Accreditation level two: Advanced
Level two: Advanced accreditation helps you develop a strong case for investment in your co-created vision and plans, and to secure senior support from different sectors and organisations locally. There are three sections; each provide suggested steps to take, expected deliverables and how to evidence your work.
Apply for accreditation level two: Advanced
Developing your case for change
Develop a pipeline of investable projects to make your town or city a network of green and blue that delivers for people, place and nature. Rather than retrofitting your plans to available funding, demonstrate to investors how the broad range of outcomes in your vision and GI strategy will be delivered by connected projects, interventions and developments.
Expand the arrows to find out what evidence you need to submit for each section.
This needs to include:
- your vision statement as set out at Foundation level
- a statement to explain the impact at town or city scale. Think of this as your ‘elevator pitch’
- a summary of the challenges and opportunities driving the need for your planned change, from nature recovery, access and health to climate resilience, growth and inclusion
- a summary of how your plans fit with local strategies and national priorities (e.g. net zero, Biodiversity Net Gain, 30by30, Local Nature Recovery Strategy) or any other policies and frameworks
- your high-level strategic objectives (ensure they are strategic and not project-specific)
- your design principles which need to include:
- your approach to community and stakeholder engagement. How will you bring this in at an early stage?
- evidence-based decision making such as use of recognised standards (e.g. Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Principles and Standards) and data
- how you will deliver multiple benefits through nature and green and blue infrastructure
- a summary of the environmental, social and economic benefits you hope to deliver, quantifying outcomes and outputs where possible.
Please note, it is expected that some content may overlap or build upon what you developed and provided for your level one: Foundation application.
Create a well-structured theory of change (ToC) showing how activities may lead to desired outcomes and impacts, following the framework below. This can be done at programme level where multiple related projects work together to achieve your desired short and long‑term outcomes. You should also outline how you will measure progress towards these outcomes.
This needs to include:
- inputs/resources: funding, partnerships, data, community assets, etc.
- activities/interventions: grouped by type (e.g. grey-to-green retrofit, improvement of existing green spaces, river restoration, activation projects)
- outputs: tangible deliverables (e.g. hectares of green space created/enhanced, number of trees planted)
- short-term outcomes (2 years): immediate changes (e.g. increased access to nature, community engagement)
- medium-term outcomes (5 years): broader effects (e.g. improved health, biodiversity uplift, reduced flood risk)
- long-term outcomes (10 years): strategic transformation (e.g. climate resilience, nature-positive urban systems future investment, greater environmental equity)
- assumptions and risks: key assumptions that underpin your ToC and potential risks that could affect the achievement of intended outcomes.
Create an individual project long-list (this can also be done at programme level if applicable).
This needs to include:
- the project title
- a summary of the project
- the expected social, environmental and economic outcomes of each project
- the location of project: where will this take place e.g. ward or neighbourhood
- timelines: when do you expect it to start and complete
- costs: how much will it cost to deliver this change/project
- how the project was identified (e.g. community consultation, stakeholder engagement, environmental justice mapping etc.) and partners involved.
Here is a suggested Excel template to use for the project long-list.
Building your prospectus
Pick three to 10 priority projects or programmes that you hope to deliver over the next three to five years. For each, identify the funding required and create project plans that show your overall approach to delivery, risk management and evaluation. Also demonstrate how the benefits your plans will deliver align with funder and investor interests through an economic assessment.
Produce an economic assessment of the benefits and costs for each project or programme.
Choose an approach that is appropriate for both your project or programme and relevant to funders/investors (e.g. value for money approaches such as cost-benefit analysis, social cost-effectiveness analysis, or complementary tools like return on investment, multi-criteria analysis). The outcomes of the assessment will show funders or investors how your projects align with their work and could help overcome any challenges they are facing.
Things that need to be included in your economic assessment:
When considering the benefits (e.g. environmental, cultural, health, social, equity):
- ensure all material benefits are 1) described qualitatively, 2) quantified and 3) monetised (where possible)
- include a clear reference to the valuation approach for benefits that are quantified and monetised
- identify the distribution of benefits (e.g. to whom they accrue) is identified. This may be a high-level assessment, such as locally or regionally, or a specific group.
When considering the costs ensure that you:
- have monetised all material costs, or explained why this wouldn’t be appropriate
- have clearly stated the source of cost
- have made sure that costs are proportionate to the project activities, timing, spatial scale and objectives
- have identified the distribution of costs.
When completing the analysis ensure that you:
- describe the change relative to the baseline (business as usual)
- define the scope of interventions, timing of activities, and timing of impacts
- state key parameters such as discount rate, price, year and inflation.
When completing the sense-checking ensure that you:
- have identified project risks, assumptions, and data limitations
- have provided a sensitivity analysis where there is uncertainty
- have reflected on whether results seem reasonable given the project context.
When completing the short report to summarise the assessment ensure that:
- the proposed projects align with wider public policy and local needs
- you’ve shown a clear link between stakeholder priorities and the phased realisation of costs/benefits over time
- you have described of dependencies, risks and uncertainties and to what extent they can be mitigated
- you include plans for ongoing monitoring and evaluation, and how this will inform key decision points if necessary.
Detail the funding required and break it down for each project or programme.
- For each project, outline the total funding required and explain what the funding will be used for
- Explain sources and types of funding, if funding has been secured or not, and any co-financing arrangements.
Overall delivery approach to include:
- realistic timelines for each programme or project
- a breakdown of work into tasks and milestones
- key outputs
- identification of dependencies and constraints
- allocation of resources
- how plans have been designed in line with Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Principles and Standards.
Governance and delivery to include:
- who the delivery partners are and their roles and responsibilities
- detail of partnerships, community involvement and ownership
- a decision-making process or flow chart which demonstrates how all stakeholders work together.
Risk management to include:
- a red/amber/green (RAG) rated risk register, assessing both impact and likelihood for example funding delays, governance issues and resource gaps
- a mitigation strategy for these risks
- how risks are being continuously monitored.
Benefits realisation timeline to include:
- when benefits will be delivered
- how they will align with milestones.
Monitoring and evaluation framework to include:
- objectives for the framework
- baselines where appropriate
- key performance indicators (KPIs), dashboards and reporting mechanisms
- what data will be collected, and how and when
- key evaluation questions and methodologies for evaluations
- how green and blue infrastructure/project will be maintained and managed for the long term.
Securing widespread buy-in at a strategic level
Evidence cross-sector leadership and collaboration, strategic alignment and governance for long-term transformation. Think about the roles and responsibilities of your sponsors and champions, and how you can demonstrate their support for your plans.
This needs to include:
- named senior sponsors and champions (across e.g. health, housing, transport, education, environment), with clear roles and responsibilities
- endorsements (video or written), demonstrating how your plans align with statutory duties and strategic priorities
- evidence of partnership working and shared leadership at a strategic level.
Getting started
Download our suggested Excel template to use for the project long-list and use a draft copy of the application form as a space to make notes as you compile all you plan to submit.
