Scotland and the Netherlands face urban challenges including flood risk, biodiversity loss and unequal access to quality green and blue space. Scotland has strengths in participatory planning, though it is still early in applying these approaches to climate adaptation that delivers environmental, social and resilience benefits, particularly for disadvantaged communities, while the Netherlands excels in inclusive, multi-benefit blue green infrastructure (BGI) that promotes equity and cohesion. 

The ICF award will establish collaboration between UWS and WUR to co-develop participatory, community-led approaches
to equitable, climate-resilient urban BGI. Priorities include exchanging expertise in water governance, urban planning and inclusive participatory methods; testing co-design approaches with a Scottish community, focusing on disadvantaged and marginalised groups; and producing comparative guidance that aligns with national policies while generating transferable insights for wider European contexts. The workshops, practitioner exchanges and joint outputs will seed a partnership, providing the evidence, concepts and networks necessary to develop a competitive Horizon Europe proposal on inclusive, multi-benefit urban nature interventions. For early career researchers, the project provides critical experience in building international collaborations, comparative case studies and joint publications, directly supporting the pursuit of European funding.