From invisibility to impact: radically different measures are needed to capture the true impact of research

Academics are increasingly expected to produce directly applicable solutions to hard-to-solve "real-world" problems such as poverty, development, and environmental degradation. However, conventional assessments of science have not yet been adequately adapted to capture the diverse effects of this type of problem-centred research. Examining a prominent recent example of multidisciplinary research on consumption, environment and sustainability in Ireland, Henrike Rau, Gary Goggins and Frances Fahy show how certain narrowly defined measures of scientific relevance can fail to capture the actual impact of research

February 13, 1979

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia

Alternative energy imaginaries : Implications for energy research, policy integration and the transformation of energy systems

The paper highlights shortcomings in the contribution of qualitative social sciences and humanities (SSH) research to tackling challenges connected with energy and climate change. These shortcomings are illustrated based on analysis of data gathered in relation to EU (e.g. Horizon 2020; FP7) and European national research funding and energy policy. The paper finds that a techno-economic energy imaginary continues to dominate European energy systems and governs expectations of energy research and its conduct, the integration of SSH with energy policy-making and the framing and foci of policy. A more nuanced, context-sensitive approach is presented as an alternative ‘practices and cultural change’ energy imaginary. This emphasises attention to social practices relevant to energy use, interdisciplinarity and the coproduction of knowledge with diverse actors. Adoption of such an imaginary can help to enhance policy integration of SSH and the contribution of SSH to ameliorating energy and climate change challenges while providing insight into why gaps occur between (supra)national energy policy and local practices.Peer reviewe

Developing a comparative marine socio-economic framework for the European Atlantic Area

Availability and easy access to a wide range of natural and human-activity data on the oceans and coastal regions of Europe is the basis for strategic decision-making on coastal and marine policy. Strategies within Europe’s Integrated Maritime Policy, including the Maritime Strategy for the Atlantic Area, Blue Growth, Maritime Spatial Planning and Marine Data and Knowledge, require coherent and comparable socio-economic data across European countries. Similarly, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires member states to carry out economic and social analysis of their waters and the reformed Common Fisheries Policy includes a social dimension requiring socio-economic data. However, the availability of consistent, accessible marine socio-economic data for the European Atlantic Arc regions is limited. Ocean economy studies have been undertaken in some countries (for example, Ireland, France, and UK) but timescales and methodologies are not necessarily comparable. Marnet is an EU transnational co-operation project involving eight partners from five member states of the Atlantic Area (Ireland, Spain, UK, France and Portugal). Marnet has developed a methodology to collate comparable marine socio-economic data across the Atlantic regions. The comparative marine socio-economic information system developed by Marnet could provide a template for other European States to follow that could potentially facilitate the construction of a Europe-wide marine economic information system as envisaged under the EU Integrated Maritime Policy

Blue Growth: A Transitions Approach to Developing Sustainable Pathways

The sustainable management of Blue Growth is an urgent issue for coastal states. Marine industries have rapidly expanded over the last two decades and this is projected to continue with the European Green Deal and post-COVID economic recovery policies. The intensification of Blue Growth could have adverse socio-ecological implications and must, therefore, be managed in terms of sustainability, natural resource boundaries, and coastal community well-being. Managing Blue Growth in a sustainable manner however, is challenging due to the longstanding inefficiencies and inertia of existing marine governance regimes. Adopting a transitions approach has been advanced as a way of steering regime change so that it is not inhibited by these persistent problems. This paper reports on four case studies that adopt transitions thinking and use the multi-level perspective as a broad analytical framework through which to understand institutional dynamics, drivers and responses within core marine sectors. Our case studies analysis reveals several significant pressures for regime change within key marine sectors. These pressures need to be addressed through the adoption of a transition management approach. By adopting this approach and engaging key stakeholders, national and EU marine governance authorities can develop sustainable Blue Growth pathways that minimize the impact of continued growth on communities and the marine environment, maximizing the implementation of sustainable practices and addressing issues such as biodiversity loss and climate change

Challenging Practices : Experiences from community and individual living lab approaches

Peer reviewe

Comprehensive Open Access Dataset of Sustainable Energy Consumption Initiatives (SECIs) : Deliverable 2.3

This document (ENERGISE D2.3) provides a background report on the process and result of developing and constructing a comprehensive open access dataset of sustainable energy consumption initiatives (SECIs) that have been collected and assessed as part of Work Package 2 (WP2) in ENERGISE. The dataset is designed as a map that is intended to be a user-friendly device that provides an overview of sustainable energy consumption initiatives (SECIs) in Europe. In particular, the map shows the variety in scope, content and approach in the identified SECIs

Challenging social norms to recraft practices : A Living Lab approach to reducing household energy use in eight European countries

ENERGISE is the first large-scale European effort to reduce household energy use through a change initiative that adopted a ‘living lab’ approach informed by social practice theory. Two challenges were introduced to 306 households in eight countries: to lower indoor temperatures and to reduce laundry cycles. This contribution demonstrates the usefulness of a practice-centered design that takes habits and routines as an entry point for understanding how different ‘elements of practices’ can be re-crafted. We discuss how a participatory ‘living lab’ approach that explicitly encouraged deliberation and reflexivity served to sharpen attention on practices as central to change. We discuss how ‘doing laundry’ and ‘keeping warm’, as very different types of practices, responded to the change initiative. For laundry, tangible changes in material arrangements, news skills and sensory competencies, and shifts in what is seen as ‘normal’ proved to be central to reducing wash cycles, including wearing clothes more often, airing them out, using smell to gauge cleanliness, or keeping dirty clothes out of sight. Warming people rather than spaces through added layers and activities, and related shifts in norms around thermal comfort, emerged as crucial steps towards lowering indoor temperatures. Average changes in reported temperatures and wash cycles indicate that reductions are possible, without an emphasis on individuals or technologies as central to change. We end with a discussion on the implications of our approach for energy sufficiency thinking and practice, emphasizing the merits of taking the complexity of everyday life seriously when designing change initiatives.Peer reviewe