1 / 8

Building the low carbon economy on merseyside

Building the low carbon economy on merseyside. Pete North, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool. Geographies and Policy.

yaholo
Download Presentation

Building the low carbon economy on merseyside

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Building the low carbon economy on merseyside Pete North, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool

  2. Geographies and Policy • Do policy makers take any notice of geographers’ expertise on what are quite explicitly geographical issues (such as inequality, climate change and development)? • Are geographers willingly obtuse and prone to using inaccessible, irrelevant language? • Do geographers focus on abstract issues of concern to the academy, but of little relevance to dealing with real world issues? • Or should we defend ‘curiosity’ (Phillips 2010).

  3. “much contemporary social and economic geography research renders it of little practical relevance for policy, in some cases of little social relevance at all. The more significant reasons for this lack of relevance to, and influence on, the policy realm include: the effects on the subject of the postmodern and cultural ‘turns’; the consequential emphasis on ‘sexy’ philosophical, linguistic and theoretical issues rather than on practical social research; the retreat from detailed, rigorous empirical work; the intellectual bias against policy studies; and the lack of political commitment.” Martin. (2001)

  4. Building the low carbon economy on Merseyside

  5. Objectives of the project • A Knowledge Exchange project. • Question: Now Liverpool has re-branded itself, how is it moving to a low carbon economy? • Understand and observe the policy process. • Participant observation and seminars: co-production of ideas and understanding. • Policy makers, scientist, social scientist. • Impact generating study: How can we more effectively support (a) businesses and (b) social enterprises to develop the low carbon economy? (c) local decision-making (d) foster a culture of economic change and future thinking.

  6. reflections • Knowledge transfer or mutual learning? • Research partnership or consultancy? • Different cultures, especially timeframes and understanding of ‘knowledge’ • Lack of capacity to support secondments. • Moving the agenda on, or understanding constraints? • Respecting social science skills and evidence. • Theoretical and practical knowledge.

  7. KE and academic production • KE opens doors, gives access more traditional approaches can’t • KE gives you legitimacy. • Having to shut up – and listen/understand. • Respecting local partners – intentions, tacit and institutional knowledge, and limits. • Understanding positionality – KE good for this. • Mutual understanding – or co-option? Knowing the difference ..... Is a conversation possible? • Taking each other forward, without scaring each other. Fundamental opposition is problematic. • Does it ‘add to knowledge’ and produce internationally- significant outputs for the RAF?

  8. But .... • When the RAF is all, do we REALLY take this seriously? • Should we do more as a local non-profit, civic institution, part of Civil Society? • “(r)arely is policy change a process of simply providing technically correct answers … What is always at issue … is political will”. Massey (2002:646) • Is this the way to make a career? No.... • What are the incentives, to go the extra mile?

More Related