Consultant @Emergenceconsul & @CultivateInnov 
PhD energy innovation @SPRU 
Into decarbonisation, regeneration & climate/crypto @Drholwat 
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How can local authorities leverage crowdfunding to finance nature-based solutions (NBS)? 
@BrownSdc and I explored this question with members of @LewesDC & @EastbourneBC as part of the Net Zero Innovation Programme:
https://bit.ly/3zERMCk
#COP26Local #NetZeroLocalpic.twitter.com/ExuLzWKwoa
Lewes & Eastbourne councils have declared a #ClimateEmergency, along with 75% of all other UK authorities
Councils have also produced biodiversity strategies aiming to restore habitats, provide climate
resilience+ promote healthy communities through NBS 
While these related challenges require significant investment over the coming years, the @GreenAllianceUK suggest that councils are able to fund just 25-35% of their #netzero pledges 
There has therefore been growing interest in civic crowdfunding for local authorities, where citizens collaborate to propose, fund+ deliver projects that provide a community service or deliver public value through local improvements 
pic.twitter.com/U2GMAHIrPv
There are 2 main crowdfunding approaches:
Investment based
- Involves debt/equity investment
- Investors receive fixed income from loans or dividends from shares based on performance
- Suits projects that generate a financial return
- More common in the community energy spacepic.twitter.com/evwmC848mF
Donation-based
- A ‘non-investment model’
- Typically a large group of small contributors not expecting a return
- Emphasis on social+ environmental benefits to attract local investors
This model best fits nature based solutions, which generally don't generate a profit pic.twitter.com/QxJUc0YFIF
Two donation-based crowdfunding solutions were explored during workshops with Lewes & Eastbourne councils to fund NBS:
Local Business Crowdfunding
Citizen crowdfunding
Presentations from the #Sussex Local Nature Partnership, @WSCCNews, @SustBusNetwork+ @SussexGiving were followed by an online business canvas activity, inspired by @ConnectingNBS
Participants included Councillors+ Officers from Lewes & Eastbourne Councils
Some insights below
How can local business crowdfunding help meet #NetZero?
- Enables businesses to meet their carbon offsetting & environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals locally
- Council can facilitate, helping to identify local
projects and partnershipspic.twitter.com/Nl3WYjTg1q
What are the barriers to introducing this? - Lack of resources+ knowledge in small firms to know how to engage local projects - Lack of standardisation+ metrics hampering benefits from emissions offsetting - Few existing examples that demonstrate how best to govern these models
How can citizen-led crowdfunding help meet #NetZero?
- Funds projects that have no obvious revenue creation
- Involves citizens in the ownership and governance of projectspic.twitter.com/x4wbtI3cbD
What are the barriers to introducing this? - Administrative costs of council running its own platform - Questions over how the projects would be governed by council & citizens
A key case study explored was West Sussex Crowd, a @Spacehive platform that has engaged 4900 local backers across 200 projects, including nature based solutions pic.twitter.com/28iaWOQUSE
Four conclusions were identified on how the council could support the next stages of developing donation-based crowd funding opportunities for NBS:
Adopt existing platforms and provide a matchmaking & validation service
Seek to channel projects through pre-existing platforms, like West Sussex Crowd, and
undertake a facilitation role
Provide and identify suitable land 
Land was identified as a key limiting factor to developing NBS. The council could make public land available+ match suitable land to different projects. For example, afforestation projects would be best positioned next to existing woodland
Create collaborative governance structures 
Regional+ county councils could explore umbrella partnerships to link experience and knowledge of crowdfunding. This could enable projects to be aggregated, helping drive scale and make investment more attractive to private funders
Better link social, environmental+ economic benefits across council activities 
The interlinked value of NBS feeds into activities across multiple council departments. This value could be collectively recognised and leveraged to enhance the council’s current activities
Thank you for reading 
Please retweet if you found this useful!
If you would like to read the full report, which also includes opportunities for investment based crowdfunding, please drop me a message 
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