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Appendix 2: Interview guides

The pilot project leaders were interviewed twice, through semi-structured interviews, once in March 2023 and again in October 2023, via Microsoft Teams meetings with two S-UMMATION project team members leading and noting the interviews. We also audio-recorded the interviews, with consent, using a separate device. Additionally, three workshops organized by the project covered experiences, lessons, findings, and plans for upscaling and further development.

First round of interviews – March 2023

Intro/​warm-up

  • Briefly, what are you currently working on in the pilot?

Background/​context

  • Has there been any changes to the scope of the project? If so, why?
  • Before entering this pilot, did you/the team been involved in similar or other related NBS projects? (if yes, has that previous work been useful, how?)
  • How was the team put together? What are key professions involved in the pilot?
  • Are there other projects you look to/learn from, in your country, or abroad? 

Involvement and engagement

  1. What has been key engagement, dissemination and communication activities. Any plans/activities for the spring?
  2. What concrete activities have stakeholders been involved in so far – why and how? Did this go as expected/hoped? E.g. how many, what type, etc
  3. What is your plan to further engage or continue involvement in the project, and have you had any adjustments or changes to this along the way?
  4. What are the main strengths and weaknesses / benefits and disadvantages to involvement in general and your approach to this specifically?

Frameworks and (plans for) evaluation/​monitoring/​follow up

  1. You during summer last year shared that you will be using some standard to evaluate the pilot. Could you elaborate a bit on this? How is this going? Has this been done?
  2. Are you doing anything specific on monitoring biodiversity? 

Success factors and Important prerequisites for (success) of such projects

  1. What have been key enabling factors for your project to be established and develop as it has so far? (What are currently working well?)
  2. Are you facing any challenges in the project at the moment? How will these be solved?
  3. From planning to actual implementation of NBS and follow-up, do you see any potential hurdles (barriers)? Is this based on your own experience? (link it back to case if so, to the interviewee see these as NBS and/or context specific?)
  4. What are in your experience key important prerequisites for successful implementation of NBS?

Key take-ways/​reflections/​learnings so far (and mainstreaming/​scaling up):

  1. If someone embarking on the same as your project, what advice would you give them? What is your main recommendation for other similar projects that aim to replicate/establish similar NBS/ initiatives?
  2. What are 2-3 key learnings so far, that you think would be useful for others implementing NBS?

Anything related to the topic of implementing NBS that you would like to share/​raise?

Second round of interviews – October 2023 

Status and next steps

  1. Briefly, what is the current status and what are you currently working on in the pilot project?
  2. Since spring 2023 (the previous interview) what has been key developments/achievements and, if any, challenges?
  3. How is any monitoring going?
  4. Next steps for the rest of the project period? And any plans for beyond the end of pilot project (“upscaling”)?

Lessons learned

  1. Any other projects or handbooks that has been useful for you as a guide or example/that you would recommend looking at regarding nature-based solutions?
  2. Is there something that has surprised you when working with this project? What and why?
  3. Main lessons learned that you would like to convey that could be relevant for other similar and/or other types of NBS related projects?

Supporting and enabling factors and ways forward

  1. Do you have any thoughts on what would be the most effective types of policy support for NBS? Both specifically for your NBS pilot type / in your context and general.
  2. With what you know now, what is something that you would recommend to a new NBS initiative for it to be successful?
  3. Do you have any opinion on what should be key question to focus on in the next years regarding Nature-based solutions? (i.e., where is more knowledge needed)?

Anything related to the topic of implementing NBS that you would like to share/raise?

Nordic Council of Ministers I www.norden.org/publications I pub@norden.org