Explore framework: integrating health, wellbeing, nature and sustainability outcomes into strategic place-making
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Published on 7 May 2024
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Oliver James – University of Exeter
Jamie McCauley – University of Exeter
Tim Sunderland – Natural England
Dora Young – Natural England
RENEW has been working with Natural England to support development of the Explore framework, a practical, evidence-based framework for integrated planning.
High-quality health and wellbeing, supported by a healthy natural environment, are the basis for thriving local places and people. Yet local authorities face a challenging range of issues, from nature and climate emergencies to health and wellbeing crises, all while making decisions under pressure and with limited resources. Natural England has been working with local authority partners to co-design a framework that takes account of the complex relationships underpinning these different outcomes. RENEW has been supporting them in that process.
This work aimed to:
The framework is designed to help users bring the four outcomes of health, wellbeing, nature and sustainability together, test intervention ideas, and work through trade-offs in a practical, collaborative way. Natural England led the conceptualisation, design and delivery of the Explore framework, with RENEW researchers supporting its development and testing with local authorities. RENEW researchers offered expertise and advice on topics from strategic planning for local governments to behavioural public performance. Our collaboration focused on the development of appropriate public performance measures, piloting the framework, and developing training and facilitation materials.
An initial literature review looked at existing decision-support tools, learning from past experiences and helping to inform the development process. From 2023 through to 2025 we engaged local authorities through a series of in-person workshops and in-depth interviews, exploring what factors were important, how to work through the different outcomes and what users needed from the tool. This process saw us develop, test and refine the framework with local authorities from different parts of the country to make sure it met their different needs across different scenarios including the development of a new Local Plan, a Green Infrastructure Strategy, and a peri-urban land use strategy.
We worked with Natural England to develop a brief for the digital development of the tool and, once the developers were appointed, we worked with them to turn what had previously been a paper-based framework into a sophisticated digital package. The RENEW team has also provided quality assurance for the data dashboards. Finally, RENEW researchers developed facilitation materials and delivered training for facilitators to use EXPLORE in a workshop setting with local practitioners. This will ensure local authorities can get the most out of the framework, helping users assess scenarios and design interventions.
The Explore framework is a high-level, inter-disciplinary decision-support tool that prioritises health, wellbeing, nature and sustainability outcomes, helping users put these at the centre of strategic planning conversations. It will be freely available from the Local Partnerships website for local authorities and others to use.
The Explore resources offer:
Explore can help bring together diverse disciplines, professions and sectors to support integrated planning; identify opportunities, synergies and trade-offs; and bridge the gap between technical information and practical solutions. The framework can be used alongside other more detailed and specialist tools and other resources where necessary.
“The format of the workshop, and the tools, lent themselves excellently to exploring the content of the future Local Plan. I did not expect the depth of discussions that we had and also the connections that participants were making. I have had lots of positive feedback from participants this morning asking when the next workshop is! I am also so pleased with the notes and ideas generated. The more I think about it, the more a factor map of the Local Plan could be produced!”
Local authority Head of Planning Strategy
The framework will be launched in spring 2026 and will be hosted on the Local Partnerships website for everyone to access. Anyone wanting to shape plans and activities in a local place will be able to use the framework to improve long-term outcomes for health, wellbeing, nature and sustainability.
