innovation and rural knowledge communities: learning from the irish revival

Innovation and Rural Knowledge Communities: Learning from the Irish RevivalAuthor(s): Finbarr BradleySource: The Irish Review (1986-), No. 36/37 (Winter, 2007), pp. 111-119Published by: Cork University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/29736348 .

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Innovation ^r?jitywal Knowledge Communities

Learning from the Irish Revival

FINBARR BRADLEY

Introduction

The EU Commission, through the Lisbon Agenda, is attempting to make

Europe the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world. In

Ireland, a key public policy objective is to develop a knowledge-based or

network society based on cheap inputs of information. Innovation along with the generation and application of knowledge, especially in informa?

tion technology and bioscience, is seen as key to achieving these goals. Until recently, little attention or financial resources were devoted to making

science and technology the driver of Irish development. Now, under the

National Development Plan, a vast quantity of money, some 2.5 billion

between 2000 and 2006, is being spent on research and development

(R&D). The state agency Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is committing considerable resources to the development of R&D centres in Irish third

level institutions to promote innovation and thereby in the long-term,

higher economic growth. In agriculture, EU structural reforms are designed to decouple subsidies

from production, promote sustainability in land use and the diversification

of rural economies. At the same time there are major public concerns about

balanced regional development, ecosystem damage, animal welfare, food

safety and social cohesion. It appears likely that those countries that use

innovation as a foundation for achieving profitability in agriculture and

food processing, while satisfying the increasing quality requirements of the

consumer, will have the most successful rural communities in years to

come. Yet the innovation capacity of Ireland, both the North and the

Republic, to support sustainable rural development is characterized by frag?

mentation, lack of critical mass, discontinuity and little overall cohesion.

BRADLEY, Innovation and Rural Knowledge Communities', Irish Review 36-37 (2007) 111



This paper asserts that the present innovation strategy pursued by the

State, namely devoting substantial resources to science and technology

R&D, in the natural sciences, information technology and engineering, underestimates the contribution of the social sciences and humanities to

the goal of achieving a knowledge society. This ignores, for example, how

environmental and cultural values play a central role in the quality of life

and well-being in communities.There is far more potential, in particular, to

obtain an invigorated rural Ireland if the ideas that inspired the Irish

Revival or Renaissance in the thirty or so years prior to the foundation of

the state are made central to the creativity agenda.

The Irish Revival

Matthews points out that the Revival is often wrongly seen as an exclusive?

ly cultural revival characterized by a backward-looking Celtic spirituality,

nostalgia for Gaelic Ireland and obsessive anti-modern traditionalism.1 Yet

as Kiberd puts it, the Revival

achieved nothing less than a renovation of Irish consciousness and a new

understanding of politics, economics, philosophy, sport, language and cul?

ture in its widest sense . . . [T]he exponents of the Irish Renaissance

shaped and reshaped an ancient past, and duly recalled it, giving rise to an

unprecedented surge of creativity and self-confidence among the people.2

The Revival witnessed a host of economic, cultural, social and sporting

self-help initiatives such as the Co-operative Movement, the Gaelic League, the Abbey Theatre and the GAA. These national movements were inspired

by the relationship between culture, confidence, self-help and the develop? ment process. The founding principle of the Gaelic League, for instance, was that the Irish could only achieve their true potential in the widest sense

through self-confidence, self-reliance and self-respect fostered by speaking their own language.

While the social, political and technological context today is clearly a

world apart from that of the Revival, the two periods are similar in one key

respect. In both, creativity offers the basis for Irish development to reach its

full potential. The national spirit and self-help ethos that was the Revival's

hallmark resulted in a range of innovative social and economic ventures. Yet

its guiding theme, linking national identity, community, culture, character,

creativity and economic development, rarely features nowadays in public

policy analysis of the knowledge society. Instead, the emphasis is on grow?

ing a so-called 'enterprise culture', stressing competencies, work practices,

individual entrepreneurial skills and risk-taking attitudes.

112 BRADLEY, Innovation and Rural Knowledge Communities', Irish Review 36-37 (2007)



It is notable how closely related national identity and the network socie?

ty are in Finland, a country we in Ireland are often urged to emulate.

Castells and Himanen assert that cultural identity and a strong national sen?

timent appear to be essential components of the information society there.3

The Finns see no inconsistency in aiming for a dynamic integration in the

global economy while also strongly affirming their culture, unique language and national identity. No matter how many trips Irish civil servants and

politicians take to Finland to study that country's economy and society, they never seem to appreciate on their return how cultural factors might also be

similar drivers of Irish innovation.

Community and Creativity

Personal responsibility, moral courage, self-reliance, national feeling that

breeds enterprise, a sense of citizenship and overall welfare were the driving forces behind the development vision of Plunkett, AE and the Co-operative

Movement. The absence of an ethic of citizenship, in the relationship between individuals as well as between individuals and the state, is one of

the largest social problems now facing Ireland. Policies pursued over many

decades, the predominance of economic over social goals, are largely the

reason for this.

True development, and indeed the practice of economics itself, is not

primarily about commercial enterprises, business, money or markets. Its

focus is far broader than that and is mainly about the provision or protec? tion of qualities. Economist Thomas Michael Power argues that economic

welfare is not just the bundle of market commodities consumed within a

locale. A clean environment, good schools and a host of other non-market

'qualities' add to or subtract from both individual and community welfare

and the quality of life.4

Creative individual activity, such as searching for new ways to improve a

community, organising people and resources, within a supportive and chal?

lenging context, is the key to a vital, thriving local economy. Communities

place themselves in a much better position to improve individual lives by

re-establishing the importance of community itself, emphasizing values and

appreciating how limited a contribution the commercial part of the local

economy makes to overall well-being and prosperity. They need to appreci? ate the potential a broad range of co-operative, non-commercial, yet economic ventures can make in this regard.

A common misconception, actively promoted by professional economists

(often employed by private vested interests), is that qualitative or non-com?

mercial aspects of our lives are non-economic and retard a community's




development. Concerns about the preservation of natural areas, wildlife, the

quality of the air or water or the social character of communities are often

thought of as non-economic, aesthetic, moral or even political

concerns.

With this perspective, trade-offs or balancing economic progress and 'non

economic' features such as cultural heritage, ways of life and special

landscape are viewed as inevitable. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, policies that attempt through informed debate to discover

approaches to development that promote both money and non-money val?

ues simultaneously, offer the best opportunity for a community to improve the general well-being of its citizens.

Science, Culture and Place

A major deficiency of the Revival and a crucial missing element was the

exclusion of a more significant role for science, especially natural history

(undergoing great vibrancy at the time), as an important element in defin?

ing Irish culture. By not appreciating the powerful contribution that

scientific thinking and endeavour could make to the Revival, it undoubted?

ly laid the seeds for the erosion of a sense of place, the degradation of the

natural environment and the weakening of civic culture in Ireland as the

country underwent industrialization and became structurally integrated with a global capital and technology infrastructure.

The Revival passed up a wonderful opportunity, by not adding a broader

scientific dimension to the concept of culture, to put in train a multi?

dimensional or more integrated path to development than the one

subsequently pursued by the state. If science had played a central role in the

Revival, it could have resulted in a more enlightened attitude to a range of

issues such as planning, the environment and rural development. As a con?

sequence the country is less prepared to face the implications of moving to

a more sustainable state, more necessary than ever given the EU's emphasis

on sustainability as a core objective in rural development. Science as defined by Dorinda Outram is 'the history of the human

encounter with the natural world' and an integral component of culture.5

Natural history involves an obvious environmental and local component and could have fitted well into a broader concept of Irishness within the

Revival movement. Some like Plunkett,6 AE,7 Evans8 and Praeger9 saw

uniting diverse groups in a common purpose, renewing regional conscious?

ness and forging of the relationship of people with the land as essential.

Attis,10 Johnston11 and Wilson Foster12 argue that the architects of the

Revival excluded science, since many of its premises were anti-scientific. Yet

Plunkett and AE were among the few who did realize the potential of




science for development. AE, for instance, as Allen illustrates, celebrated the

empirical achievements of scientists like Kelvin and Tyndall, and regarded the Anglo-Irish contribution to science as the central modernizing tenden?

cy in Irish culture.13 His multicultural ethic was based on the argument that

uniformity of culture was bad for creativity and that it is the conflict of cul?

tures and ideas that bring about intellectual vitality. As Viney argues, due to factors such as the early isolation of the Irish

from cultural forces that shape present-day ecological sentiments in Europe, the attitude of the clergy, and 'the biological treachery of the famine', utility remains the benchmark of Irish attitudes to nature and the environment.14

Since the Enlightenment, humanity has been progressively distanced from

the rest of nature, while science has separated objective truth from subjec? tive morality. A great challenge for postmodern society resides in their

r?int?gration, especially in Ireland where we sit at the bottom of EU tables

in our environmental performance. As Patrick Sheeran has pointed out, a

bizarre aspect of this country is that a lack of concern for design and

aesthetic quality go hand in hand with a preoccupation with place.15 Yet

the latter appears to have little to do with tending, cultivating or enhanc?

ing the material environment. Ireland's shocking image is that of a country where illegal burning of rubbish is common and which is pockmarked

throughout by a network of giant illegal landfills. This is the antithesis of a

knowledge society, which is centrally concerned about place, values, culture and quality.

Education for Innovation

Stirling points out fundamental flaws in the approach now common in the

education of business and technology professionals.16 This is based on a

managerial or mechanistic paradigm, overlaid by a utilitarian market philos?

ophy. Students often fail to see connections and patterns, whereas in an

ecological or whole-systems view of the world, the emphasis is on relation?

ships. Thinking should be systematic rather than linear, integrative rather

than fragmentary, concerned with process, emphasizing dynamics rather

than cause?effect and pattern rather than detail. It should be fundamentally concerned with recognizing wholeness. A change of educational culture

towards the realization of human potential and the interdependence of

social, economic and ecological well-being would be transformative and

constructive. It would engage the student in true learning rather than the

present transmissive methodology that concerns itself mostly with the

transfer of information, which is merely instructive and imposed. As Tobin

Hart points out, a new kind of education is needed, which includes the




education of the mind and the heart, balances intuition with the analytic, focuses on character and community, and cultivates wisdom rather the mere

accumulation of facts.17

The academic structuring of knowledge into separate disciplines is one

of the main barriers to nurturing an innovative culture while fostering aca?

demic diversity and promoting individual creativity within Irish

universities. The perspectives of the humanities, of disciplines such as

anthropology, geography, linguistics, psychology and sociology, are crucial if

we are to arrive at any comprehensive sense of, as Cronin puts it, 'who we

are and who we might be'.18 A liberal education is of particular benefit in a

technological world and interdisciplinary studies are essential if a culture of

innovation and creativity is to be developed in the Irish third-level sector.

Integrated programmes drawing on the arts, humanities, science and tech?

nology can play a crucial role in this respect. The world appears now to be on the brink of a new industrial revolu?

tion, which will transform our notions about business and lead to a

fundamental shift from the purchase of goods to the delivery of quality services. This will entail a new perception of value, reducing the impor? tance of material acquisition as a measure of affluence and stressing the

continuous receipt of quality, utility and performance to promote well

being. Intangible assets, such as creativity, imagination, ideas, emotions,

place and community, will largely determine value in the knowledge socie?

ty. Rather than the traditional product-oriented economy, we are entering into an era of service and flow, of networks and relationships, where pat?

terns, processes and context are crucial. Innovations that minimize the use

of materials, support biodiversity and increase resource productivity will

play an increasingly important role.

In a knowledge society, the sustainable or evolutionary organization will

engage in the design of products, services and processes to create a future

that includes prosperity and the healthy co-evolution of human and natural

systems. To develop an innovation culture, business schools, for instance,

should be radically re-designed so that value, rather than knowledge trans?

fer, is placed at the centre of the pedagogical approach. Students will then

receive a better appreciation of the often-conflicting relationships between

individual, community and market values, crucially important for those

involved in rural community ventures.

Students need to think holistically, work in multidisciplinary groups, cope with change and develop systems and products that are sustainable and car?

ing of nature and humanity. The more practice and experience students have

of contacting and exploring their inner emotional world, the more confi?

dently they can creatively deal with change and be open to new possibilities.




Sustainable innovations will increasingly reflect not balance but integration, so students should grasp the concept of value through integrating the eco?

nomic, environmental and social impacts of decisions. They should learn

how to do more and better with less, designing products and services on

industrial ecology models that mimic biological behavior in order to mini?

mize waste. A key challenge is to help them appreciate that a trade-off

between economic, social and environmental goals is not always inevitable

and that the fundamental aim is to enhance all three simultaneously through innovation.

A radical change in the education paradigm used in scientific, technologi? cal and professional education is necessary to assess student performance for

this kind of learning. Traditional testing by means of examinations should be

the exception rather than the rule. Evaluation should move from its present

emphasis on testing knowledge of facts and jargon to instead, wherever pos?

sible, assessing how students put knowledge to practical use. Rather than

requiring students to remember facts and information given them by lectur?

ers, students would learn to create and share value that would be largely defined by themselves, based on the outcome of discussion and reflection

within their learning community. In other words, the students' own values

and interests, along with those of their fellow-students, lecturing staff, the

university itself and the wider society in general, should form the basic

dynamic of situations in which different stakeholders learn the essence of

what it is to, say, compete, co-operate and trade. It is only by being placed in

practical situations, such as being engaged in projects of interest to local

enterprises and communities, and required to make decisions rather than

passively 'taking' courses, that transformative learning can occur.

Conclusion

It is essential that Ireland develop a whole-system or holistic approach to

development and prosperity, if what Downey and Purvis call a knowledge based multifunctional agriculture sector, a 'living countryside' and a high

quality of life, are to be achieved in rural Ireland.19 The sentiments of AE

appear to be just as relevant today as they were in 1917:

All these energetic people are conspiring to build factories and mills and

to fill them with human labour, and they believe the more they do this

the better it will be for Ireland. They talk of Ireland as if it was only admirable as a quantity rather than a

quality. They express delight at

swelling statistics and increased trade, but where do we hear any reflec?

tion on the quality of life engendered by this industrial development.20




A new vision of the development process is critical if we are to move to a

knowledge society in this country. Pride in place, traditions and heritage,

along with a new emphasis on sustainability, the natural world, biodiversity and quality of life, should form the bedrock for this vision. To help achieve

this, the State should link its science, technology and innovation policies to

those of cultural renewal and sustainability. Spending on R&D alone is not

sufficient to generate an innovation culture. If the social context is ignored, the billions now devoted to R&D will not lead to a knowledge society,

especially one appropriate for rural Ireland. Knowledge is more than just codified facts and know-how. Its most valuable characteristics are its tacit

elements: networks of human interaction and the intangible processes embodied in relationships. A true innovation culture must be primarily founded on a spirit of self-reliance, relationships of community and trust, a

sense of place, tradition and civic engagement. Using the Revival as a guide, it might prove fruitful to explore in depth how values such as identity, civic

culture and community ?

usually ignored in public policy discussions ?

could play a more central role alongside science and technology in helping achieve the goal of the Irish knowledge society.

Understanding the logic behind the Revival a century ago could help us

construct a multicultural Ireland that is global yet also possesses a deep sense of place. Surviving and prospering in a multicultural world requires individuals to understand and appreciate their own cultural values. More?

over, being able to place one's own roots in a cultural, historical and social

context is necessary to appreciate the values and traditions of others. Suc?

cessful intercultural encounters require that individuals believe in their own

values so that they can really appreciate diversity and the cultural values of

the others with whom they have to cooperate. If not, they become alienat?

ed persons, lacking a sense of identity, or sense of self as well as an

enterprise spirit. As Verhelst argues, self-reliance must be understood as an

act of emancipation from all harmful forms of dependence.21 For each per? son or local community, it is a question of preserving or reclaiming liberty

and, ultimately, identity. Self-reliance in economic activities and political decisions depends on the existence of a cultural base as foundation. It is a

community's culture, wisdom, values, traditions and knowledge that justify confidence and give it breadth, the ideal preparation for developing a truly

prosperous knowledge society.

Notes and References

1 PJ. Mathews, Revival: the Abbey Theatre, Sinn Fein, the Gaelic League and the Co-operative Movement (Cork: Cork University Press in Association with Field Day, 2003).




2 Declan Kiberd, Inventing Ireland: the Literature of the Modern Nation (UK: Vintage, 1996),

pp. 3, 641.

3 Manuel Castells and Pekka Himanen, The Information Society and the Welfare State: the

Finnish Model (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).

4 Thomas Michael Power, Environmental Protection and Economic Well-Being: the Economic

Pursuit of Quality (Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1996), p. 3.

5 Dorinda Outram, 'Negating the Natural: or why Historians deny Irish Science', The

Irish Review, 1 (1986), 45-49.

6 Horace Plunkett, Ireland in the New Century (London: John Murray, 1904).

7 George Russell (AE), The National Being (Dublin: Maunsel & Company, 1917).

8 E. Estyn Evans, The Personality of Ireland (Dublin: Lilliput Press, 1992).

9 Robert Lloyd Praeger, The Way that I Went (Dublin: Hodges Figgis, 1937).

10 David Attis,'Science and Irish Identity: the Relevance of Science Studies for Irish Stud?

ies' in P. J. Mathews (ed.), New Voices in Irish Criticism (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2000).

11 Roy Johnston,'Science in a Post-Colonial Culture', The Irish Review, 8 (1989), 70?76.

12 John Wilson Foster, 'Natural History in Modern Irish Culture', Chapter 8 in Peter J. Bowler and Nicholas Whyte (eds.), Science and Society in Ireland: the Social Context of Sci?

ence and Technology in Ireland 1800-1950 (Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1997).

13 Nicholas Allen, George Russell (AE) and the New Ireland, 1905?30 (Dublin: Four Courts

Press, 2003).

14 Michael Viney, 'Woodcock for a Farthing: the Irish Experience of Nature', The Irish

Review,! (1986), 58-64.

15 Patrick Sheeran, 'Genius Fabulae: the Irish Sense of Place', Irish University Review, 18

(1988), 191-206. 16 Stephen Stirling, Sustainable Education: Re-Visioning Learning and Change (London: Green

Books, 2001).

17 Tobin Hart, From Information to Transformation: Education for the Evolution of Consciousness

(New York: Peter Lang, 2001).

18 Michael Cronin,'The Unbidden Ireland: Materialism, Knowledge and Interculturality',

The Irish Review, 31 (2004), 3-10.

19 Liam Downey and Gordon Purvis, 'Building a Knowledge Based Multifunctional Agri? culture and Rural Environment', in Charles Mol?an (ed.), Science and Ireland

- Value for

Society (Dublin: Royal Dublin Society, 2005), pp. 121-139.

20 Russell (AE), National Being, p. 71.

21 Thierry G.Verhelst, No Life without Roots: Culture and Development (London: Zed Books,

1990).




innovation and rural knowledge communities: learning from the irish revival

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