Engagement in Future Earth: Supporting a Step-Change in Global

Science-Policy Interactions

Susanne C. Moser, Ph.D.

and Stanford University

AGU Annual Meeting 2014 • San Francisco • U54A Future Earth: Connecting Research and Responses to GEC

Overview of Presentation

• Overview of Future Earth – How we got from global change research

programs to Future Earth

– Governance, goal, approach, vision

• Research to meet the challenges of the Anthropocene

• Toward effective science-policy engagement – A fundamental shift in approach

– Co-producing relevant knowledge

1996 1986 1980

1991

2001

and their partnership

International GEC research programmes since 1980

Converging towards a

new partnership and

single strategic

framework

Oct

2010

ICSU – ISSC

Visioning

2009

2009

2012

Science & Technology

Alliance for Global

Sustainability

Review of GEC

Programmes

2006-2008

Changing the international GEC research landscape

NEED FOR QUICKER AND MORE IMMEDIATE IMPACT

HENCE STRENGTHENED INTEGRATION,

STRONGER SOLUTIONS-ORIENTATION

International S&T Alliance

for Global Sustainability

Bringing together the co-sponsors and funders of the existing GEC programmes

Merging IHDP, Diversitas, IGBP and the ESSP, collaborating with WCRP to create

A global platform for international research on global

environmental change and sustainable development

Building on 20+ existing GEC projects/networks

calling on 60,000 + scientists worldwide

IHDP

WCRP

IGBP

ESSP

DIVERSITAS

Governing Council

(The Alliance)

Science and Engagement Committees

Globally distributed Secretariat

with regional hubs

Governance

Future Earth seeks to build and connect global

knowledge to increase the impact of research,

to explore new development pathways, and to

find new ways to accelerate sustainable

development...

Objective

Approach

...by promoting a new type of science; new ways of

producing knowledge and making sure it gets used:

• Internationally collaborative,

• Integrated (interdisciplinary),

• Solutions-oriented (transdisciplinary, engaged)

research

Working globally

Developing inclusive agendas and involving multiple socio-

geographic perspectives, and approaches (international)

Working across disciplines and fields

Promoting the joint, reciprocal framing, design, execution and

application of research (inter- and cross-disciplinarity)

Working with society

Building open knowledge arenas in which researchers work with

decision makers, policy shapers, practitioners, as well as actors

from civil society and the private sector in the co-design and co-

production of knowledge, policy and practice (transdisciplinarity)

Approach (cont.)

1. Challenges

Inspired and created ground-breaking interdisciplinary science relevant to major global sustainability challenges

2. Outputs

Delivered products and services that our societal partners need to achieve these challenges

3. Approaches

Pioneered approaches to co-design and co-produce solutions-oriented science, knowledge and innovation for global sustainable development

4. Capacities

Enabled and mobilised capacities to co-produce knowledge, across cultural and social differences, geographies and generations

International, integrated, co-designed and

co-produced knowledge …. to deliver what?

― 2025 Vision

Eight complex challenges in the Anthropocene

• Deliver water, energy, and food for all, and manage the synergies and trade-offs among them

• Decarbonise socio-economic systems to stabilise the climate

• Safeguard the terrestrial, freshwater and marine natural assets underpinning human well-being

• Build healthy, resilient and productive cities

• Promote sustainable rural futures to feed rising and more affluent populations

• Improve human health in relation to GEC

• Encourage sustainable consumption and production patterns that are equitable

• Increase social resilience to future threats

Photo: Art installation by Robyn Woolston

Transformations to Sustainability

Dynamic Planet

Global Development

Each challenge to draw on three integrated research themes

Strategic Research Agenda 2014

A. Dynamic Planet

Observing and attributing change

Understanding processes, risks and thresholds

Projecting and predicting futures

B. Global Development

Meeting basic needs and overcoming inequalities

Governing sustainable development

Managing growth, synergies and trade-offs

C. Transformations to sustainability

Understanding and evaluating transformations

Identifying and promoting sustainable behaviours

Transforming development pathways

62 priorities

Lubchenco (1998)

‘…a commitment of on the part of all scientists to devote their energies and talents to the most pressing problems of the day’

Toward a More Engaged Science (1)

Gibbons (1994, 1999), Nowotny et al, (2001)

• Reliable knowledge to socially-robust knowledge

• Science produced in open systems of knowledge production (the agora)

• Uncertainty

Toward a More Engaged Science (2)

Source: Gibbons (1999) Nature

• Greater understanding of and engagement with science

• Improved relationships between knowledge producers and users

• Increased usefulness and use of information (while doing interesting science)

• Better decisions and outcomes (i.e.

making a difference in the world)

Vision: What Do We Want to Achieve?

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Changing Mental Models

The ‘linear model’ of science and society

Source: Stafford-Smith, Moser, et al., forthcoming

Slide courtesy of Frans Berkhout, adapted

Relevant knowledge exists as a uniform, disembodied, closed system

Relevant knowledge exists in diverse, open, situated systems

Two visions of knowledge systems

Co-Design and Co-Production of Knowledge

Source: Cowell et al, 2013

Fears and Concerns about Engagement

By Researchers

• Bias due to undue influence on the research process

• Constriction on academic freedom

• Public embarrassment

• Time commitment

• Frustration when policy-relevant science is not used (or misused)

By Practitioners

• Time commitment to a process with uncertain outcomes

• Public embarrassment

• Use of results in intended and

unintended ways

Source: Stafford-Smith, Moser, et al., forthcoming

Benefits of and Motivations for Engagement

By Researchers

• Wider attention to and recognition of one's research findings and expertise

• Contribution to problem solving

• Access to data otherwise not available

• Learning

By Practitioners

• A seat at the table

• Practical use of scientific information for decision-making

• Symbolic value of science in support of policy-making

• Fostering innovation, leadership and competitive advantage

• Learning

Source: Stafford-Smith, Moser, et al., forthcoming

Understanding processes of co-design and co-production

Source: Mauser et al., COSUST, 2013

‘…the collaborative process of bringing a plurality of knowledge sources and types together to address a defined problem and build an integrated or systems-oriented understanding of that problem.’ Armitage et al. (2011)

Co-Production

• Joint problem-framing

• Integration in knowledge production and joint knowledge dissemination

• Collaborative experimenting and learning

Key Phases in Co-Production

Photo: JamesBernatowicz

• Plurality (inclusivity, who?)

• Positioning (expertise, power)

• Incentives (benefits and costs to actors)

• Arrangements (experiments, mediating relationships across boundaries, sustaining interactions?)

• Outcomes (measurement, value)

Framing the “Collaborative Agora”

Slide adapted from Frans Berkhout

Website: www.futureearth.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/futureearth.org Twitter: @FutureEarth

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