knowledge and society

Knowledge and SocietyPromoting Sustainable

Communities in Devon and Cornwall

Town and Parish CouncilsGregory Borne

Introduction

• Example- ‘Promoting Sustainable Communities in Devon and Cornwall’

• Translating research into knowledge for broader society

• Activity

Recent and Current Research

Two Significant Research projects 1. Exploring discourses of sustainable development in

governance structures (2001-2006)• Global – United Nations Environment Programme• Local – Carbon reduction innovation support pilot2. Promoting Sustainable Communities in Devon and

Cornwall (2007 – 2010)

Promoting Sustainable Communities in Devon and Cornwall

Research Aims:Focus on Sustainable Development, Risk and climate change • Understand Education and training needs for local communities • To explore perceptions and understandings of sustainable development

and risk within local government and local community networks • Understand the opportunities and barriers for creating sustainable

communities • Explore the relationship between knowledge, institutions and policy• Explore the interaction between multiple stakeholders • Explore the opportunities and barriers for responses to risks such as

climate change • Create effective policy synergies between global aspirations and local

needs

Why Town and Parish Councils?Practical• Closest level of government to the community • Very little research already conducted• Localism – TPC’s increasingly powerful in shaping local communities, total

place, community budget, presumption in favour of sustainable development

• Urban and Rural (parish councils in London for the first time in 45 years –town council in East London)

Conceptual• Nexus point for multiple networks (Global and Local)• Uniform structure whilst also being diverse and contextual (10000 TPC’s

in England and Wales)• Access institutional, community and individual perspective • Hybrid organisation local government/ volunteers/ community members

Multiple Dimensions

Sustainable Communiti

es

Interconnected Perspective

Complex, reflexive and non linear

Participatory and action orientated

Multi Sectoral –Govnt, business, NGO and local community

Project PartnersKnowledge Interaction

• All TPC’s in Devon and Cornwall (614)• Cornwall Council• Devon County Council• Devon Association of local Councils• Cornwall Association of local councils• South West Lifelong learning Network• University of Plymouth

Initial Consultation

• Interaction at the research formulation stage Consultation Questions: • How do my research goals match the goals of

the project partners?• What knowledge outputs would the project

partners like to see?• Will there be compromise?• Can we create synergies for the research

project?

Methodology

• Multi methodological structure • Qualitative and Quantitative techniques• Survey – 6000 questionnaires to all town and

parish councilors in Devon and Cornwall (70 per cent response rate)

• 200 in-depth interviews Triangulation

Diverse geographical area

RESULTS and Primary Areas

How is community defined and understood?

Part of a

Community

Multiple Communities

Work

Family

and Fr

iends

Internet

Nation W

ide

Local

Areas

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

96

56

6

61

6 7

85

95

65

39

63

8 8

89

Community

DevonCornwall

Per

Cent

Do people feel part of the community?

How is a sustainable community defined?

Community is diverse and fractured

Multiple Communities in a single area

What elements do people feel that constitutes a community for them?

Aware of Sustainable Development

Climate

Change

Ozone L

ayer

Agenda 2

1

Biodiversi

ty

Global W

arming

Carbon Fo

otprint

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

98

85

40

85

98 9698

87

35.5

84.5

98 95.5

Aware of Sustainable De-velopment Related Issues

DevonCornwall

Per C

ent

• Respondents asked if they were aware of a number of issues that relate to sustainable development

• Relationship between knowledge an action

Perceptions of Global Warming

Not Hap

pening

All Natu

ral Cau

ses

Made W

orse by H

umans

All Human

ity's F

ault

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

38

78

104

8

80

6

Global Warming

DevonCornwall

Per C

ent

What do Members of town and parish councils feel about global warming

Do they think it is actually happening and if so why?

Qualitative interviews revealed that there may be a problem with this result !!!

Global and Local Connections

Air Pollu

tion

Wate

r Pollu

tionTra

fficW

aste

Global W

arming

Flooding

Economy

Population

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

10

15

26

53

17

8

21

47

9 9

3

16

43

12

4649

Global and Local

LocalGlobal

Interactions between the Local and the global

How important are the issues to local communities and the global realm?

Mechanisms for Achieving Sustainable Development

LAA

CAA

Susta

inable

Community St

rateg

y

Quality

Parish

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

29

10

60

34

10

52

61

Awareness

DevonCornwall

Per C

ent

• Aware of mechanisms that may be understood as relating to sustainable communities

• Empowering local communities

Partnership• Interaction between the

different stakeholders • Interaction between other

parishes • Interaction between the

national and local government • TPC are a hybrid organization

so how does this effect their role with other organizations?

Qualitative Component

THEMESIntra and inter Community

Dynamics Structural InertiaRisk CommunicationHybrid Knowledge ‘sIndividual and group behaviourDiscourses of sustainable

development

ANALYSIS

Grounded theory

Corpus Analysis

Content analysis

Translating Research into PolicyKnowledge and Society

• But how did I translate the research into outputs for broader society?

• What mechanisms did i use?• How does broader society use my research? • What's still left to be done?

Outputs

• Education and training programmes in Cornwall and Devon (http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=17712)

• Reports for all skakeholders• Book (2012) ‘Governance in Transition: Sustainable

Development at the Local Level in a Global Context’• New insights into sustainable development governance and

community dynamics.• A framework for future research • Collaborations• www.sustainableparish.com

Policy Relevant

The Media • Media is an important part of

transmitting scientific knowledge to the general public

• The general public (you and me) play an important role in influencing policy

(cyclical relationship)

• Why is some science/knowledge reported and others overlooked?

• How do we know what is reported is accurate?