Glen Smith, Research Fellow at the Flood Hazard Research Centre-Middlesex University, was the speaker for the first session.

He talked about his experiences of researching participation in the management of socio-ecological systems. Using the examples of marine spatial planning (MSP) in Scotland and coastal climate change resilience in Ireland, he outlined examples of how stakeholder and public engagement is facilitated, where and why it fails, and what alternatives can be explored to uphold the good governance principles of transparency and broad participation.