Natural England Research: Effectiveness of HAP and HE1 capital items for historical and archaeological feature protection – Information for Participants

Natural England Research: Effectiveness of HAP and HE1 capital items for historical and archaeological feature protection 

About the research 

The Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) at the University of Gloucestershire, is working on behalf of Natural England to understand the effectiveness of agri-environment scheme (AES) capital items for Historical and Archaeological feature protection (HAP and HE1). The research, which is funded by Defra, will seek the views of delivery specialists on the administration and delivery of HAP and HE1 capital Items.  

What will happen next? 

The researchers plan to conduct interviews via Microsoft Teams or by telephone during February and early March 2024. This information sheet provides information on the survey. Before you decide whether to take part, it is important you understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following FAQs and then decide whether you would be prepared to take part. 

Who is the CCRI? 

The CCRI, within the University of Gloucestershire, is a specialist rural research institute working at the interface of agriculture, society and the environment. Learn more about the institute here: https://www.ccri.ac.uk/about-the-ccri/ 

Why am I being asked to participate? 

AES recognise the unique nature of many historic environment assets and both Environmental Stewardship and Countryside Stewardship include capital items that farmers can use to fund works that protect, conserve, and restore these fragile assets. Delivery specialists are crucial to the development and delivery of these items. They include Natural England land management advisers with special interests in delivery for the Historic Environment who work to build and deliver agreements, Natural England Historic Environment experts who provides direct advice on projects. Historic England specialists and Association of Local Government Archaeologists colleagues also provide support from the outset with Historic environment Farm Environment Records management recommendations. Analysis of their roles, work and understanding of scheme and option delivery will provide an essential additional contribution to existing reporting and will be crucial in supporting recommendations to be taken forward into the new Environment Land Management schemes.    

If I participate, what is my data going to be used for? 

The survey data will be used by the CCRI to write a report relating to the effectiveness of the HAP and HE1 capital items. This report will be sent to Defra and Natural England and eventually be made publicly available. We may also publish academic articles using the survey data. It will not be possible to identify you in any published reports. The survey is intended to provide Natural England/Defra with important feedback on the effectiveness of these capital items.  

What will happen to my data? Who will see it? 

We will make the project report freely available for use as ‘open data’, as part of Natural England’s ongoing work to become a more open and transparent public body. We will not include any personal details of the interviewees. The data collected as part of the project will be owned by Natural England and may be used in future research by Natural England or its partners and contractors. Please discuss any concerns with your interviewer and they can answer your questions. 

What will Natural England do with my data? 

Under the General Data Protection Regulations, you can contact Natural England to: 

  • Request to access the personal data held about you 
  • Request your personal data is updated (i.e. to reflect a change of name) 
  • Request to be rectified (if you feel the data is inaccurate or incomplete) 
  • Request to have the data erased (i.e. to withdraw your data from the dataset). 

Do I have to take part? 

No. It is entirely up to you whether you decide to participate, and you can withdraw at any time, even if you initially agree to take part. 

What are the possible benefits of participation? 

This research offers a unique opportunity to feedback your experiences of the HAP and HE1 capital items. This may be used to help improve the effectiveness of schemes for you and others in the future. 

Can I change my mind? 

Yes. You can withdraw from the research at any time; however, it may not be possible to withdraw your data once it has been incorporated into the analysis. 

If you withdraw your data, this means that it will be securely deleted, and it will not be analysed as part of the research. 

Contact details: Peter Gaskell: pgaskell@glos.ac.uk