Local Initiatives for Communicating Climate Change and Energy Sustainability: Community Outreach from Resource Sharing to Knowledge Transfer.
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Department Name: Geography
Abstract
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Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Bridget Woodman (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Fudge S
(2016)
Local authorities as niche actors: the case of energy governance in the UK
in Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions
| Description | The aim of the project was to form new partnerships between social and climate researchers at the University of Exeter's Cornwall Campus and key stakeholders in the local community, and to improve communication between University researchers and the local communities. There were a number of objectives: 1. To run a series of workshops, meetings and debates in local venues to disseminate research related to local climate change and energy issues. 2. To help create and integrate networks in the local area that link the university with the wider community; including local residents, campaigners and policy makers. 3. To further the engagement of academics and the community in local policy mechanisms to increase public representation in the areas of climate and energy policy. 4. To promote and increase the agency of academics and the community in climate and energy practice - primarily through carbon reduction activity. The project established productive links with three local schools. In addition, the final meeting event contributed to developing established networks of business, NGO and policy stakeholders by integrating the schools within them. The intention of the work was to develop a way for the researchers to communicate with the local community in a novel, organic and inclusive way, rather than a more usual 'top-down' approach. The researchers feels that this was largely successful in engaging and communicating with the local community and encouraging the further development of energy, climate and sustainability networks. |
| Exploitation Route | The use of workshops and discussions as a way of exploring complex sustainability issues could be developed further, as could the interactions between academic institutions and schools as a way of making universities more open |
| Sectors | Education |
| Description | The project had two phases: firstly a series of workshops organised by PhD researchers with three local schools looking at the complex issues of energy use, sustainability and food; secondly a 'final event' which brought together university researchers, schoolchildren from participating institutions, local activists, businesses and policymakers, and any other interested people. Around 150 people attended in all, and new networks and contacts were facilitated. In addition, the workshop format for discussing complex sustainability-related issues has been adopted by one of the participating secondary schools. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2011 |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | School visits |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Presentation and discussion around sustainability and climate issues, with the aim of getting pupils to think about complex issues Teachers reported that some students were very engaged in the issues and that they had appreciated the opportunity to discus them in an open ended way |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2010,2011 |
| Description | Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Presentations followed by question and answer session and an opportunity to discuss the issues with other organisations engaged in climate and sustainability issues Lively discussion and some very confident questionning from pupils and their families |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |