Research Design and the Politics of Abstraction: Unpacking the Environmentality of Scientific Practice in Socioecological Assessments

Crane, Todd A.; Pronk, Maartje; Lakerveld, Roan P; Weiler, Viola; Maat, Harro; Springate-Baginski, Oliver; Udo, H.M.J.

doi:10.1007/s10745-016-9865-2

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…The goal of collaboratively designing the research approaches is to move away from "expertbuilt" analytical frameworks that may fail to capture local knowledge or management practices. An analytical framework that does not properly model the context and the local knowledge may be misleading and results in inadequate research findings (Crane et al 2016). True integration of local knowledge can improve planning for communities facing the most serious environmental risks (Corburn 2003;Bautista et al 2017).…”

Section: Development Design and Implementation Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The art of co-production of knowledge in environmental sciences and management: lessons from international practice

Djenontin

Meadow

2018

Environmental Management

274

184

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This review paper addresses the challenging question of "how to" design and implement co-production of knowledge in climate science and other environmental and agricultural sciences. Based on a grounded theory review of nine (9) published case studies of transdisciplinary and collaborative research projects, the paper offers a set of common themes regarding specific components and processes for the design, implementation, and achievement of co-production of knowledge work, which represent the "Modus Operandi" of knowledge co-production. The analysis focuses on practical methodological guidance based on lessons from how different research teams have approached the challenges of complex collaborative research. We begin by identifying broad factors or actions that inhibit or facilitate the process, then highlight specific practices associated with co-production of knowledge and necessary competencies for undertaking co-production. We provide insights on issues such as the integration of social and professional cultures, gender and social equity, and power dynamics, and illustrate the different ways in which researchers have addressed these issues. By exploring the specific practices involved in knowledge co-production, this paper provides guidance to researchers on how to navigate different possibilities of the process of conducting transdisciplinary and co-production of knowledge research projects that best fit their research context, stakeholder needs, and research team capacities.

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Section: Development Design and Implementation Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The art of co-production of knowledge in environmental sciences and management: lessons from international practice

Djenontin

Meadow

2018

Environmental Management

274

184

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…De Janvry et al, 2011; Loevinsohn et al, 2012; Ton, 2015). As a result of assessment methods, concepts and variables chosen, we often may only have a partial, skewed or blurred understanding of what technologies work for which farmers (Crane et al, 2016; De Roo et al, 2017; Glover et al, 2016). On-farm trials are used to assess technology performance in farmers’ conditions.…”

Section: The Research Methods and Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the relations between farmers’ seed demand and research methods: The challenge to do better

et al. 2019

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Although the development of improved seeds has witnessed significant advances over the last decades, the adoption of improved seeds and varieties by smallholder farmers is variable. This suggests that research methods for studying farmers’ seed demand are not yielding information that reflects the real-life decisions and behaviours of farmers in the choice and acquisition of their seeds. We suggest that research methods for analysing farmers’ seed demand shape seed availability. This is supported by the theory of social life of methods. We argue that access to and attractiveness of seed are highly context-specific for a farmer, for example, influenced by his/her social position, the role of the crop or variety in the farming system, the linkage to the market, agro-ecological conditions, and that context is highly variable. We also argue that many of our research methods are weak on capturing real-life context and provide fragmented snapshot-nature understanding and biases of farmers preferences and needs for seeds. We call for more integrated understanding of seed systems as a whole and a more holistic methodological research approach that better captures the variable real-life context of farmers while providing the metrics that are needed by seed actors and policymakers to enable informed decisions.

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“…However, sustainability is being increasingly conceptualised as creating a community's capacity to take action and shape its own responses, with different levels of engagement with the formal systems [20,21]. Likewise, sustainability notions in ecology and environmental studies have shifted from rather generic national or even global assessment approaches to more locally-specific methodologies [22].…”

Section: Conceptualising Sustainable Community-based Systems Of Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Sustainable Community-Based Systems for Infectious Disease and Disaster Response; Lessons from Local Initiatives in Four African Countries

et al. 2021

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This paper explores the role of decentralised community-based care systems in achieving sustainable healthcare in resource-poor areas. Based on case studies from Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Uganda and Ethiopia, the paper argues that a community-based system of healthcare is more effective in the prevention, early diagnosis, and primary care in response to the zoonotic and infectious diseases associated with extreme weather events as well as their direct health impacts. Community-based systems of care have a more holistic view of the determinants of health and can integrate responses to health challenges, social wellbeing, ecological and economic viability. The case studies profiled in this paper reveal the importance of expanding notions of health to encompass the whole environment (physical and social, across time and space) in which people live, including the explicit recognition of ecological interests and their interconnections with health. While much work still needs to be done in defining and measuring successful community responses to health and other crises, we identify two potentially core criteria: the inclusion and integration of local knowledge in response planning and actions, and the involvement of researchers and practitioners, e.g., community-embedded health workers and NGO staff, as trusted key interlocuters in brokering knowledge and devising sustainable community systems of care.

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Research Design and the Politics of Abstraction: Unpacking the Environmentality of Scientific Practice in Socioecological Assessments

Cited by 15 publications

References 51 publications

The art of co-production of knowledge in environmental sciences and management: lessons from international practice

The art of co-production of knowledge in environmental sciences and management: lessons from international practice

Understanding the relations between farmers’ seed demand and research methods: The challenge to do better

Towards Sustainable Community-Based Systems for Infectious Disease and Disaster Response; Lessons from Local Initiatives in Four African Countries

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