Transforming knowledge systems for life on Earth:Visions of future systems and how to get there

Formalised knowledge systems, including universities and research institutes, are important for contemporary societies. They are, however, also arguably failing humanity when their impact is measured against the level of progress being made in stimulating the societal changes needed to address challenges like climate change. In this research we used a novel futures-oriented and participatory approach that asked what future envisioned knowledge systems might need to look like and how we might get there. Findings suggest that envisioned future systems will need to be much more collaborative, open, diverse, egalitarian, and able to work with values and systemic issues. They will also need to go beyond producing knowledge about our world to generating wisdom about how to act within it. To get to envisioned systems we will need to rapidly scale methodological innovations, connect innovators, and creatively accelerate learning about working with intractable challenges. We will also need to create new funding schemes, a global knowledge commons, and challenge deeply held assumptions. To genuinely be a creative force in supporting longevity of human and non-human life on our planet, the shift in knowledge systems will probably need to be at the scale of the enlightenment and speed of the scientific and technological revolution accompanying the second World War. This will require bold and strategic action from governments, scientists, civic society and sustained transformational intent.</p

Connecting resourcefulness and social innovation:exploring conditions and processes in community gardens in the Netherlands

Resourcefulness, a community’s capacity to engage with their local resource base, is essential in contributing to resilience, the potential to adapt to external challenges and shocks. Resourcefulness and social innovation have some overlapping qualities, however, the academic connection between the two concepts is yet to be explored. Social innovations include new practices, ideas, and initiatives that meet societal needs and contribute to social change and empowerment. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation, this study researches conditions and processes of resourcefulness in facilitating social innovation in rural, peri-urban, and urban community gardens in the North of the Netherlands. Comparing differing contexts, five main enablers for altering social relations and community empowerment have been identified: (1) clear goals and motivations; (2) diversity in garden resources; (3) experimental knowledge processes; (4) strong internal support and recognition; and (5) place-based practices. Above all, this research stresses the importance of defining resourcefulness as a process and foregrounding the place-based contextual nature of innovative collective food system practices

The role of artists and researchers in sustainable place-shaping

The conference “Cultures in Sustainable Futures” in May 2015 in Helsinki raised important questions such as: Is sustainability a cultural issue? How does culture play a role in sustainable community development and planning? What is the role of the artist? How can agency support change? These questions are highly relevant at this time in which transformative agency is needed to address an array sustainability crisies: the food crisis, energy crisis, climate crisis and depletion of resources are all interlinked and unfolding in complex ways in communities and places. We have a responsibility not only to change our practices, but also to rethink and re-imagine our current mind-sets, our institutions and our worldviews (Hedlund-de Witt, 2013; O’Brien, 2009), which are all influenced by culture. So indeed, sustainability is a cultural issue.Culture also plays a key role in processes of place-shaping and participatory planning, as will be argued in this chapter. The aim is to pay specific attention to the role of artists and researchers in these processes and address the following questions:1. how can sustainable place-shaping practices be understood?2. what is the relevance of re-imagining knowledge to create new futures?3. how do the individual and collective values of people play a role in processes of place-shaping and participatory planning?First, I will explain how place and place-shaping can be conceptualized from a relational, dynamic perspective and how culture plays a role therein. Then the potential role of researchers and artists in place-shaping and participatory planning processes will be explored. The chapter ends with a plea for a value-oriented dialogue as part of these processes, to make the int

Citizen initiatives in the post-welfare state

Recently we have seen the emergence of citizen-led community initiatives and civic enterprises, taking over governmental tasks in providing public services in various sectors, such as energy, care, landscape maintenance, and culture. This phenomenon can be explained by a renewed interest in community, place, and 'local identity'; the erosion of the welfare state; the privatization of public services; a re-emergence of the social economy; and tensions between 'bottom-up' initiatives and the changing role of the state. The co-production of governments and initiatives can potentially result in a shift from government-led to community-led planning. This, however, raises questions about their innovative potential, the democratic consequences, and the potential roles of governments in enabling these societal dynamics. This article discusses these issues theoretically, illustrated with empirical examples from Portugal, the Netherlands, and Wales, in a context of uncertainty regarding the future of the traditional European welfare state.</p

Culture in, for and as Sustainable Development: Conclusions from the COST Action IS1007 Investigating Cultural Sustainability

Culture matters in sustainable development. Yet, almost 30 years after the Brundtland publication "Our Common Future"and despite a few recent attempts by transnational and international organisations, and some cross-disciplinary and transdisciplinary scientific endeavours, the incorporation of culture into sustainability debates seems to be great scientific and political challenge, and one that questions the prevailing conventional sustainability discourses

Relational knowledge leadership and local economic development

This paper concerns the role of spatial leadership in the development of the knowledge-based economy. It is argued within academic and practitioner circles that leadership of knowledge networks requires a particular non-hierarchical style that is required to establish an ambience conducive to networking and knowledge sharing across boundaries. In this paper, we explore this hypothesis at both theoretical and empirical levels. Theoretically, we propose a conceptualization of relational knowledge leadership, which is ‘nomadic’ in its capacity to travel across multiple scales and cross sectoral, thematic and geographical boundaries. We have operationalized this type of relational knowledge leadership along four key features, derived from literatures on regional learning, organizational leadership and place leadership. Two empirical case studies are then presented, one from Birmingham in the UK and one from Eindhoven in the Netherlands, exploring how these features are expressed on the sub-national level. Also conclusions are drawn regarding the status of relational knowledge leadership. It is argued that the concept of relational knowledge leadership as viewed through our analytical lens does accord with the experience of leadership in the two cases presented. The cases also show that this style of leadership is confronted with three types of tensions that play through knowledge networking. Furthermore, it is argued that the cases exhibit this style of leadership to different degrees, reflecting their different cultural and political context