Enabling conditions for effective marine spatial planning

As marine spatial planning (MSP) continues to gain global prominence as an approach ocean governance, planners and other stakeholders are eager evaluate its social ecological outcomes better understand whether plans achieving their intended results in equitable cost-efficient manner. While a plan’s for environments coastal communities may be of particular interest, these cannot separated from processes. The field has yet fully develop the guidance necessary this critical consideration how features MSP process external factors interact with plan performance outcomes. To fill gap we used literature review expert discussions identify 19 enabling or disabling conditions within four major categories: Plan Attributes, Legal Context, Development Social Integration. We propose semi-quantitative scoring development narratives operationalize framework part comprehensive methodology outcome evaluation. Applying can add depth quantitative evaluation, shed light on questions attribution, inform adaptation. Evaluating explicit context identified here stimulate discussion around what works provide path forward assessing benefits costs worldwide. By identifying instrumental effective MSP, alternatively, hindering plan, guide adaptation promote learning across wider community.