Step 1: Make a plan

What is a Collaborative Monitoring Plan?

Data are valuable – they take valuable time and effort to gather and can influence the environmental decisions that affect your river. So, whether you are beginning to monitor your river or have been collecting data for some time, you will need to think about what you and your group want to know and what you can do with the time and money you have.

For example:

• What are your main concerns about the health of your river?
• What changes would you like to see as a result of your monitoring?
• What parameters do you want to measure and with what kind of kit?
• How will you use the data that you have collected?
• What partner organisations will you work with to enhance the impact of your monitoring data?

If the members of your group think about the answers to these questions and write down what you have agreed to, then you will have your initial monitoring plan, which can be updated as you go along.

Some groups prefer to work alone, but experience shows that your efforts are likely to have more impact if you talk to and work collaboratively with suitable partners. If you and your partners write down your joint objectives and plan of action for collecting and using data, then you will have produced a “Collaborative Monitoring Plan”.

Why have a Collaborative Monitoring Plan?

• It helps everyone focus on what they are trying to achieve
• It helps you learn about the current state of your river or stream before you start monitoring
• It documents your sampling methods and quality assurance procedures
• It helps you select the most appropriate monitoring methods that are important to you, your group and wider community
• It sets out how you will use your data to try to create the change you want to see

After you have begun monitoring, you should review your plan annually to check whether the data you are collecting is answering your monitoring questions and achieving the impact that you want.

Your plan should also take into account the seasonal nature of a monitoring programme – most groups follow this rhythm:

• Winter: planning, annual review, fundraising, buying kit
• Spring and Summer: sampling
• Autumn and winter: data analysis & interpretation

Who is involved in producing the plan?

Once your group has decided to start monitoring, you should develop a steering group or sub-committee to plan and design your monitoring programme.

Your steering group may be part of the CaBA Partnership or it may be independent. Nevertheless, you will need to consider who you are planning to work with. The key thing is that partners need to be interested in carrying out monitoring in a catchment and want their sampling to change river health for the better.

It is recommended that 4-6 individuals make up the steering group comprising the following key roles (one person can fulfil more than one role):

• Leadership: A senior member of the lead organisation
• Coordination: The person who is coordinating the volunteers
• Volunteer representation: At least one representative of the volunteer sampling team
• Technical expertise: Someone with technical expertise in the monitoring that you are carrying out (water quality, soils, sediment erosion etc)
• Local expertise: Someone who is familiar with the catchment
• Technical advisor: often someone with experience in monitoring or data analysis

Drafting your Collaborative Monitoring Plan

To build an effective Collaborative Monitoring Plan, you’ll be responding to the following 11 questions. Don’t feel you have to answer all these before you can get started. If you all agree on what to measure to answer one of your important monitoring questions, crack on. Your Collaborative Monitoring Plan will be a living document you will refer to and update regularly.

1. What information already exists?
2. What gaps are there in your current knowledge?
3. What issues or problems are you seeing on the ground? 
4. What is your purpose in monitoring?
5. What are your objectives for the river?
6. What questions do you want your monitoring to answer?
7. How are you planning to use the data you collect?
8. What changes or impact would you like to see as a result of your monitoring?

Overview of the steps in developing your Collaborative Monitoring Plan

1. Make a plan – this page! The container that holds it all.
2. Define your purpose – Be clear about why you’re monitoring.
3. Collect data – Choose methods and follow shared data principles.
4. Use your data – Build a weight of evidence and visualise your findings.
5. Work collaboratively – Share results and align with partners.
6. Make a difference – Turn evidence into change.
7. Join the movement – Add your work to the national picture.

Next Step: 2 – Defining your purpose