Participatory action research

The launch event “Opening the development agenda,” the STEPS center – Sustainable Alternatives for Latin America, was held on 5 and 6 November in Buenos Aires. STEPS Latin America is part of a network of universities based China, USA, Kenya, India, the UK and Sweden. STEPS Latin America seeks to renew and open innovation agenda and sustainability of the region, based on the idea that there are different paths to development. During the two-day panel on Open Science, Innovation inclusive, horizontal innovations for sustainability and natural resources and development which will have important guests were made internationally. My participation in this event was to design and facilitation of participatory workshops with the aim of thinking policies to promote open knowledge production and think a new research agenda on innovation and sustainable development for the region.

The workshop Policies to open the generation of knowledge was based in participatory techniques aimed to allow jointly identification of a number of items such as tools, methodologies and priorities related to S & T policy. Brainstorming techniques and World Cafe are used to enhance the diversity of perspectives and facilitate the exchange of ideas between different actors. The outcome of this workshop will be digitized and shared with participants to encourage collaboration in different areas.

The workshop Research agenda for sustainable development was based in participatory techniques for making maps on areas of knowledge and research priorities through a prospective approach. By visualizing a future scenario, the exercise seeks to help participants to relate different elements at different levels and over time in order to facilitate change processes at the system level. The outcome of this workshop will be digitized and shared with participants to encourage collaboration in different areas.

The event was part of the new line of collaboration between Transition Hub – Climate KIC and the STEPs center. Further actions are related with the co-development of learning materials and exploring research opportunities in the area of resilient and smart agricultural systems

See full agenda of the event here & summary of event in STEP website

Javier de Vicente López, Cristian Matti and José Jiménez Pérez

This document summaries the results obtained as a result of the participatory process that is part of the “Foundations for a Provincial Strategy Biomass” in the province of Castellon.
These actions are ultimately aimed at laying the foundations for sustainable biomass strategy, which included the set of actors in the territory and the entire value chain that the use of biomass genera.La idea behind all the participatory process It is incorporating the different viewpoints, knowledge and experience of all actors in the work of treating biomass as “an element to assess forest biomass” capable of “generating economic wealth, clean energy and employment, especially in the interior villages helping the development of these rural areas. ”

Download report here: Report Biomass Castellon – Participatory methods 2015 (in Spanish)

Innovation in process of policy design by reflexive governance and action research. The case of renewable energy policy in Pobla de Vallbona

The presentation aims to analyse the interaction experience of a multidisciplinary team in the formulation process of the renewable energy local normative. A set of different elements on the formulation process and the content of the normative will be analysed by exploring the concept of reflexive governance. For doing so, focus will be put in the search of agreement and consensus by considering different interpretation of innovation polices as public procurement for R&D and green procurement as well as more general concepts as governance, participation and decision making mechanisms. Finally key issues of action research approach will be described in term of the the role of local environments on the generation, exchange and knowledge transfer as key drivers for the design and implementation of environmental regulation.
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The presentation is based in the participation of the authors in the project Mediterranean renewables energy ENERMED. The project seeks to bring coherence to Mediterranean regional policies on renewable energy for innovation and competitiveness. Our skills will contribute to understanding.

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Category: Participatory action research

Visioning for the biomass sector. Fostering local development through participatory processes

Reflexive governance and action research for local renewable energy policy in Spain

Innovation in process of policy design by reflexive governance and action research. The case of renewable energy policy in Pobla de Vallbona