Evaluation of the Shared Outcomes Fund ‘Offshore Wind Enabling Actions Programme (OWEAP)’

HMC provided sector specific expertise to support a two year project to provide the monitoring and evaluation of Defra’s flagship programme on offshore wind, the Offshore Wind Enabling Actions Programme (OWEAP). The aim of OWEAP is to enable the responsible and sustainable growth of offshore wind, recognising its essential contribution to meeting the Government’s climate change commitments, whilst ensuring the protection of our marine environment.

This project aims to capture valuable learning from OWEAP, as a pioneering programme tackling the dual challenges of expansion of offshore wind and the protection and enhancement of the marine environment. It also aims to quantify the impact of OWEAP, including the contribution of evidence from each project, and assess OWEAP’s influence on associated policy at a programme level.

HMC provided technical insight and evaluation support, helping to direct the development of the evaluation framework, including shaping the approach to evaluation and data collection.

Key messages:

• HMC worked closely with UK government to continually improve the approach to enabling the delivery of offshore wind
• HMC supported an impact assessment of Defra’s flagship offshore wind enabling actions programme
• HMC provided technical insight and extensive practical experience of policy and governance, net zero and net gain, social sciences, and the environmental impacts of offshore wind development