The Capacity Building Programme was extremely well received and was attended by 256 participants, representing 133 local authorities and municipalities, as well as national and regional authorities, local environmental organisations and businesses. During the programme participants had the opportunity to get hands on experience with the beta version of the Nature Smart Business Model. They applied the tool to various GI project scenarios and even some real potential projects. This enabled them to see first hand the resulting business case that can be generated to help decision makers compare the costs, benefits, and value of utilising GI approaches.

In addition to working with the Business Model tool, the programme built the capacity of its participants to identify opportunities for urban greening, help to formulate the evidence of its benefits, and provide the opportunity for sharing experiences and learning with officers from other local authorities.

Results of the workshop surveys show that across the three project countries, 78% of participants found the Business Model to be useful in a local context. In addition, 86% of all participants who took part in the survey felt very confident to take forward and use the Business Model to value future GI projects. In regard to the workshops, 79% of participants rated them as either very good or outstanding.