Evaluation of the Species Recovery Programme

The Species Recovery Programme (SRP) has operated since the early 1990's and is a Natural England programme which supports targeted action for England's threatened and declining species. Following an uplift in budget from 2022/23, the (enhanced) Species Recovery Programme now comprises three components: 1) Memorandums of Agreement (MoAs) and contracts between NE and partners/suppliers setting out a formal way of working together to deliver shared project objectives; 2) the new Species Recovery Programme Capital Grant Scheme (SRPCGS); and 3) monitoring and evaluation of the outcomes and effectiveness of the SRP. Capital research and development is funded through contracts and MoAs between Natural England and partner organisations or suppliers; whilst capital interventions for targeted species are funded through grant payments to third parties via the SRPCGS. The evaluation of the Species Recovery Programme has two initial objectives: 1. To undertake a full Process Evaluation to provide evidence of the effectiveness and success of implementing the enhanced Species Recovery Programme including MoA's/contracts in 2022-2025 and the (new) grant scheme in 2023-2025. 2. Developing rigorous approaches to establishing the baseline against which we (Natural England, its partners and its stakeholders) can undertake impact and value for money evaluation in the future, and ensure measures are in place to collect data, evaluate and communicate findings on impact and value for money.