The NORA Site Selection Working Group is seeking experts from the NORA network to participate in a project to identify and reach consensus on the factors most important in determining site selection for native oyster restoration projects in Europe. It is hoped that by drawing on the pan-European experience represented within the NORA community, useful guidelines can be developed for future restoration projects. Anna Hughes of the University of Edinburgh is leading the project, which will seek to summarise current knowledge on this topic through a literature review and through drawing on the available expertise to establish a consensus on the most important factors.
Participating experts will be asked to take part in a Delphi process. The expert-based, anonymous and iterative Delphi technique is well-suited to address complex issues and to address data gaps. The Delphi technique comprises two or more rounds of structured online surveys, each followed by an analysis of the responses and anonymous feedback to the participants. It is a technique that has been shown to result in reduced bias in reaching consensus than typical round table approaches. The approach requires the contributing experts to be anonymous, therefore there will be no meetings regarding the project until the write-up stage. The process will be run by asking experts to return the surveys to the project lead.
The timeline for the project is as follows. Please contact the project lead, Anna Hughes, at oystersiteselection@gmail.com by November 26th. Each round will ask participants to return their responses within 2-3 weeks (with a break over the Christmas and New Year period). The Delphi process will be completed by the end of February 2021, allowing time for the project to be completed for presentation at the NORA 4 conference in May. We urge all interested parties to get in touch to find out more.