Task Force 6: Co-creation and Governance

Task Force 6 focuses on co-creation and co-governance for nature-based solutions, which involves engaging citizens and stakeholders in assessing problems and issues, designing nature-based solutions, implementing them in a just and inclusive manner, as well as ensuring long-term maintenance, utilization and monitoring of their services. This Taskforce invites all interested NetworkNature projects to join, drawing on their experiences while exploring linkages with relevant EU initiatives.

Objectives

TF6 aims to address gaps and barriers in nature-based solutions governance and promote co-creation for inclusive nature-based solutions. Its objectives are to:

Identify and promote ways to integrate principles of equality, inclusiveness and justice in NbS.
Explore and analyse the socio-political conditions to develop NbS and the existing planning and institutional barriers.
Explore, formalise and stage bottom-up initiatives for NbS (i.e. meta-governance).
Explore co-governance gaps in the full lifecycle of NbS, from strategic decisions to long-term management.
Explore co-creation approaches and innovations with systemic, sociotechnical perspectives, e.g. through NbS Living Labs, participatory evaluation and place keeping.

You must work in an EU funded research project related to nature-based solutions (NBS)

Key Activities for 2025

Members of TF6 engage within three dedicated workstreams which enable sub-group collaborations and streamline their work. There is a dedicated workstream on engaging stakeholders, a dedicated workstream on the use of the online DSS tool and a dedicated workstream on spatial planning.

This year TF6 focuses on:

Exploring lessons learnt and examples on justice component of NbS and involving unusual suspects in co-creation, such as commonly excluded and vulnerable groups – An online workshop was held on 13 March 2025 to identify successful strategies, key principles, and lessons learned for meaningfully engaging commonly excluded stakeholders in nature-based solution co-creation processes. The findings of the workshop and a previously conducted survey will be summarized into an upcoming publication expected later in 2025.
Consolidating the Online Co-creation DSS (Decision Support System) tool in preparation for testing and the launch of the first version – the DSS was tested in Milan summer school in July 2025 and will be further tested by the French NbS hub later in 2025. This tool has been supported through the NN Labs.
Exploring how to further develop skills and capacities for co-creation processes.
Exploring ways how to monitor and evaluate designated co-creation processes.
Connecting TF6 activities to other projects in order to enable cross-projects and cross-TFs collaborations.

Resources

guidance screenshot - co-creating nature-based solutions

Co-creating Nature-based Solutions with Commonly Excluded Stakeholders

This report, developed within NetworkNature+ Task Force 6 on Co-Creation and Governance, highlights the persistent exclusion of commonly excluded stakeholders...

network nature TF6 co-creation and co-governance bi-annual workplan

NetworkNature TF6 Work Package: Co-creation and co-governance

Exploring lessons learnt and examples on justice component of NbS and involving unusual suspects in co-creation, such as...