As part of our vital work with Geospatial Commission's National Land Data Programme to test a Land Use Framework for Devon, FFCC, British Geological Survey and Westcountry Rivers Trust facilitated a design sprint in early 2023.

The design sprint aimed to create a prototype decision support tool to improve carbon-focused land use decision-making in the rural environment, and involved guiding a small but representative group of stakeholders through a creative product co-design process.

The group set out to investigate how data and digital tools can help consider and understand how land use decisions impact carbon sequestration and storage in the context of soil, woodland and forestry, and peatlands. In particular, they focused on how long-term carbon sequestration and storage show up in rural land use decision making, given that carbon is an essential component for many ecosystem services.

This report provides an overview of the findings and recommendations that emerged from the Devon design sprint and prototype testing. Below are three key insights to enable better decisions about land.

• The need for a shared evidence base for land use decision making

The wide range of data and tools available to decision-makers and land advisors can feel overwhelming and difficult to navigate. It is important that users have the best available information and feel able to use it in decision making.

• Data catalysing Communities of Change

Data and tools facilitate confidence in pursuing shared outcomes on farm and/or landscape scales. When a shared digital evidence base features in decision making, broader benefits and more complex, multifunctional solutions can be considered.

• Importance of multi-scale data and tools

Decision makers want to be able to have high resolution data relevant at different scales to facilitate conversations on the ground around land use options. This enables them to explore options for a specific site, and to know how any changes to land use on that site might interact with land around it.