Localizing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in northern Norway: Transdisciplinary approaches for sustainable coastal development

I 2015 lanserte FN «2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development» med et unikt og ambisiøst rammeverk for global bærekraft som inkluderer 17 bærekraftsmål (SDG). Siden den gang har mange ledere over hele verden på lokalt, regionalt og nasjonalt nivå fortsatt å kjempe med utfordringen å lokalisere bærekraft. Hvordan går vi fra globalt til lokalt nivå? Til tross for mangfoldet av internasjonale retningslinjer for selve bærekraftsmålene, utdyper ikke litteraturen hvordan bærekraftsmålene kan implementeres på nasjonalt nivå, eller hvordan de kan integreres gjennom regionale og lokale styringsnivåer. Dette er en utfordring for FN-medlemmer, inkludert i Norge, som må forene sin bærekraftspolitikk med den globale agendaen. I denne doktorgraden har jeg undersøkt hvordan jeg kan lokalisere bærekraftsmålene i en kommune i Nord-Norge på måter som er legitime, fremtredende og troverdige og som kan føre til sosiale transformasjoner for global bærekraft og bærekraftig utvikling for fremtidige generasjoners velstand og velferd. Integrering og operasjonalisering av bærekraftsmålene via bærekraftig utviklingspolitikk er avgjørende for å nå målene og videre for å kunne implementere langsiktige bærekraftstransformasjoner. Slik operasjonalisering bør ta form av en lokaliseringsprosess som forankrer bærekraftmålene til kontekst på grasrotsnivå og integrerer behovene, prioriteringene og verdiene til individer i lokalsamfunnene (som må følge retningslinjene). For å oppnå dette, foreslår jeg en vei for å muliggjøre transformativ endring for bærekraft som overskrider individ, kultur, teknologi, politikk og det naturlige miljøet til sosial-økologiske systemer. Gjennom doktorgradsavhandlingen utforsket jeg denne SDG-lokaliseringsprosessen ved å bruke en transdisiplinær tilnærming til bærekraftsstudier som bygger på prinsipper for post-normal vitenskap og de «Tre Sfærene for Transformasjon» for bærekraft. Jeg brukte etablerte forskningsmetoder og analytiske rammeverk fra samfunnsvitenskapene (Social Network Analysis og Q-methodology) for å undersøke hvordan SDGene kunne forankres i en lokal kontekst og tilpasses lokale behov. Samtidig tilstrebet jeg å oppnå integritet og relevans for det globale målet om bærekraftig utvikling. Tre hovedspørsmål for å utforske denne SDG-lokaliseringsprosessen ble utviklet: (1) Hvordan kan kunnskap og informasjon spores innenfor en multi-sektor og mega-organisatorisk institusjon?; (2) Hva er den lokale diskursen om bærekraftig kystutvikling i Nord-Norge og hvordan informerer eller legger denne kunnskapen til rette for SDG-lokalisering?; og (3) Hvordan illustrerer SDG-lokaliseringsprosessen «fractal agency» for sosial transformasjon? I avhandlingen demonstrerer jeg først at den strukturelle og sosiale kompleksiteten til et institusjonelt nettverk påvirker deling av kunnskap og informasjon. Imidlertid danner de individuelle menneskelige forbindelsene og felles mål innenfor dette nettverket grunnlaget for institusjonell sammenheng, funksjonalitet og effektivitet. Jeg har også belyst de individuelle perspektivene på bærekraftig kystutvikling slik de kommer til uttrykk i Andøy kommune og vist hvordan felles perspektiver som kommer frem fra lokalsamfunnet kan tjene som utgangspunkt for flersektorielt samarbeid og diskusjon. Til slutt konkluderer jeg med at for å sikre at SDG-lokaliseringsprosessen muliggjør sosiale transformasjoner for bærekraft, må individuell kapasitet aktiveres og oppmuntres gjennom deltakende prosesser og interessentengasjement som styrker sosial «agency» på måter som er selvopprettholdende og overskrider lokal, regional og nasjonal kontekster. Bærekraftsmålene og bærekraftig utviklingspolitikk er komplekse. De må stimulere transformativ endring på tvers av politiske, praktiske og personlige sfærer ved å være forankret i universelle verdier som gjelder for alle mennesker. Jeg presenterer en SDG-lokaliseringsprosess basert på prinsipper om vitenskapelig kvalitet og troverdighet, myndighetslegitimitet og gjenspeiling av lokale og nasjonale behov. Denne unike tilnærmingen gir en ansvarlig, innovativ og pålitelig vei videre for integrering av de globale målene for bærekraft i lokalsamfunnene.In 2015, the United Nations launched the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” with a unique and ambitious framework for global sustainability that includes a framework of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since then, many leaders worldwide at the community, regional and national levels continue to grapple with the challenge of localizing sustainability. How do we go from global to local? Despite the variety of international guidelines on the SDGs themselves, the literature does not elaborate on how the SDGs should be implemented at the national level nor how they should be integrated through regional and local levels of governance. This is a challenge for United Nations members, including Norway, that must reconcile their sustainability policies to the global agenda. In this PhD, I have examined how the SDGs can be localized in the case study area in northern coastal Norway in ways that are legitimate, salient, and credible, leading to social transformations for global sustainability and sustainable development for the prosperity and wellbeing of future generations. The integration and operationalization of the SDGs via sustainable development policy is crucial for the achievement of the goals and for long-term sustainability transformations. Such operationalization should take the form of a localization process that anchors the SDGs to on-the-ground contexts and integrates the needs, priorities, and values of individuals in the local communities who must abide by the policies. Through this PhD thesis, I explored this SDG localization process using a transdisciplinary approach to sustainability studies that drew on principles of Post-Normal Science and made use of the Three Spheres of Transformation for Sustainability framework. I applied established research methods and analytical frameworks from the social sciences (Social Network Analysis and Q-methodology) to investigate how the SDGs could be anchored to a local context and adapted to local needs, while maintaining integrity and relevance to the global aim of sustainable development worldwide. Three main questions emerged to explore the SDG localization process: (1) How can knowledge and information be tracked within a multi-sector and mega-organizational institution?; (2) What is the local discourse on sustainable coastal development in northern coastal Norway and how does this knowledge inform or facilitate SDG localization?; and (3) How does the SDG localization process illustrate fractal agency for social transformation? Through this thesis I first demonstrate that the structural and social complexity of an institutional network affects the sharing of knowledge and information. However, the individual human connections and shared goals within that network form the basis for institutional coherence, functionality, efficiency, and effectiveness. I have also highlighted the individual perspectives on sustainable coastal development for the local case in northern Norway of Andøy Municipality and showed how shared perspectives that emerge from the local community can serve as a starting point for multi-sectoral cooperation and discussion. Finally, I conclude that to assure that the SDG localization process enables social transformations for sustainability, individual capacity must be activated and encouraged through participatory processes and stakeholder engagement that empowers social agency in ways that are self-sustaining and transcend scales. The SDGs, and sustainable development policies, are complex. They must stimulate transformative change across political, practical, and personal spheres by being rooted in universal values. I put forward an SDG localization process founded on principles of scientific quality and credibility, government legitimacy, and reflective of local and national needs. This unique approach provides a responsible, innovative, and trusted way forward for the integration of the global goals for sustainability into local society.Doktorgradsavhandlin

“Sustainability is not a vegan coffee shop.” Eliciting citizen attitudes and perspectives to localize the UN sustainable development goals

Integrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into national legislation includes a need for their localization. The authors posit that this concept of localizing the SDGs is achieved if the goals are appended to an existing policy process with local implications, termed a “policy vehicle.” For this study, Q-methodology was used to gather local perspectives on the legislative process for coastal planning in Norway (the “policy vehicle”), the “proxy” legislation through which the SDGs are localized for the case study municipality of Andøya, Norway. The overall aim of the study was to understand potential pathways for enabling approaches to societal transformations where focus is placed on fostering human agency and capacities. The authors demonstrate how Q-methodology can be applied for enhanced stakeholder engagement in local decision-making processes as a starting point to enable social transformations for sustainability in a social-ecological system.publishedVersio

Tracking integrated ecosystem assessments in the ICES network: a social network analysis of the ICES expert groups

The advice the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) provides to its member countries is crucial for the sustainable management of shared marine resources, and the conservation of relevant marine ecosystems. In 2014, ICES made a strategic decision to integrate marine and social sciences in a new type of assessment framework called “integrated ecosystem assessments” (IEA) to deliver advice on societal trade-offs between different policy options. The IEA-focused expert groups formed before and after this period now cover all major ecoregions. To track the progression of IEAs in the ICES network over time, we conducted a social network analysis (SNA) on expert group attendance for the years 2015–2019. The IEA-focused expert groups generally ranked lower in the overall ICES network. Our study shows that some IEA-groups become more connected over time, while others decline. We also evaluated the role of workshops in the ICES network, particularly their role in the development of IEA knowledge. Our study shows that workshops play an important role in ICES network connectivity. The study demonstrates how social network analysis can be used to study an organization such as ICES and determine the effectiveness, or impact, of that organizational function.publishedVersio

Localizing the Sustainable Development Goals for Marine and Coastal Management in Norway: A Venture Overdue

Meeting global challenges requires regional and local alignment of institutional and business practices. The purpose of our work is to understand, using qualitative systems analysis, how the Sustainable Development Goals can be achieved through local, cross-sectoral solutions. In this chapter, we start by reviewing the status quo of marine and coastal management in Norway and contrast with the United Nations’ expectations for localization of the Sustainable Development Goals. One key finding is that despite vast knowledge on ocean and coastal use and management, Norway has very few examples of actual localization of the Sustainable Development Goals. We present a case study from Andøy Municipality where we use Social-Ecological Systems mapping to spawn awareness and spur local businesses to harness relevant sustainability targets at the local level.publishedVersio

Developing positional awareness in sustainability science: four archetypes for early career scientists working in an SDG world

Although the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a framework to guide and inform research at the interface between science and policy, engaging in sustainability science is not a value-free process and implies making a number of choices. This is especially pertinent to early career researchers (ECRs) who are faced with the need to engage with the content and frame of the SDGs, while navigating critical engagement in knowledge production. Here, we propose a framework to help early career sustainability scholars navigate these tensions. We describe four archetypes at play in sustainability research and argue that these positions allow ECRs to reflexively navigate their roles and purposes in sustainability research.publishedVersio

Localizing the Sustainable Development Goals for Marine and Coastal Management in Norway: A Venture Overdue.

Meeting global challenges requires regional and local alignment of institutional and business practices. The purpose of our work is to understand, using qualitative systems analysis, how the Sustainable Development Goals can be achieved through local, cross-sectoral solutions. In this chapter, we start by reviewing the status quo of marine and coastal management in Norway and contrast with the United Nations’ expectations for localization of the Sustainable Development Goals. One key finding is that despite vast knowledge on ocean and coastal use and management, Norway has very few examples of actual localization of the Sustainable Development Goals. We present a case study from Andøy Municipality where we use Social-Ecological Systems mapping to spawn awareness and spur local businesses to harness relevant sustainability targets at the local level.publishedVersio

Implementation of integrated ecosystem assessments in the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea - Conceptualizations, practice, and progress

With increasing activities of multiple sectors in marine spaces, management of marine social–ecological systems requires more holistic approaches. Adopting such an approach, however, presents difficult institutional and disciplinary challenges. Here, we use the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) as a case study on the implementation of ecosystem-based management (EBM) and integrated ecosystem assessments (IEAs). ICES includes EBM and IEAs in its Science Priorities and established IEA Working Groups (WGs) to carry out regional IEAs. But to what degree does this IEA WG work follow best practices? We examine policy documents, academic literature, and interview data from chairs of all IEA WGs. Results indicate mixed success. All groups acknowledge the holistic goals of IEA, and many use the IEA model as laid out by Levin et al. However, we found a significant variation in the degree to which the full model is applied. We identified two primary areas for improvement: (1) integration of social and economic issues and (2) involvement of stakeholders. We offer examples of how WGs have been making progress towards full IEAs, discuss how ICES can further support this transition, and suggest lessons with respect to the adoption of EBM and IEAs more broadly