SEPA Triage Framework

As SEPA continues to recover from a cyber-attack in late December 2020, it has taken the opportunity to develop a new way of working that has a much greater focus on frequent virtual collaboration, that will:

• Quickly help confine detailed, bespoke advice to where it most adds value; and,
• Shift the focus from transactional to collaborative ways of working going forward.

This collaboration will guided by questions such as:

• Where will collaboration deliver the big opportunities and/or address significant environmental risks?
• Can SEPA add significant value in this particular instance?
• Is there potential for another part of the Authority to provide the input needed?
• Can SEPA provide input in a different way, other than through bespoke advice?
• Can SEPA deliver the desired outcomes through a discussion rather than multiple transactions?

For example, for a complex flood risk issue, one discussion involving a SEPA flood risk expert may be most efficient.

SEPA is also keen to engage on strategically important areas of change that create opportunities to deliver place outcomes through the following specific themes:

• A shift to zero carbon;
• Blue/green infrastructure provision;
• Resilience to future climate change including flooding; and/or,
• Location, siting, design and use of materials that support a circular economy approach to place.

This means engaging at the earliest opportunity to influence the shaping of places in collaboration with planning authorities and other stakeholders. This could be through the masterplanning process and/or the earliest stages of evidence gathering to inform location, siting and design. SEPA has already started to shift to this way of working, and joint initiatives with the Key Agencies Group are a prime example.

Further details on the SEPA Triage Framework are available here - https://www.sepa.org.uk/media/560848/a-triage-framework-for-engagement-with-sepa-1.pdf

(March 2021)