Consulting you on improvements to LNP membership and structure
Updated: Sep 28
As part of updating the partnership strategy of Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership for 2026 onwards, we want to look at how we could improve the partnership itself - how we work, how we can communicate better, how we organise ourselves to make more difference by working together in partnership. With the help of a focus group of different LNP members in autumn 2025, we have a range of proposals and suggestions. We are now seeking the views of people from around Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership on whether you would like these changes to be made, or whether you have adjustments and suggestions to consider.
Some of the reasons we are interested in improving and strengthening the partnership are:
Lots of people consider themselves part of the Local Nature Partnership, but have very different pictures of what that means to them.
There are uncertainties about what the partnership is and what being a member means.
As a wide and varied partnership, do our methods of communication and sharing information need updating – is there something that would serve your needs better?
Some areas of current Local Nature Partnership strategy have groups that meet or communicate more specifically. What can we organise to connect and involve people where this isn’t the case?
We organised a focus group of a range of Local Nature Partnership members who met three times in Autumn 2025, to look at these questions and also give related input into draft Local Nature Partnership strategy.
Issues identified by the focus group include:
There is a lack of clarity about who is in the partnership – which organisations, and which people from those organisations would be the key LNP contacts.
The GLNP board appears to be somewhat of a closed shop, and there is a desire for a more inclusive and participatory approach that better connects wider members of the partnership.
Organisations want to be part of the Local Nature Partnership in order to connect, collaborate and feel plugged in to a wider picture and communicate more easily. However, if they are not part of an existing working group or allied network, it is very difficult to achieve this.
There’s a range of different understandings in the wider Partnership over the role of the Local Nature Partnership and the way it works, so better open communication, clarity and transparency is needed.
The focus group made a range of recommendations which have also been considered and discussed by the GLNP board.
We would like to consult you all now to see whether you would like these changes to be made, or whether you have adjustments and suggestions to consider.
Our recommended changes are described in the consultation document below:
Please do respond to the survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JSX2XG7 by end of Monday 8 June 2026 to give your views.
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