features of the NaturaConnect Learning Platform.