Regional resilience and collective action: the response of local state actors to the needs of rural enterprise in crisis

The lack of integration between policies and organisations is exacerbated in rural regions while there are inherent dangers of interventions imposed from above that lack sensitivity to local social networks and the norms of behaviour that typify small rural businesses. A succession of crisis conditions has been experienced by businesses in Cumbria over the past decade or so. These include the impacts of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in 2001, the floods that affected Carlisle in 2005 and the episode of flooding in the County during 2009. On each of these occasions, local authorities working in partnership with local business support agencies, voluntary sector organisations and regional agencies in NW England have implemented emergency plans that have included consideration of business continuity and the threats posed to communities by business failure. This paper examines the response of the public and private sectors to these periodic business crises and concludes by considering the relevance of the concept of regional resilience at the micro-economic level

Leading Wellbeing Research Festival welcome address

Why have we convened academics, professionals and activists from around the world to share their insights and discuss leadership for sustainability and wellbeing? What’s coming up and what’s your role

Using technology to improve the management of development impacts on biodiversity

Funder: The research was funded through a long‐term collaboration between Conservational International and Chevron.Abstract: The mitigation hierarchy (MH) is a prominent tool to help businesses achieve no net loss or net gain outcomes for biodiversity. Technological innovations offer benefits for business biodiversity management, yet the range and continued evolution of technologies creates a complex landscape that can be difficult to navigate. Using literature review, online surveys, and semi‐structured interviews, we assess technologies that can improve application of the MH. We identify six categories (mobile survey, fixed survey, remote sensing, blockchain, data analysis, and enabling technologies) with high feasibility and/or relevance to (i) aid direct implementation of mitigation measures and (ii) enhance biodiversity surveys and monitoring, which feed into the design of interventions including avoidance and minimization measures. At the interface between development and biodiversity impacts, opportunities lie in businesses investing in technologies, capitalizing on synergies between technology groups, collaborating with conservation organizations to enhance institutional capacity, and developing practical solutions suited for widespread use

Educational leaders: The value of professional development schemes for recognising influence in learning and teaching

This chapter discuss a new understanding of how leadership is performed and internalised, from which a sustainable model of supporting and promoting educational leadership at the institutional level can be developed. It focuses on what is actually happening in an institution to capture ‘leadership’ in an English higher education institution (HEI). It considers leadership in the context of a continuous professional development route for Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy at a Post 1960 English HEI. Higher Education Academy (HEA) Fellowship and the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) are increasingly used within British higher education institutions to support the professional formation of university teachers. The SFHEA is an internationally recognised accreditation for experienced university staff (academics/support/administrative) able to provide evidence of a sustained record of effectiveness in their practice, incorporating leadership of specific aspects of teaching and learning provision. Participants are evaluated against the criteria and dimensions of practice set by the UKPSF (UK Professional Standards Framework for Teaching and Supporting Learning in Higher Education), which identifies the areas of competence that need being demonstrated to achieve Descriptor 3, Senior Fellow. In the UK, it is increasingly the case that HE teacher development programmes for new and experienced staff are accredited by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) against the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) (Land & Gordon, 2015). There is a dearth of literature on programme leadership and sustainable leadership in higher education. This chapter is, therefore, particularly timely and suggest that CPD programmes ‘model’ good practice, which participants transfer to their own teaching

Mitigating and Exacerbating Climate Shocks to the Nexus

This chapter explores how responses to nexus shocks can help reduce impacts or make them worst. It draws on findings from five co-production workshops with the UK Met Office, Atkins, Chatham House, Lloyds of London and Willis Re, Cambridge Cleantech and LDA Design, to assess the factors that exacerbate and mitigate climate shocks to the food, energy, water, environment nexus and subsequent impacts. These are especially important to consider, as they enable opportunities for lessons learnt and better and more resilient responses to nexus shocks in future. However, these are often inadequately explored, and more is needed to ensure decision-making remains relevant and aligned with the needs of stakeholders affected by nexus shocks, when dealing with the complex nature of these shocks