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UK Terrestrial Evidence Partnership of Partnerships (UKTEPoP)

photo by Nick Burton

What is UKTEPoP?

The UK Terrestrial Evidence Partnership of Partnerships (UKTEPoP) is a collaborative initiative launched in 2017 to strengthen and unify the efforts of organisations dedicated to collecting evidence on biodiversity with volunteer citizen scientists, across the UK. 

What is UKTEPoP’s mission?

UKTEPoP's core mission is to foster a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing, enabling its partners to achieve more together than they could individually. Through this approach, UKTEPoP is helping to improve understanding of the UK’s natural environment, ensuring that conservation efforts are informed, efficient, and impactful.

Contents

  1. Why a ‘Partnership of Partnerships’?
  2. What value does UKTEPoP bring?
    1. A common framework to tackle biodiversity monitoring challenges
    2. Community engagement and knowledge sharing
  3. UKTEPoP e-Bulletins

Why a ‘Partnership of Partnerships’?

UKTEPoP acts as an umbrella partnership over a set of existing partnerships between JNCC and organisations that conduct species monitoring, as well as country nature conservation bodies and governments who support the schemes, and bring operational and policy perspectives on requirements and use of monitoring data. Collectively, these partners fund, organise, run and steer nine structured schemes and a group of unstructured and semi-structured schemes. Each of the partners have signed a Declaration of Intent, making them UKTEPoP signatories.

Butterfly Conservation
Bat Conservation Trust
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland
British Trust for Ornithology
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Forestry Commission
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Natural England
Natural Resources Wales
NatureScot
Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Plantlife
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Scottish Government
UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
Welsh Government

These partners fund, organise, run and steer the following 11 monitoring schemes 

Breeding Bird Survey
Wetland Birds Survey
Goose and Swan Monitoring Programme
Seabird Monitoring Programme
National Bat Monitoring Programme
Rare Breeding Birds Panel
National Plant Monitoring Scheme
UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (which includes Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey)
Pollinator Monitoring Scheme
Biological Records Centre supporting national schemes and societies
Avian Demographics Scheme (webpage available soon)

It is important to note that UKTEPoP is not a closed group. Many other organisations actively participate in our events and contribute valuable input and guidance to our work. Although not official signatories, these organisations are invaluable to UKTEPoP, as they not only support our efforts but also offer diverse perspectives that enrich and enhance our work.

If you are interested in getting involved in our events in a similar capacity, please email TEPoP@jncc.gov.uk.

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What value does UKTEPoP bring?

A common framework to tackle biodiversity monitoring challenges

A common framework to tackle biodiversity monitoring challenges

While many of the organisations partnered with JNCC focus on different taxa, UKTEPoP ensures a cohesive approach by bringing these diverse efforts together under a common framework. This not only enhances data consistency and quality but also facilitates the sharing of best practices and innovation across the biodiversity monitoring community. An example of this is through the development of the UKTEPoP monitoring schemes strategy for diversity, equity and inclusion. Furthermore, UKTEPoP works closely with the Terrestrial Surveillance Development and Analysis (TSDA) Partnership which undertakes development work and analyses across UKTEPoP schemes and their data; tackling challenges to biological recording including sampling bias, gaps in coverage, and volunteer retention and engagement.

Community engagement and knowledge sharing

Since UKTEPoP’s inception, JNCC has hosted an annual UKTEPoP Festival. This has evolved from an in-person conference into a series of online webinars and workshops since 2020. The key aim of these events is to provide participants with a unique platform for sharing knowledge, celebrating successes, exploring new ways of working, and promoting equity, diversity and inclusion. By hosting workshops, webinars, and meetings, the annual festivals not only strengthen relationships between organisations, but also drive innovation and collaboration on common challenges.

See our previous Festival summaries here:

All event recordings from 2020 to date can be found in the TEPoP YouTube folder.

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UKTEPoP e-Bulletins

In addition to these events, our quarterly UKTEPoP e-Bulletins play a crucial role in keeping the community connected. These updates showcase the latest publications, success stories, and developments within the partnership, ensuring that all members are informed and inspired by the collective achievements. This frequent exchange of information helps maintain momentum, highlights best practices, and reinforces the shared commitment to improving biodiversity monitoring in the UK. The e-Bulletin is compiled by JNCC, but we welcome relevant submissions from others. If you’d like to share something in the next e-Bulletin, or you are interested in being added to the mailing list, please email TEPoP@JNCC.gov.uk with the subject heading “e-Bulletin”.

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Collaborative working

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