Econometric Modeling Perspectives [1 ed.] 9781616688042, 9781606921579

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Copyright © 2008. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Bee, Marco, et al. Econometric Modeling Perspectives, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2008. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Bee, Marco, et al. Econometric Modeling Perspectives, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central,

EDUCATION IN A COMPETITIVE AND GLOBALIZING WORLD SERIES

Copyright © 2008. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

EDUCATION TO MEET NEW CHALLENGES IN A NETWORKED SOCIETY

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Collaborative and Individual Learning in Teaching Julien Mercie, Caroline Girard, Monique Brodeur and Line Laplante 2010. ISBN: 978-1-60876-889-9 Postsecondary Education and Student Aid Jennifer G. Hartley (Editor) 2010. ISBN: 978-1-60876-935-3 Postsecondary Education and Student Aid Jennifer G. Hartley (Editor) 2010. ISBN: 978-1-61668-428-0 (Online Book) Education to Meet New Challenges in a Networked Society Leo Jansen, Paul Weaver and Rietje van Dam-Mieras 2010. ISBN: 978-1-61668-245-3 Time Out: Examining Seclusion and Restraint in Schools Laura E. Kentley (Editor) 2010. ISBN: 978-1-60876-932-2

Bee, Marco, et al. Econometric Modeling Perspectives, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2008. ProQuest Ebook

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Bee, Marco, et al. Econometric Modeling Perspectives, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2008. ProQuest Ebook

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Spelling Skills: Acquisition, Abilities, and Reading Connection Blake C. Fabini (Editor) 2010. ISBN: 978-1-61668-531-7 (Online Book) Kindergartens: Programs, Functions and Outcomes Spencer B. Thompson (Editor) 2010. ISBN: 978-1-61668-530-0 Kindergartens: Programs, Functions and Outcomes Spencer B. Thompson (Editor) 2010. ISBN: 978-1-61668-711-3 (Online Book)

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EDUCATION IN A COMPETITIVE AND GLOBALIZING WORLD SERIES

Copyright © 2008. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

EDUCATION TO MEET NEW CHALLENGES IN A NETWORKED SOCIETY

LEO JANSEN, PAUL WEAVER AND RIETJE VAN DAM-MIERAS

Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York

Bee, Marco, et al. Econometric Modeling Perspectives, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2008. ProQuest Ebook

Copyright © 2010 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic, tape, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the Publisher. For permission to use material from this book please contact us: Telephone 631-231-7269; Fax 631-231-8175 Web Site: http://www.novapublishers.com NOTICE TO THE READER The Publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this book, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained in this book. The Publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or in part, from the readers‟ use of, or reliance upon, this material. Any parts of this book based on government reports are so indicated and copyright is claimed for those parts to the extent applicable to compilations of such works.

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Independent verification should be sought for any data, advice or recommendations contained in this book. In addition, no responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from any methods, products, instructions, ideas or otherwise contained in this publication. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered herein. It is sold with the clear understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or any other professional services. If legal or any other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent person should be sought. FROM A DECLARATION OF PARTICIPANTS JOINTLY ADOPTED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND A COMMITTEE OF PUBLISHERS. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Jansen, Leo, 1956Education to meet new challenges in a networked society / authors, Leo Jansen, Paul Weaver, Rietje van Dam-Mieras. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN H%RRN 1. Education--Economic aspects. 2. Education--Social aspects. 3. Education and globalization. 4. Sustainable development. I. Weaver, Paul, 1960- II. Dam-Mieras, Rietje van. III. Title. LC65.J36 2009 306.43--dc22 2009050571



Bee, Marco, et al. Econometric Modeling Perspectives, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2008. ProQuest Ebook

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CONTENTS Chapter 1

Introduction

1

Chapter 2

New and Challenging Context

5

Chapter 3

New Needs in Science, Education and Learning

13

Chapter 4

Transitions and Supporting Competences

23

Chapter 5

Modes of Capacity and Competence Building

35

Chapter 6

Pioneering Examples: Science for Sustainable Development

45

Pioneering Examples: Higher Education for Sustainable Development

55

Perspectives for Future Learning

73

Chapter 7 Chapter 8 References

77

Index

85

Bee, Marco, et al. Econometric Modeling Perspectives, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2008. ProQuest Ebook

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Chapter 1

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INTRODUCTION The rapidly-evolving world of the 21st century faces tremendous challenges of economic, ecological, social, cultural and global dimensions to be handled by citizens with an increasing self-consciousness. Naming just some of the challenges provides immediate insight into their magnitude, nature and diversity: reduce and prevent international instability, reduce overexploitation of earth resources, respond to the greenhouse threat, meet the needs of a rapidly growing global population, create a fairer distribution of wealth, guide rural and urban development. These are just some of the interrelated and interacting challenges of developing sustainably in a highly dynamic and interconnected world. They are characterized by the need for long-term approaches, the involvement of many stakeholders with conflicting interests and the fact that their approach demands parallel routes on different scales. A global perspective is needed to develop views and frames, while local and regional perspectives are needed to provide actions. Governmental and economic systems developed in the 20th century and based on insights from even earlier times have only a poor capability to meet these great challenges. So new learning is urgent, both on personal and institutional levels. Fundamental changes in society are demanded. Here, education and training come in, interacting with science, research and technology. From the beginning of the industrial revolution, science and education have increasingly been focused on specialization and single disciplinary practices. Whereas in their earliest and mostly informal education children learn to experience the world around them as a whole of interacting phenomena, the further they climb in the formal education system the more they become specialized and the more their learning is embedded in a system of disciplinary schools. The

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Leo Jansen, Paul Weaver and Rietje van Dam-Mieras

21st century challenges just sketched, however, require integral approaches of a co-disciplinary nature. In turn, this challenges our educational systems to open possibilities for developing citizens from childhood onwards to achieve those professional and personal competences required for living fulfilling and constructive lives in a world in movement. This requires citizens to be professionals but also to be able to understand and co-operate with other professions and disciplines. For educational and training systems this means interactive education applying formal, informal and non-formal practices in horizontal and vertical structures, “learning by doing”, and life-long learning in a developing society. In such a society education and training are closely related to science, Research and Technology Development (RTD), and applied problem-solving. Sustainable development offers a unique opportunity to illustrate and induce this re-innovation of education and training, including aspects of research, regionalization, re-orientation, restructuring and evaluation. Our objectives in this book are three-fold. We want to understand better what is implied by the rapidly-evolving and interacting development challenges that global society now faces in terms of needs for new types of understanding, knowledge and skills as well as for ways of developing these. We also want to report on some of the first initiatives in science, applied problem solving, education, training, learning and evaluation that represent innovative responses to building the needed social capital and capacities. These initiatives provide a source of inspiration for efforts aimed at mainstreaming the needed approaches, but they also provide important first lessons into what works and is effective, and into the transferability or contextspecificity of lessons we might draw. A third objective, then, is to draw out these lessons and to make recommendations concerning innovations still needed. Through the pursuit of these three objectives we hope to add detail to a vision of how, in the future, knowledge and understanding appropriate to the challenges of a new century might be developed and transferred through new ways of undertaking scientific research and through new modes of training and learning. We also hope to explore the ways and means by which such a future might come about. The rest of this book is organized along these lines. Chapter 2 provides the context. It explains how the emerging development challenges of the 21st century and the requirement to develop more sustainably give rise to needs for new understanding, knowledge and skills. Chapter 3 considers how these needs differ fundamentally from those associated with past processes of development and why their fulfillment will make fundamentally different

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Introduction

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demands on our systems and institutions of knowledge generation and integration and of education and training. In Chapter 4 we deepen the analysis by identifying the need for transitions – innovations at a systems level – in order to move toward more sustainable development, and by characterizing transitions as dependent on processes of social learning. We explore the competences needed for transition. This is followed, in Chapter 5, by a review of modes of capacity and competence building, which explores education and learning-by-doing as complements in this endeavor. Illustrative examples of pioneering initiatives are then provided in the fields of science for sustainable development (Chapter 6) and higher education for sustainable development (Chapter 7). Chapter 8 attempts a cross-cutting analysis that draws lessons from these pioneering initiatives and proposes an ambitious future agenda for further experimentation in social learning.

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Chapter 2

NEW AND CHALLENGING CONTEXT

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LEARNING, SCIENCE AND SOCIETY Perhaps one of the most important insights that we have learned about how best to stimulate a change of direction when this is needed for strategic reasons, such as to respond to new problems that appear intractable to usual solutions or to take up opportunities currently precluded by our usual ways of framing issues, is to work backward from an attractive „vision‟ of a future that is radically different from the present. So a useful starting point for us is to work up a vision on learning in a changing world and gradually to embellish this through our argumentation and discourse. In this vision learning is taken to have a broad meaning that includes the generation of understanding and knowledge (especially on the important questions of life and development, wellbeing, our relationships to others within the same and following generations, our relationship to nature, etc.), including the integration of understanding and knowledge from disparate fields and sources, as well as its transfer both in formal, organized, institutional contexts (education) and in less formal contexts, such as is implied in social learning. Learning is looked upon as a lifelong activity that is needed not only for the development of the individual, but also for the development of society and for the guidance of science. On the one hand, the learning process transfers tangible knowledge and knowledge obtained by (scientific) exploration. Through such learning people develop as individuals, becoming more aware and potentially more self-conscious and self-aware members of society, more able to contribute to its development. Society and its members provide and develop the means for learning. On the other hand society requires

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contributions from its members in order for societal development. Depending on the nature of the targeted societal development this demands the availability of adequate capacities and competences among its members. So learning has a double significance: development of people as members of society and enabling members of society to contribute to the achievement of societal targets and aims, as well as to setting the development direction for society. In this chapter we reflect especially on sustainable development (social inclusion and survival) as the societal target set by international agreements reached by the UN and adopted widely at regional and national levels. Learning is, in its turn, related to science. Knowledge obtained by science can be transferred to the learning process of (members of) society, but must also be critically evaluated by members of society and should be seen, also, as a product of „social construction‟. Science and society stand in a manifold relationship. Society on the one hand enables science to explore on the basis of curiosity and at the same time expects from science a contribution to its development. Thus a triple relationship exists between learning, society and science (Figure 1). This interrelationship forms a useful basis for investigating the 21st century challenges faced by society, the changes in the structure and organization of science and in the nature of research necessary in order to contribute to meeting these challenges, and the connected implications for learning and education.

Learning

Science

Society Figure 1. The interrelationship between learning, science and society. 17/09/2007 NOVA

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1

7

New and Challenging Context

Overexploitation resources International instability

Urban development Sustainable Development

Green house effects

Distribution of Prosperity

Biodiversity

17/09/2007

NOVA

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Figure 2. Global challenges of sustainable development.

2

As already indicated, the rapidly-evolving world of the 21st century faces challenges that are unprecedented in their severity and potential implications for the survival of humanity, and which, because of their systemic pathology, are multi-dimensional, having economic, ecological, social, cultural and institutional dimensions. Many of these also transcend scale levels from local to global. An implication is that agency in respect of these problems and their solution is not concentrated in the hands of governments or businesses alone. The problems and their solutions can only be handled effectively by citizens with increasing self-consciousness acting together with other agents. This asks for (social) learning in a transition process: learning to live together on earth in peace, dignity and mutual respect for the survival of society in a globalizing world. Although the current capabilities of society have led to economic and social progress in the past, they are no longer sufficient to meet the challenges of the 21st century. These are interrelated and interacting challenges of development for survival with sustainable development as a cross-key in a highly dynamic and interconnected world, facing complexity and uncertainties (Figure 2). The sincerity of these challenges is expressed in the UN Millennium Development Goals supported worldwide by governments and societal organizations. Goals, such as to “eradicate extreme poverty and

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Leo Jansen, Paul Weaver and Rietje van Dam-Mieras

hunger”, “achieve universal primary education”, “ensure environmental sustainability” and “develop global partnership for development” touch directly the challenges mentioned before. However governmental and economic systems developed in the 20th century and based on insights from even earlier times and rooted in nation states, have only a poor capability to meet these great global challenges. The “in depth” orientation of the educational and science system delivered great results in the past two centuries by increasing specialization and narrowing the focus. The challenge for education and learning nowadays is to grow “in breadth” to cover the interconnectedness of the social-ecological systems that are at the centre of our development concerns while keeping the “in depth” qualities to give support to interconnectedness. There is recognition of this at the highest level. Learning for sustainable development, which is key for survival in an ever more crowded, dynamic and interconnected world, constitutes the core of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UN DESD), which started in 2005 (http://www.unesco.org).

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WHERE WE STAND IN SCIENCE, EDUCATION AND LEARNING Analysis of current strengths and weaknesses of the science and education systems resulting from their historical development identifies the urgency and character of the need for new approaches. It has been pointed out, for example, that there is a recursive relationship between the development paradigm and the systems of science and education that support development. Part of the strength and effectiveness of past development that has emphasized economic growth above societal or environmental concerns arises from a compartmentalized approach that transcends all development institutions, including the institutions of government, business, science and education. Such separation and compartmentalization is unsuited to meet the challenges of the 21st century, which in large measure arise as consequences (or as symptoms) of compartmentalized institutions and approaches. But there are also positive developments that offer opportunities for more appropriate forms of knowledge development and learning to occur and which might well support a more transition-oriented perspective. Rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT) over recent years along with the widespread diffusion of ICT in society offer possibilities for

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New and Challenging Context

9

information transfer that not only influences the exchange of information in education and science, but also leads to new social structures in networks. The potential of these developments to affect attitudes, understandings and behaviors especially of young people, and to shape new „virtual worlds‟ that have the potential to influence „real world‟ developments is already demonstrated. The millennial generation of new entrants to the workforce is very different from the earlier generations; especially, they have markedly different career expectations and markedly different value systems. Increasingly, they look for the double bottom-line – both social impact and the business value – from community involvement (Larrabee, 2007).

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THE NEED FOR TRANSITIONS The new challenges require „transitions‟ in several domains of society. Past transitions more or less “came over” society as a result of concurrent developments in different domains. One can think, for example, of the agrarian and industrial revolutions and of past transitions in socio-technical regimes of production and consumption that arose spontaneously through processes of emergence and co-evolutionary innovation. Now however, the urgency, magnitude and multiplicity of the challenges facing society as we enter the 21st century forces society to become pro-active in consciously initiating and inducing transitions, since incremental solutions developed from within the framework of existing institutions and approaches are likely to be ineffective. This calls upon competences of individuals and institutions in society at different degrees and has penetrating consequences for the education and learning system as well as for the supporting and underlying development of science.

„GLOBALIZATION‟ AS A KEY ELEMENT OF CONTEXT The process of globalization that has accompanied development and has accelerated since the industrial revolution adds to – and contextualizes – these new challenges. The process of globalization is millennia old already but was accelerated during the last centuries by developments in science, in technology and, most importantly, in society. Friedman (2007) distinguishes three phases of globalization:

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Globalization 1.0, 1492 – 1800, driven by countries and governments based on availability of physical power and energy, and inspired by religion and imperialism. Globalization 2.0, 1800 – 2000, driven by multinational companies, going for markets and (cheaper) labor. Globalization 3.0, 2000 - … , driven by individuals, collaborating and competing, facilitated by the convergence of the personal computer and the rapid transportation of information via fiber-optic cables. The Industrial Revolution, itself rooted in the „knowledge revolution‟ of the 17th century, caused huge changes in society. Innovations based on fundamental knowledge and developed in an enabling social environment made possible a re-organization both of production processes and of society. The use of steam engines replaced muscle power with power derived from the combustion of fossil fuels. This led to mass production, concentration of labor forces in urban areas, development of transport infrastructures and, via social action, the development of new social institutions. These developments initially took place mainly on a national scale in a world in which most individuals were strongly linked to their local environment. In most western countries these developments led to an increase in welfare and to institutional arrangements through which national governments became responsible for securing the public interest, for example for ensuring a proper functioning of economic markets and for developing social institutions that constitute a safety net for their citizens. Through such developments welfare in the more industrialized nations was to some extent shared among citizens and, in its turn, this resulted in increased possibilities for individual development. From the national level nation states increasingly worked together in supranational organizations. Internationalization was, thus, a logical next step. Globalization also intensified, but it is a different phenomenon. In internationalization the playing field is extending but the rules remain largely intact, while in globalization the playing field is extending further but also the rules change (Breton 2003, van Dam-Mieras 2003). Also today, technological innovations based on fundamental insights, taking place in an enabling social environment, constitute conditions for economic and social developments. However, social and economic developments no longer play out mainly on a national level. The possibilities for transportation of persons, goods and information leads to a world in which human activities are geographically spread, production chains cross national borders, and virtual space increasingly becomes a space for activities

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New and Challenging Context

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complementary to physical space (Catells 1996, Beck 1997, Brooks 2003). The emerging global space connects all places on earth and links human activities in different societies through complex sets of relationships and feedback loops. Since the „reach‟ of choices made (in terms of the impacts of decisions) is no longer confined to the direct personal environment of the decision maker, the consequences for other societies and other generations should be taken into account as well. Governments, private organizations (such as businesses), NGOs and „world citizens‟ have a joint responsibility for developments in the global space. People and organizations will have to learn how to be part of a global society while, however, remaining bound for most of their time to their own local physical environment through family, friend, labor market and cultural ties and associations. How should these agents take responsibility in practical situations? What can organizations do? What can world citizens do?

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Chapter 3

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NEW NEEDS IN SCIENCE, EDUCATION AND LEARNING As we have pointed out, the new challenges are characterized by the need for long-term approaches, the involvement of many stakeholders with conflicting interests and the fact that their approach demands parallel routes on different scales. A global perspective is needed to develop views and frames, while local and regional perspectives are needed to provide actions. The complexity and uncertainties inherent to these challenges requires scientific competences and capabilities, which hardly correspond to those that have developed over past decades and centuries.

A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL, MULTI-SCALE DEVELOPMENT „SYSTEM‟ A fundamental starting point is that a development for sustainability and survival - or a development that takes these challenges into account - implies the need for new system-level solutions to questions of production/consumption and governance. The need is for path-breaking solutions conceived in terms of fundamentally different sets of technologies, institutions and social arrangements from those we have today. Whereas innovators working to improve existing solutions can take the paradigmatic framework conditions for granted, those working on new solutions must base their work on the belief that these will change. Moreover, they must actively work toward changing them if new solutions are to be implemented. This

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means that the type of innovation cannot be restricted to designing and evaluating solutions, but must also engage with the process of designing and implementing paradigmatic change. This is a strategic management challenge that requires special ways of working and a special toolkit to deal with the issues entailed, such as creating visions of sustainable futures, handling the dynamics of co-evolutionary change on several innovation fronts, handling uncertainty that is inherent when shifting into realms not previously experienced and communicating with stakeholders and decision makers about options and their implications. The challenge of managing change and transition is a multi-level one, since different spatial levels of the development system (local, national, regional, global) are interdependent. This means that research may be targeted on technical development problems or transition-management problems that are manifest on any scale, but that „solutions‟ will always need to be designed and evaluated to take into account the links with other scales. The normative nature of the challenges implies that the challenge is prescriptive, rather than predictive. The challenge is not to forecast the future, but rather to envision a desirable social-ecological future that meets macro-sustainability constraints and conforms to society-agreed concepts of what constitutes a good quality of life, to set this as a target state and to work toward its realization. The design task is multi-dimensional because societies' needs are multifaceted. The development for survival implies the need to consider a broad set of economic, social, environmental, institutional and political criteria. This implies that these same criteria are integrated into every step and stage in the process of finding, evaluating and implementing solutions. It implies the need for multi-objective, multi-criteria methods and tools for analysis. And it implies widening the boundary of analysis to encompass all significant crossover impacts so that these are internalized into analysis and impact assessment. The requirement to take many disparate criteria into account complicates the search process, since it engages non-market values and implies the need for decisions to be made over the relative importance of different criteria and for compromise and trade-off among objectives. The selection of criteria and the relative weighting of each cannot be established by reference to markets or by scientific supposition, but can only be determined and legitimated by stakeholders and their representatives. Moreover, the criteria and weightings are likely to change as stakeholders' understandings change and, with it, their values and attitudes. In turn, this implies that scientists cannot search for solutions alone, but are engaged as one of several agents in a dynamic social process of problem solving.

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COMPLEXITY In seeking new development pathways the focus is no longer just the techno-economic system that delivers economic growth, but the whole socialecological system embracing the natural world, the cultural world and interactions between the two. Over recent years there has been stunning advance in our understanding of the planet, its history of transformations and its present dynamics. We know now that the natural world is a complex, hierarchically structured system characterized by non-linear dynamics. It belongs in the class of evolving, self-organizing, “dissipative systems”, which are far from thermodynamic equilibrium, which have multiple stable states, which are characterized by the potential for irreversible change and where discontinuous behavior and structural change is the norm (Holling 1990). By implication, the need for understanding covers processes that operate over an enormous range of scales, interactions that operate with wide-ranging time lags and impacts that depend on threshold effects. The inherent complexity of the natural world leads to indeterminacy and uncertainty. It is intrinsically impossible to understand perfectly and completely so complex a system whose behaviors may be, in any event, intrinsically chaotic. This is all the more important when interactions between mankind and nature are increasingly mediated through more powerful technologies. The combination of uncertainty, globalization, tension among nations relating to access to resources, deprivation of nations resulting from poverty gaps, powerful technological interventions, the potential for irreversible ecological change and the limited capacity of humanity to adapt or respond when ecological change undermines the very basis of human survival or life quality constitutes a powerful case for a precautionary approach. This is certainly the case when planetary stability is at stake and may also apply when the livelihoods and quality of life of large numbers of vulnerable people are threatened by a technology or a development whose impacts cannot be known in advance. To exercise precaution demands considered judgment of potential benefits and risks of development choices, as well as concern for the distribution of these across society and generations in relation to the vulnerabilities of stakeholders in the event of problems. There are comparable difficulties in dealing with the human and institutional systems, science included, that are integral to the process of development and the search for sustainable development. In sustainable development, we are dealing with a decentralized and distributed innovation system with many individual but interdependent actors and many stakeholders.

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As the stakes involved in a shift to sustainable development are high, there is need to reckon with the interests and strategies of the various stakeholders and also with the uneven distribution of power in human and institutional systems. Human decisions and actions are frequently based upon what effectively amount to gaming strategies, where the purpose is to pre-empt the behavior of another actor or provoke a particular response. Thus, the social systems that interact with the natural world are, in their own ways, just as complex, unpredictable and unfathomable as the natural system. Social systems are not only complex, but are also „reflexively‟ complex (Funtowicz and Ravetz 2002). Also there is no “cure-all” solution for the development challenges we have identified, so there is a need to ensure that understanding of the threats and appreciation of the objectives and principles of development for survival and sustainability (i.e., understanding of our interdependence in finding and implementing solutions) are widely diffused into all spheres and levels of development decision making within society, politics, business and science.

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SCIENTIFIC CULTURE AND ORGANIZATION One consequence of complexity is that no single scientific discipline or field of expert knowledge will be able to capture all that is relevant to the analysis of development problems (Funtowicz and Ravetz 2002). Furthermore, each field of expertise, while bringing to bear important insights to the problem, will necessarily introduce its own subjectivity relating to the artificial boundaries used to frame the problem and to the theories and methods used to analyze the problem. The assumptions introduced to enable a complex real world system to be analyzed in parts, as if each existed in isolation, and to enable each part to be treated as if it were a simple or merely complicated system,1 rather than something elementally or functionally embedded within a 1

Indeed, uncertainty is not just a feature of complex systems; it is the defining feature that distinguishes complex systems from those that are simple or just complicated. A simple system can be captured in theory and practice by a deterministic, linear causal analysis. Complicated systems require more variables for explanation or for control than can be neatly managed in its theory. With complexity, we are dealing with phenomena of a different sort. In a complex system, their relation within hierarchies of inclusion and function defines elements and subsystems. A complicated system can be modelled reliably despite the large number of elements and relationships involved. A complex system, by contrast, is characterized by multiple potential equilibriums and cannot be accurately or reliably modelled. Systems that are complex are not merely complicated; by their very nature they imply deep uncertainties and a plurality of legitimate perspectives.

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complex system, effectively ensure that each sub-system that is subjected to disciplinary scrutiny is, in effect, artificial. The sub-systems analyzed by each discipline and the image each discipline holds of the world and its phenomena reflect its own cognitive understanding. Each image is, at best, partial, distorted and subjective. It follows that no single discipline or approach can capture all that is relevant, that it takes a plurality of approaches to obtain the best possible image of reality or to gain the best possible diagnosis of problems or solutions and that no one discipline or perspective is privileged with a more “valid” insight than others. Thus, the tasks inherent in addressing the development and survival challenges of the 21st century are totally different from those for which western science and modern innovation systems were conceived. Funtowicz and Ravetz argue that, conceptually and organizationally, modern science has been constructed around a model of the relationship between mankind and nature as one of conquest and control rather than one of respecting ecological limits, managing problems, expecting surprises and adapting to these (Funtowicz and Ravetz 2002). Furthermore, the power and influence of modern science are derived from its facility to tackle problems that can be neatly bounded. Modern science is based upon two complementary traditions: a tradition of breaking down complex real world systems of interest into parts and a complementary, although less well developed, integration science for combining the understanding obtained through disciplinary study of the separated parts. This structure and organization of science was developed and institutionalized long before the problems of complexity, uncertainty and chaotic behavior were recognized. The result is that conventional science is well equipped to deal with the large number of problems and questions that are manageable within fairly narrowly-defined system boundaries (problems that concern simple or complicated systems), but is ill equipped to deal with complex systems and complex developmental problems. The strength of conventional science is that it provides for elegant theory and for a high level of certainty and reproducibility of scientific findings, especially when experimentation is conducted under controlled conditions where all variables other than those under investigation are held constant or are externalized. However, this strength is offset by several weaknesses. The initial splitting of real world phenomena into discrete sub-systems of interest and the initial matching of phenomena with study approaches are based upon cognitive understandings about what is – and what is not – important, about what should – and what should not – be studied and about how phenomena of assumed interest should be studied. An inevitable subjectivity surrounds the

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initial compartmentalization and choice of analytical method. In addition, the artificial simplification introduced by delineating system boundaries may also restrict the applicability of findings to real world problems or lead to unintended and unforeseen consequences when knowledge is applied, since only those impacts that fall within the system boundary will have been analyzed. Furthermore, each discipline has its own terminology and conventions and makes its own set of simplifying assumptions. These are often mutually inconsistent, making the theory, methods, data and knowledge from different fields of study incompatible and reducing the possibilities for building the composite picture through integration science. The major concern from the perspective of development for survival and sustainability, however, is that phenomena that arise through interactions between the artificially circumscribed sub-systems of academic study and which lie in the 'grey areas' between disciplines may fall out of consideration altogether. In the process of breaking down real world systems into parts, most of the links and relationships that are the central concerns of sustainable development – the links between the natural and social systems or between levels of scale or between time periods – are severed and are not studied by the specialized disciplines. Relatively new academic fields such as resilience and complex systems theory seek to address these issues by integrating the social and natural sciences. Due to the complexity and non-linearity of complex natural and human systems, scientists, economists, and engineers all have to make assumptions when constructing their mathematical models. In sustainable development our very concern is for relationships, phenomena and problems that lie at the interfaces between different scientific fields. Moreover, the very fact that these are today's major societal problems in part reflects their past neglect by the prevailing scientific paradigm which, consistent with the prevailing development paradigm to which science is recursively related, has tended to externalize them.

UNCERTAINTY Another facet of scientific culture that arises from analyzing bounded systems along the tradition of experimental science is the image of science as neutral and objective with a purpose to establish hard facts and truths. The “science of parts” places importance on scientific certainty. Whilst there are notable exceptions, overall a narrow enough focus is usually chosen in order to develop data and tests that can be used to reject invalid hypotheses. A major

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hindrance to progressive research is the pressure to narrow uncertainty to the point where acceptance of an argument among scientific peers is essentially unanimous. Thus a culture is developed where scientists are reluctant to present findings or recommendations until there is a strong basis of scientific evidence that puts these beyond doubt. The approach is conservative and unambiguous at the price of being incomplete. But the danger of this approach is that in being so focused it will miss aspects that are critical for sustainability. One response has been to distinguish different types of uncertainty. Nonetheless, the insights of chaos theory, behavioral psychology and resilience theory mean that whichever approach to modeling is taken there will always be some irreducible uncertainty about the behavior of our systems of interest and therefore also about the outcomes of management interventions in those systems. Given the intrinsic limit to our capacity to model the behavior of our systems of interest, the issue switches to one of how best to manage such systems. The challenge is to develop a different management approach based upon regarding uncertainty less as an obstacle to action and more as a source of creativity and inspiration for the development of intrinsically safe interventions. The challenge to science in support of such a management approach is to shift toward a 'whole system' / 'design for survival approach.2 A focus on whole system design for sustainability can at least deliver relative certainty over what can be done to reduce our ecological footprint and can be used, at the same time, to integrate environmental, economic and social criteria into solution designs. Even though many aspects of the development challenges that concern survival and sustainability are relatively new, an established body of theory and methods has been developed in relation to analogous complex problems. This body of theory and experience suggests that problems characterized by a large number of potentially conflicting objectives, high degrees of uncertainty and risk, potential irreversibilities, large numbers of stakeholders, high stakes, unavoidable subjectivity and context specificity, cannot be handled satisfactorily by centralized decision making structures and processes. Instead, they are best analyzed and resolved in decentralized fashion through 2

Such a shift can be seen in the traditionally reductionist field of chemistry. Originally, environmental chemistry was concerned simply to measure levels of pollutants in the environment. But, since the early 1990s, chemists are increasingly seeking to design chemicals for dissipative uses so that these are intrinsically benign. They are beginning to 'design-out' toxic chemicals. Such shifts will greatly assist policy makers looking for solutions-oriented approaches to sustainable development.

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participatory processes that engage the relevant actors and stakeholders in a constructive social process of mutual learning and decision making. Thus, innovation for sustainability calls not only for interdisciplinary working, but also for transdisciplinarity, interagency working and stakeholder engagement. Innovation for sustainability must integrate knowledge, values and actions from different domains, both formal and informal.

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ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT Since uncertainty is high, the analysis of uncertainty becomes a topic for analysis in itself. Moreover, through the connection between science and implementation an opportunity is created to learn about the systems under management, since every policy and management action will necessarily be taken on the basis of incomplete science and will represent a test of the underlying hypotheses upon which the policy or management action is predicated. This essentially describes an “adaptive management” approach (Holling 1978, Walters 1986) that is sometimes used in the management of renewable resources, but which could form a useful general model for sustainability-oriented innovation. The essential point here is that in the case of sustainability there is a special need for continuous learning and adaptation, since the system of interest is not only incompletely understood, but it is also a moving target, evolving in part because of the impacts of management actions. Under these circumstances, management actions need to achieve not only the social goals desired, but also ever changing understanding of the system under management. Policy and management actions can be designed specifically to test hypotheses, probe the system and, so, reduce uncertainty. This puts premium on the quality of the science-policy interface and, also, on the levels of societal trust in policy makers and scientists. The foregoing comments also help to throw light on the links between risk, uncertainty, experimentation and learning, which is useful in developing an operational interpretation of the principle of precaution. Clearly, risk cannot be avoided in situations of uncertainty. Moreover, a balance has to be struck between the risk inherent in inaction and the risks of acting on the basis of incomplete knowledge. When issues and the responses are local, or even regional, actions can be designed as management experiments whose purpose is to generate both understanding and solutions at the same time. But when problems are global, such as in the case of climatic change, a very different

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approach is needed.3 Pointing out that good experiments are meant to fail, but the experimenters should live to learn from their experiment Holling proposes the general rule here that risk taking is appropriate only when errors are affordable. Put differently: "We should not take risks with elements and qualities that underpin societies, economies or nature, especially when these are inherently planetary in scale, since these are the very foundations upon which sustainability with opportunity is based. Such elements and properties should be protected and preserved" (Holling 1990).

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COMMUNICATION AT THE SCIENCE-POLICYSOCIETY INTERFACE This raises the more general issue of communication at the science-policy interface. In principle, science is needed to supply the underpinnings of informed action while policy and management responses are needed to create an enabling framework for sustainable development. However, the two communities - scientists and policy makers - frequently suffer from a communications gap (Myers 1990). The issue is complicated, because the quality of communication at this interface is a function not only of how science is organized, but also of the organization of policy making. Just as the disciplinary division of science externalizes important factors from scientific consideration, so the division into governmental agencies, departments and ministries can lead to neglect of factors that fall outside agency or departmental responsibilities. The divisions may mean that the institutions of government find difficulty in developing integrative responses to systemslevel solutions even when these are proposed by science. One implication is that the capacity of government to develop integrated policy responses may be a contextual factor in the success of innovation. Another may be that building this capacity is potentially an important element in adapting our innovation systems to fit them better to support sustainable development.

3

Thus, Holling argues that in this case, “the observed and anticipated changes in carbon dioxide concentration alone are so unambiguous, so great and world-wide that we dare not continue as we are. We cannot predict confidently what impacts will flow from these changes, but we cannot continue to play out such a huge experiment on the whole planet” (Holling 1990).

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Re-Orientation In sum, the requirements of sustainable development imply the need to reorient innovation efforts toward new thematic priorities and new process challenges. They specify new roles for scientists within the process of sustainable development as initiators, facilitators, coordinators and mediators in societal processes of complex problem solving and decision making. These roles are additional to the traditional roles of science and technology in providing information and technical means. They specify new tasks in relation to the handling of risk and uncertainty, and pose special requirements for communicating with a wide range of non-scientific actors and stakeholders as well as with policy makers. They imply new ways of working, focused on inclusive and interactive approaches. They also specify a wider set of goals and outcomes for science and technology, which in turn holds implications for research management, research funding and research evaluation. New funding models are needed to enable innovation challenges to be re-conceptualized from first principles, to translate these into research proposals, to build transdisciplinary research networks and to cover the additional costs that are implied for stakeholder participation and communication. This new approach has implications not only for “higher education” but also in the preparative and supportive phases of the educational system. To address the new challenges, fundamental changes are needed that amount to „transitions‟, since they imply structural change and changes in framing conditions rather than just incremental changes leading to optimization within the established framework. Martens and Rotmans (2002) describe transition as “the result of developments in different domains, as a set of connected changes which reinforce each other but take place in several different areas, such as technology, the economy, institutions, behavior, culture, ecology and belief systems”. They regard transition as a “spiral that reinforces itself; there is a multiple causality and co-evolution caused by seemingly independent developments”. Transitions require ‟organizationexceeding‟ innovations at the systems level, which are realised by a variety of agents and which fundamentally change both the structure of the system and relations among the agents and other stakeholders (Loorbach and Rotmans, 2006). An important question, then, is what might we learn from former transitions and innovations that could be useful in efforts to induce, catalyze and give direction to transitions and innovations that might contribute to sustainability?

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Chapter 4

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TRANSITIONS AND SUPPORTING COMPETENCES Innovation at the level of systems renewal comprises a creative process in which humans play a key role. For that reason the process cannot be managed in a top down fashion (Weaver et al. 2000). Usual innovation practice can be characterized as incremental improvements in interaction with market and/or society. By contrast, radical innovations based on new insights are necessary to achieve systems renewal. Such radical innovation can be based on new key technologies and associated sets of complementary innovations on multiple innovation fronts, such as in institutions and behavior, giving rise to farreaching changes across many sectors of the economy, as well as social and environmental impacts. Presently ICT and innovations based on knowledge of structures and systems at the molecular level (modern biotechnology, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and nanotechnology) can be seen as key technologies. Society and technological innovations are related via a process of co-evolution in which society influences innovation, which in turn affects the societal context. The civil society therefore is an important „incubator‟ for societal innovation. The new societal practices related to innovations that develop in the civil society will finally „coagulate‟ in laws and regulations. As long as developments take place at a national level, laws and regulations will co-develop with innovations and therefore will match – at least to a large extent - with norms and values broadly accepted in society. There is no parallel to this process of co-evolution at the global level, however.

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GOAL-ORIENTED TRANSITIONS Freeman and Perez (1988) look upon successive technologies and sources for energy provision as the origin of the so-called Kondratieff waves. Another example concerns the changes as a result of successive transportation technologies in the 19th century (Grübler and Nakicenovic, 1991). These phenomena may very well be understood as successive evolutionary transitions induced by changes in energy /transportation technology. Other examples are goal-oriented transitions and breakthroughs under the pressure of war (Ruttan, 2005). A long-lasting common societal orientation is essential for a goal-oriented transition. Some examples include: the orientation in Western (continental) Europe on reconstruction after the Second World War; the vision behind the physical and social build up of the city of Curitiba in Brazil; the international post-war policy orientation on the removal of barriers to trade leading to the liberalisation and globalisation of the world economy; and, of special interest in the current context, the international (policy) orientation on sustainable development brought about by the Brundtland report (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). Clearly, transition is not a singular linear process. On the contrary a major transition in society usually consists of a co-evolution of smaller transitions and/or innovations, which are mutually reinforcing. Within these systemic innovations, innovations at the individual level occur, in terms of product, process and project innovations (see, for example, Weaver et al, 2000). Studies of transition processes and patterns (e.g., Martens and Rotmans, 2005; Loorbach and Rotmans, 2006) suggest that transitions may involve developments at different levels (micro, meso and macro) and that different phases or stages in transition can often be recognised (predevelopment, take– off, acceleration and stabilisation).

TRANSITIONS AND SOCIAL LEARNING Transitions are composed of processes of social learning. Social learning (Wals, 2007) is a social process among agents and stakeholders through which the ways in which problems and solutions are framed by different parties is explored and the framings, as well as the solution possibilities, are re-framed as understandings are developed not only of ones own position, but also of others‟ positions and the reasons for these. The process of social learning also

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aims to develop the social capital and capacities needed to support transition processes, including new networks to progress preferred solutions and support for these among stakeholders. In this sense, sustainable development can be seen, itself, as a social learning process on all levels and on all terms, since the goals, means and frames needed to support transitions to more sustainable development must all be negotiated through a social process that involves learning about the social-ecological systems under management, about what solution options are desirable and feasible and about the perspectives of different agents and stakeholders concerning solution possibilities. As an example of action undertaken on this issue the program “learning for Sustainable Development, exploring learning strategies across the life span” can be mentioned. This program was initiated by the Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO and the Dutch Institute for Vocational and Adult Education (Cinop) and the Dutch Network for Sustainable Higher Education. This program consists of three scientific reports on the issue and an international expert meeting (Heideveld & Cornelissen, 2009). The program has delivered three main conclusions. The first conclusion is centered on the importance of sustainable development. Learning for sustainable development is a process that continues life long and therefore takes place in a whole range of learning environments that may be formal, non-formal and informal in nature; the ultimate objective is „a better future for all‟. And one important, maybe basic aspect of learning for sustainable development is that the vision and purpose underpinning the practice should be directed at all the three pillars: economic; social; ecological (and interactions among these), without neglecting the cultural dimension. The conclusion was drawn that Education for Sustainable Development should be the driving direction underneath all kinds of processes and all kinds of programs, such as life long learning, social cohesion, education for all. If the UN wants to create a better future for all, programs should not just focus, for example, on learning across the lifespan, but on doing so in order to create a sustainable future. In order to create this future there should be a better cooperation and a better coordination of the learning process between the different sectors of education. Formal, informal and non-formal education are often seen as separate systems which do not cooperate. However, formal education can learn a great deal about tools for education for sustainable development from nonformal learning processes as organized in companies and also from open learning processes in informal education, and vice versa. Especially tools like Communities of Practice, Problem Solving Education and others were

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mentioned. One of the challenges in this process is where, when and how to integrate sustainable development in the learning process. Sustainable development is not an easy issue to „teach‟. It is a process that should address different scales, should balance different perspectives and should take place in different learning settings. At the same time the direction of learning is not open but should lead to „a better present and a better future for all‟ The second conclusion is centered on the distinction between the two main learning strategies, self-development and learning to contribute to a sustainable world. The first and currently the most important goal of education is to acquire knowledge, attitudes and skills. This will lead to selfdevelopment of people; i.e.. individuals learn how to express and respect themselves. This is a prerequisite to learn how to respect others and the planet. Integration of sustainable development in education will teach people how to create change in order to contribute to a sustainable future. Self-development is part of initial formal education and especially non-formal and informal education will lead to self-development of, for example, those who drop-out early from formal education. Using the first metaphor of learning: learning, in this phase, focuses on the acquisition of skills, knowledge and attitudes. But learning in this setting won‟t lead to full self-development, because the complexity of real life is not integrated in the learning. Citizenship and society reflect the complexity of our society (second metaphor). Without learning how to deal with and how to react on this complexity participation in society is not possible. Social capital is therefore only built when learning is open ended, emergent, „in the making‟, non-formal/informal, problem-posing, dialog-based, etc. In this learning setting people really develop themselves, but also learn how to deal with the society they live in. The first step to learning for sustainable development has been made. However to make sure that people learn to become self-aware citizens who are able and expected to contribute to a sustainable world, one more step is needed, using the third metaphor: participation in order to change. This means introducing learning in/of groups, learning in communities of practice, where people have mutual engagement and a shared repertoire. People become aware of the necessity to participate in society, the consequences that their behavior has on their surroundings and even on the world. So they become actors of change for a sustainable future. The third conclusion is centered on the actions that should be undertaken in order to reach the situation given above. It is a challenge to combine sustainable development and life long learning, because it needs a different perspective on learning. In order to improve the situation on the issue of

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Education for Sustainable Development actions can be undertaken on the level of content and on the level of policy. At the level of content, teachers need different competences and research should focus on specific aspects of an issue, but at the same time it is necessary to look at the broader perspective of the problem. Complexity has to be part of the learning process, new incentives have to be implemented and education has to take place in a local context that is connected to a global context. And most of all, the added value of learning for sustainable development should be clear. On the policy level it is most of all a question of the acknowledgement of importance. Education for sustainable development across the lifespan has to be put on the agenda of international meetings. National governments should be motivated to actively integrate sustainable development in education and more funding should be mobilized for Education for Sustainable Development. Sustainable development should be the driving direction underneath all sorts of processes and all sorts of programs. The question is not “how can Education for Sustainable Development contribute to education for all”, but “how can education for all contribute to sustainable development?” Since large system changes often depend on collaboration among agents and stakeholders (e.g., business, government and civil society) who act at different scale levels (local, national or global), social learning processes may need to engage many different and disparate „players‟ (Waddell, 2005). This may be illustrated with examples in energy transition. Energy transition concerns systems renewal and integrates technological, cultural and structural elements. This means that a successful process involves multiple relevant stakeholders who are engaged in a process of “social learning” often leading to action (Glasser, 2007). This may be illustrated with two extreme examples: the taskforce on energy transition in the Netherlands (which illustrates a process operating at a macro or „landscape‟ level) and the introduction of an energy crop - jatropha - in Transkei as a joint venture between the indigenous Xhosa people and a multi-national company, Shell (which illustrates micro-level innovation at a niche level). The taskforce on energy transition in the Netherlands was installed in the framework of a program on “transition policies”, dedicated to master some persistent environmental problems in the Netherlands. Relevant stakeholders, including representatives of government, industry, science, and NGOs, were brought together to form a „taskforce‟ charged with formulating options and advice for energy policies in six fields. These included new gas and clean fossil energy, sustainable mobility, green feedstocks, improving energy- chain efficiency, sustainable electricity provision, and energy in the built

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environment. Through its deliberations and a process of social learning the taskforce advised the following ambitions for Dutch energy policies: increase in the efficiency of energy use by 1.5 – 2 % annually until 2050; substantial use of green feedstock and renewable energy; reduction of CO2-emissions to 50 % of the 1990 level; and a key role for the Dutch business world. These ambitions inspired the new Dutch Government in its governmental declaration of 2007. The plea is now to broaden the participation, to conduct transition experiments and to connect the transition platforms more tightly to actual policies. (Ministry of Economic Affairs Netherlands, 2008). The example of jatropha introduction involves transition on a micro scale. Jatropha is a non-edible crop that grows fast, can be harvested twice a year and yields 7000 kg of crop per hectare from which it is possible to extract around 2000 liters of biodiesel. The example concerns a community of Xhosa people living in small villages in the midst of 1500 hectares of untilled ground in Transkei. The Xhosa people use a micro-filtration installation to produce clean water, but it was observed that difficulties were faced in maintaining the supporting energy system, which was fed by sun and wind energy. A new and more reliable source of energy was needed. To overcome this energy problem the jatropha crop was introduced in the context of a SHELL global solutions project. The jatropha introduction has the potential to make the Xhosa people more independent economically, since the harvested oil can be both used for own needs and sold. In this social learning process both parties learn. The Xhosa people learn to cultivate the crop, produce oil from it and trade (Figure 3). There is strong involvement of women in the activities, which is also empowering. SHELL global solutions also learn from the experience, in this case about how to implement new energy agriculture in the culture of an indigenous society and how to negotiate with tribal chiefs and the government.4 Major transitions can only occur when developments, policies and initiatives from multiple actors in the three different domains (economic, social-cultural and ecological) reinforce each other at different scale levels (Figure 4) (Martens and Rotmans, 2005). To initiate and manage such innovations participating stakeholders have to be brought together in concerted actions. So, on the one hand, an adequate mindset of individuals as well as institutes has to be present, while, on the other hand, the competence is needed to bring stakeholders together and to help them to collaborate. Some 4

Another example of social learning on local scale in agricultural development of science, education and practice is described by Kibwika, (2007).

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pioneering programs and projects have attempted to develop such competences in support of transition processes, and it is useful to draw on their approaches and experiences. One of these is the Dutch research program on Sustainable Technology Development (STD).

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Figure 3. Xhosa women with Jatropha crops.

Levels of transition

Macro, landscape

Meso, regimes

Micro, niches

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Figure 4. Interaction of innovations at different levels.

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COMPETENCE FOR TRANSITION

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The Dutch research program “Sustainable Technology Development” (Box 1) developed an approach to initiate processes for system innovation oriented especially at technology development but while recognising and taking into account the strong co-evolutionary interaction of technology with cultural and structural innovations. In terms of transition, the experiments took place at the micro- and meso- levels. The practical learning achieved was extended to a full program for “transition management” in support of Dutch transition policy with scientific support provided by the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (www.eur.drift.nl). The complexity of transition processes (long term, future uncertainties, many stakeholders, conflicts of interest, multisectoral, multicultural, multidisciplinary) demands synergy and integration of knowledge by trans-disciplinary collaboration. This collaboration must be facilitated. A major condition to initiate system changes is the availability of competent players who are able to develop options for transition and to initiate and manage change processes, having an open mind and being willing to listen and co-operate with others. This raises the question of what competences the key players in transition processes need to have and which, therefore, also need to be developed more generally in order that society might embark more deliberately on needed transitions.

Figure 5. Survival: a matter of head and heart.

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Box 1. The Dutch Sustainable Technology Development Program The Dutch Sustainable Technology Development (STD) Program was developed against the backdrop of a policy commitment by the Netherlands to sustainable development and a set of background studies made in the late 1980s and early 1990s. One such study estimated the scale of the resource productivity improvement that the Netherlands should target by the mid 21st Century in order to meet its policy goal, placing this at an order of magnitude or more (Weterings and Opschoor 1992). Around the same time, an inquiry by a special Dutch Commission for Environmental Policy concluded that incremental innovation would be incapable of meeting such a target. The mismatch led to a review of the status of Dutch research activities and the decision to re-direct some of the innovation efforts towards long-term sustainability objectives and related capacity building. Inspired by the Brundtland, WCED-report “Our Common Future” (1987) and in the framework of the first Dutch national environmental policy plan, the STD Program was established as a program for long-term technological innovation in support of sustainable development (Jansen et al 2001). It was designed to have critical mass and wide-ranging scope, to take a long-term time horizon and to target jumps in eco-efficiency. It was designed to be process-oriented. This means that the STD Program was focused on influencing the micro- and macro- innovation contexts and on developing new innovation methods and processes rather than on promoting specific technologies. The essence of the STD approach lies in the mutually supportive use of „need-driven‟ approaches to problem redefinition, „backcasting‟ and the development of new innovation networks to explore the challenges to innovation and technology development posed by sustainability (Weaver et al., 2000). Roots of the concept of backcasting (or normative forecasting) can be traced to the OECD Bellagio conference in 1968 (Jantsch 1969). As conceived in the STD Program, the innovation process involves a set of tasks to be undertaken in sequence, each associated with one or more targeted outcomes. The program formalized these into a step-by-step working schedule, which sets out the tasks and anticipated outcomes, and proposes tools that can be used to accomplish each task. The step-by-step approach is described, along with the case studies used to test and improve the approach, in a book, which identifies and responds to „the need for innovation in the innovation process itself‟ (Weaver et al 2000).

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Table 1. Competences that should be present in a transition management team (after Andringa and Weterings, 2006) Cluster of Competences

Frank interviewing Analytical skills Conceptual power Integral thinking

Methods and techniques

Integral system analysis Actor and network analysis Historic regime analysis Fact finding Reorientation Vision and inspiration Scenario analysis and visioning Courage and Power of Future persuasion explorations Creativity Backcasting Consciousness of Reframing history Alliance management Actor and network Establishing analysis and executing Mobilizing power Entrepreneurship Strategic niche transition Organizational skills management experiments Flexible design Anticipation skills Actor and network Broadening analysis and scaling up Entrepreneurship Power of persuasion Integral system transition Lobby and analysis experiments networking skills Strategic niche management Observation skills Transition Monitoring, monitoring evaluating and Reflection skills Anxiousness Evaluation learning Self-consciousness techniques Learning histories Reflection sessions System thinking Transition Feeling for timing management Balancing between contents, process and result System analysis and problem structuring

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Personal skills

Corresponding role < Diverging >Converging Researcher < Manager >

Innovator < Researcher < Team worker > Manager >

Innovator < Net-worker < Manager > Team worker > Net-worker < Researcher < Manager >

Researcher < Team worker >

Researcher < Team worker > Manager >

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Transition for an inclusive and sustainable society is essentially valuebased. Nevertheless, the combination of morality with strategic pragmatism can be potentially very powerful in transitions (Figure 5). Competences of key players thus have to fit in both with normative principles concerning the values of an inclusive and sustainable society and with the requirements of a transition process. In general this means that such players are future oriented, explorative, system thinking, cooperative, believing in their transition goals and subscribing to their transition principles. Participants should also be able through their organizational roles or individual positions to initiate and play a part in managing transition processes. Based on reviews of the relevant literatures by Andringa and Weterings (Andringa and Weterings, 2006), a set of vital competences that should be present in a transition management team are set out in Table 1.

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Chapter 5

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MODES OF CAPACITY AND COMPETENCE BUILDING The competences for transition are to some extent already present in society. In particular in the domain of innovation, science and practice have identified and formed competences that fit some of those needed for transition. However goal-oriented transition demands further competences that are connected to the long-term approach, the need of collaboration of very different stakeholders, and the normative background as depicted in the former sections. Collaboration of science, education and practice is a necessary condition for successful capacity- and competence- building in support of transitions (Figure 6). As long as education – and to begin with higher education – is not sufficiently equipped and organized, capacity building takes place in learning-by-doing in transition experiments (Figure 7). In addition the exchange between practice and both education and science contributes to improvement of the societal context for transitions with respect to the availability of transition competences. This capacity development has to be congruent with principles of transition goals as far as possible (Weaver and Jansen, 2004; Weaver, 2005). Thus, any program in practice directed towards transition depends on the extent of understanding of the need for survival in society and on the awareness of its urgency.

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Science

Transition learning Pr

ion at c u Ed

Figure 6. Developing transition. 17/09/20

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CAPACITY BUILDING BY EDUCATION From the beginning of the industrial revolution, science and education have increasingly been focused on specialization and single disciplinary practices. In their earliest and mostly informal education children learn to experience the world around them as a whole of interacting phenomena. However, the further children climb in the formal education system the more specialized they become (Figure 8) and the more their learning is structured by a system of disciplinary schools (Eussen, 2007). The problems that society faces as we enter the 21st century, however, require integral approaches of a co-disciplinary nature. In turn, as we have already implied, this situation challenges our educational systems to open possibilities for developing citizens from childhood onwards to achieve those professional and personal competences needed for living and working in a world in movement. This requires citizens to be professionals but also to be able to understand and cooperate with other professions and disciplines. Few interconnections

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traditionally existed between the two manners of capacity building for system renewal (SR): in learning by doing and by education; but in both cases experiences are gained in sustainable development oriented research. The exchange of experience and results between the practical Research and Technology Development (RTD) projects on the one hand and the educational system on the other could deliver interesting synergy. However realization of such synergy requires effort to structure the process of implementation of systems renewal in both domains. Backcasting from the achievement of a full practical implementation of systems renewal shows a possible structuring path of interaction between practice and education (Figure 9). In Figure 10 this has been worked out schematically. The desired state of the educational system as described above requires a transition of the current educational system. In what follows we analyse the current stage and identify the necessary change.

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Practice

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Outcomes HYPOTHESES IN AIRP

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Narrowing in education Widening in practice widening

Generalist

focussing

Specialist

widening

Education in school

Learning in practice

Figure 8. Degree of specialization in a lifetime.

8

1 2000

c Ba

SR integrated in education

Post academic SR courses

Post academic SR courses

Copernicus Charter implemented

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Model SD integration in education developed

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sti ka

SUBSEQUENT STEPS

Renewed Systems to fulfil people‟s needs

ting Backas SR implemented

ng SR in policy programs

LT strategic planning is common sense

Future orientations designed SR Model developed

Evaluation of SR experiences

TIME

2050

Figure 9. Programming full implementation of systems renewal.

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Ongoing process of Systems Renewal

Systems Renewal is in policy - programs of international and national governmental bodies .

Skilled scholars leave universities and high schools

Scholars leaving universities and high schools recognise urgency of SD

2010

Post academic courses in System Renewal are set up

Capacity building in education - Copernicus Charter - implemented )

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2005

Model for embedment of SD in education developed and spread world wide

Long term strategic planning and development is common sense in governmental bodies and in big enterprises

Long term future orientations are produced on different scales

A general but flexible model for System Renewal is developed and accepted in OECD, UNEP and EU

Experiments with System Renewal in OECD countries and Asia on different scales

Evaluation of ( near) System Renewal experiences by JRC, in co - operation with OECD Futures , UNEP CPC, WBCSD and the Factor 10 Institute.

2000

Workshop to exchange national experiences with (near) System Renewal under guidance of JRC in co - operation with OECD Futures , UNEP CPC, WBCSD and the Factor 10 Institute.

Figure 10. Programming full implementation of systems renewal.

EDUCATION, LEARNING, UNDERSTANDING, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS People and organizations will have to learn, by and while doing, to realize a more sustainable development trajectory. Individuals and organizations will have to apply their knowledge in a responsible way in society for that purpose.

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But how can responsible behavior be learned? One condition for that is a good balance between instrumental rationality – the best way to realize an objective, and substantial rationality – norms, values and authentic principles that one sticks to on a voluntary basis (Kessels et al. 2003). Which moral ideas one sticks to can be determined by investigation and reflection, but can also be the result of upbringing and education. Ethical reflection implies a critical investigation of ones own moral convictions, a reflection on their justification, and a comparison of ones own views with those of others (Van Willigenburg et al. 1993). In a global space a multitude of different, culturally determined moral convictions will be at stake. The challenge is to see that as a source for development rather than as a source for conflicts. The Earth Charter (http://www.earthcharterorg) wants to offer a shared vision of essential values based on science, international law, philosophy and religion that can function as a moral basis for an emerging global society. A rather pragmatic description of learning could be the following: learning is the result of the process of continuous interaction of an individual or a group with its physical and social environment. The learning environment can be formal (the educational system), non-formal (e.g. training on the job) and informal (family life, leisure time, visit to a museum or a zoo), and the learning process continues life long. Thus, only a part of the overall lifelong learning process of an individual takes place in the formal learning environment5. Learning is partly an individual and partly a group process. In learning social interaction is important because an individual learns by comparing his/her mental models to those of others; therefore, a multidisciplinary learning environment can be a richer learning environment. In context-embedded learning, interaction between different disciplines and individuals would get a more prominent place in the design of learning. Education could be described as an institutionalized process aimed at realizing defined learning objectives for defined target groups. The learning objectives comprise disciplinary, social, cultural, and economic items. The target groups can be divided according to age and the level of prior education or development. The educational system tries to provide contexts that support the learning of individuals. Starting from theoretical concepts of learning the attempt is made to create a set of conditions favoring the individual learning processes. The learning environment is designed, the content is structured, the learning process is supervised and the results are tested (Eurelings et al. 2002). 5

When an individual stays in the educational system from Kindergarten until graduating from education the maximal time span is about 20 years. If we assume an average life expectancy of 80 years this implies maximally 25 % of life long learning in the educational system.

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The predominant organizational principle in education for a long time has been, and to a large extent still is, teaching to groups of learners by teachers using standardized teaching methods and written texts. In these methods, which have proven their usefulness over a relatively long period, a disciplinary orientation is clearly present. We may wonder if such classical, disciplinary oriented education following a standardized program still appeals to youngsters who nowadays have a much more individualized life style and if it still matches the needs of a complex globalizing society (Bras and van DamMieras 2005). A discipline could be described as a subject area that brings together scholars and/or scientists that share mental models and speak the same (scientific) language that enables communication within the disciplinary domain. Therefore the disciplinary domain is a rather well defined demarcated territory. The disciplinary organization principle is a good organization principle for research as it enables researchers to get to know the disciplinary model - a subsystem of the real world - with a certain degree of certitude. However, because a model is only a simplified part of the complex real world, disciplinary oriented education by no means guarantees readiness for society. In addition to (a certain amount of) disciplinary knowledge, individuals also need competences. Examples of the latter are competences to look further than the borders of one‟s own field of specialization or culture, to work together with people of different beliefs, to communicate (orally, in writing and via new media), and to reflect on one‟s own personal dedication, involvement and performance.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS Presently a shift from emphasis on learning facts to emphasis on developing competences can be observed in many countries. Most probably acquiring knowledge will remain an important objective, but the possibility to actively apply knowledge within a practical context is becoming increasingly important. This implies that knowledge must continuously be translated to specific contexts and specific target groups. In comparison with traditional education, mainly focused on the acquisition of knowledge, competencesoriented education gives much more attention to role-playing, tasks and problem solving (Kerka 1997, Lynch 1997, van Loo en Semeijn 2000, Kreijns et al 2002, Westera et al. 2000, Kreijns 2004).

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A rich and complex learning environment can be embedded in the context of a school or a university, but can also be (partly) embedded in vocational life situations. While working on authentic tasks the learning individual produces a mental model, which is a representation of reality. The validity of such mental models is continuously tested during interactions with the physical and social environment. A problem orientation during the learning process contributes to bridging the gap between the development of knowledge and the application of knowledge. What the optimal learning environment looks like will of course depend on the specific learning objective and the specific target group. Generally speaking, however, in many Western countries a gradual shift from a behaviorist to a constructivist approach of learning is observed in the literature on learning theory (Eurelings et al. 2002). In parallel a shift from a teacheroriented to a learner-oriented approach is found in the literature on teaching. In agreement with these shifts an increasing interest in the development of competences and in working and learning in multidisciplinary teams is found. The latter can be seen as a parallel to the shift from mode 1 to mode 2 knowledge as described by Gibbons (Gibbons 1994, 1998, 2003) and from normal to post normal science in policy practice (Funtowicz and Ravetz, 1991, 1993, 1994).

ICT AND THE INNOVATION OF LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can play an important role in the creation of innovative learning environments. ICT-tools can be used to structure contents, to support routine tasks, to support the development of competences, to monitor the results of the learning process, and to increase the degrees of freedom in time, space and pace of learning. For the effective use of ICT-tools in the learning process they must constitute an integrated part of the learning environment, which asks for a didactic starting point in the design and development of those environments (Rocha Trindade et al., 1998, Mioduser and Nachmias 1999, Eurelings et al. 2002, Ivens et al. 2002, Kreijns et al. 2002, Westera et al. 2000, Kreijns 2004). Within the educational system the (re)design of learning environments can have far reaching consequences for both learners and teachers. The use of ICT-tools in learning environments asks for teamwork in all stages of their design, development and application. In the development team didactic knowledge, technological knowledge, domain specific scientific knowledge

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43

and experience in teaching must be integrated. Also the use of ICT-supported learning environments in teaching practice asks for cooperation between teachers and ICT-specialists to prevent ICT-tools from become frustrating instead of facilitating (Eurelings et al. 2002, Kreijns 2004). Following the line of reasoning given above it is inspiring to think of an evolution of the educational system into an ICT-enhanced facilitating infrastructure that allows for co-operation between different disciplines and does justice to different learning styles, talents and affinities. If such a development would take place, social interaction would get a more prominent place in both learning and teaching. In addition the “digital generation” learned from the availability of ICT and acquired competences such as: networking as lifestyle, multitasking, self management and sense for cooperation (Veen, 2006). Its members learned to gather information outside the education system, to form digital networks with contemporaries all over the world with whom they evaluate their experiences in the broadest sense, like their own behavior, attitude and skills. As a result they are no longer content with the traditional approaches in the current educational system. The “school” then becomes another added value, e.g. structuring and evaluating critically the “ICT and network” experiences of the “apprentices”. They might have a more open mind to achieve competences and attitudes oriented at transitions. Of course innovative use of ICT tools to support learning processes is not restricted to their use within the educational system. ICT offers many possibilities for the innovation of methods of knowledge transfer in different learning environments: in the educational system, for training on the job in labor market environments and for the broad spectrum of informal learning opportunities. The latter aspects are also very important because the rapid development of knowledge asks for a transition from emphasis on education for children and young adults to emphasis on more flexible forms of lifelong learning. Furthermore the process of globalization adds the necessity to pay attention to the global dimension in individual learning environments in a way that is adequate for the present society and uses the new technological possibilities in a creative way. For European countries the formation of a European higher education space is another important aspect at the moment. A general impression is, however, that the broad range of possibilities for innovation of knowledge transfer made possible by developments in the ICT domain are used only to a limited extent so far (Kirschner et al. 1997; Kreijns et al. 2002; van Dam-Mieras and de Jong 2002; Kreijns 2004; Dam-Mieras et al 2007; Kraker et al 2007, Dam-Mieras 2008).

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The challenge for education in the context of the UN DESD is to change traditional learning environments and learning processes in such a way that they support not only the learning process of children and young adults in formal education, but also on-the-job training and informal learning. For educational and training systems this means interactive education applying formal, informal and non-formal practices in horizontal and vertical structures, “learning by doing”, and life-long learning in a developing society. In such a society education and training are closely related to science, Research and Technology Development (RTD), policy and management, and applied problem solving. Sustainable development offers a unique opportunity to illustrate and induce this re-innovation of education and training, including aspects of research, regionalization, re-orientation, restructuring and evaluation.

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Chapter 6

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PIONEERING EXAMPLES: SCIENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT At issue is the potential contradiction that sustainability research, which by definition is aimed at changing development trajectories and paradigms, is today dependent on prevailing national innovation systems for recognition, resources and steering. This situation is hardly likely to liberate innovation for sustainability unless special provisions are made at the outset expressly for this purpose. In some countries, this fact has been explicitly recognized and efforts have been made to establish pioneering programs of research and technology development with mandates not only for exploring radical new ways of meeting needs in the long-term future, but also for strengthening the innovation system in its capacity to support sustainable development, for example by developing and testing research methods and innovation management processes appropriate for supporting sustainable development. In order to learn from the experience of these innovative sustainability-oriented programs, a specific research project6 was established within the framework of the EC STRATA Program (Science and Technology Policies - Stategic Analysis of Specific Political Issues). Its mandate was to make consistent evaluations of some of the first wave of innovative sustainability-oriented RTD programs.

6

The AIRP-SD project (Hinterberger, 2003) screened over 100 RTD programs and projects and made detailed evaluations of nine, which were chosen, inter alia, because of their specific sustainability orientation, their long-term outlook, their innovative approaches to research definition, finance, management and design and the availability of detailed information about the program.

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AIRP-SD Procedure Identify good practice

Revise conceptual model

Relate outcomes to context Recommendations for research management and design

Relate design to context Relate research outcomes to design Evaluate outcomes, design, context separately Describe research outcomes, designs, contexts

Select case study research programmes/projects Establish conceptual model of sustainability research

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Figure 0711. From evaluation to recommendation in AIRP.

AIRP-SD working hypotheses Hypothesis I

Hypothesis II

Hypothesis III

A wide set of generic research outcomes can be identified and evaluated on a set of externally specified sustainability goals and criteria

Research designs and processes that conform strongly with the principles of sustainable development are likely to contribute to strong research outcomes

Contexts where sustainability problems or awareness is high are likely to facilitate SD research. Strong scientific/social capital in relation to SD challenges will facilitate SD research and strong outcomes

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Figure0712. Hypotheses in AIRP.

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Pioneering Examples: Science for Sustainable Development

Hypothesis IV Research context, design/process and outcomes are connected in a loop CONTEXT Research outcomes

Research design and process

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Figure 13.07Spiraling from research design to context change.

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EVALUATING SCIENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT The objective of the AIRP-SD project (Adaptive Integration of Research and Policy for Sustainable Development) was to find how best to design and administer innovation programs in support of sustainable development. An answer to this question clearly depends upon using a consistent evaluation methodology based upon external reference standards for judging program completeness and quality. But, whereas evaluators usually have an established reference standard to structure their evaluations, in regard to innovation efforts in support of sustainable development there is no established reference model for how science efforts should be designed and no firm basis of experience over which research designs have worked well in the past or have worked better than others. Indeed, to find answers to these questions was the purpose of the AIRP-SD research. Thus, an ancillary objective of the AIRP-SD project was to design an appropriate method for evaluating sustainability-oriented research programs Figure 11). The lack of an established body of theory and practice at the start of the AIRP-SD project suggested the need to develop one through an iterative, heuristic procedure, beginning with tentative hypotheses about the nature of the research processes that might support sustainable development and then

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testing, refining and validating the hypotheses through the evaluation process itself (Weaver 2002a). The first set of working hypotheses (Figure 12) was based upon what can be deduced about innovation for sustainability from the concept of sustainable development itself, from the nature of the socialecological system of interest and from experience in handling analogous complex problems. The AIRP-SD project identified three connected objects for evaluation: the outcomes of research programs; the quality of research design, process and management and the innovation context. In addition, using the normativedeductive approach described above, the project specified a set of goaloriented and process-oriented sustainability principles. These include: the maintenance of ecosystem function and diversity; inter-generational equity; intra-generational equity; broad participation; promoting actions to face vulnerability and build resilience; precautionary action; knowledge sharing and mutual learning; transparency and justification of decision making; global and systemic approaches (which include spill-over impacts); and, the use of appropriate issue-scale boundaries (space-time boundaries) in problem analysis. Again, using a normative-deductive approach and reflecting upon the challenges that sustainable development poses for innovation, the project set out a broad set of generic outcomes that innovation for sustainability could target including: visions and indicators of desirable social-ecological futures; new solutions to development problems consistent with such visions (e.g., new production-consumption systems or elements thereof); models and information in support of transition processes; new supporting scientific capital and capacities; and, new supporting social capital and capacities. The approach of AIRP-SD was that research programs could be evaluated on the basis of the strength of their contribution to these outcomes, that the quality of the research design and process could be evaluated on its degree of conformity with sustainability principles, and that the context for innovation could be evaluated on the basis of the status of the national innovation system in relation to how well this facilitates meeting the sustainability challenges faced. As working hypotheses, the project was developed from the propositions that: contextual conditions influence both innovation efforts (level, design quality, orientation, etc.) and innovation outcomes; the quality of the research design and management influences the nature and quality of innovation outcomes; and, contextual conditions, research design and program outcomes are interconnected dynamically through a feedback loop (Figure 13, after Weaver 2002a, Weaver 2002b).

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This gives rise to the possibility that there exists a spiraling connection among the context in which a research program is designed, the research design itself and the broad outcomes from the research. There is a potential feedback loop through which research outcomes change the context, which improves the conditions for further programs.7 This means that over-andabove the usual objectives of science and RTD programs, such as the search for new basic scientific understanding or the development of new technological potentials, such RTD programs also contribute by building and strengthening an innovation system that is sustainability oriented and by contributing directly to the process of designing and implementing paradigmatic change. These „process‟ outcomes of pioneering research programs respond to the strategic management challenge of sustainabilityoriented transitions. Such transitions require special ways of working and a special toolkit to deal with the issues entailed, such as creating visions of sustainable futures, handling the dynamics of co-evolutionary change on several innovation fronts, handling uncertainty that is inherent when shifting into realms not previously experienced and communicating with stakeholders and decision makers about options and their implications.

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EVIDENCE-BASED EVALUATION To test these hypotheses evidence was collected for each of nine programs8 to enable judgments to be made about program contexts, designs and outcomes. Judgments were made about the strength (strong, weak, neutral) and direction (positive, negative) in relation to how well contextual conditions facilitate innovation for sustainable development, in relation to how well program management and design conform with sustainability principles, and to how well program outcomes contribute to sustainability goals. Each of 7

8

The conditions and context for program design include: public and political understanding and conceptualization of sustainability; the organization of science and research (especially capacities relating to inter- and trans- disciplinarity); the status of scientific capital and capacities vis-à-vis the special requirements of sustainability (especially the capacity to acknowledge and handle uncertainty and complexity); and the willingness to develop and absorb new paradigms. Carrying out sustainability- and transition-oriented RTD programs – which provides for obtaining practice and „learning-by-doing‟ will increase competences at the levels of both individuals and institutions - a case of „practice making perfect‟ (Weaver 2005). The nine RTD programs chosen for detailed evaluation included, among others, the SocioEcological Program (Germany), the Program on Technologies for Sustainable Development (Austria), the Ecocycle Program (Sweden), the Zero Emission Research Initiative (Japan) and the (earlier mentioned) Sustainable Technology Development Program (the Netherlands).

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several features of program contexts, research designs and outcomes were first evaluated separately and then the links between each of these were analyzed (Figure 13). In this second step, it was possible to evaluate the influence of each feature of a program design on program outcomes, the influence of each feature of program design on all other design features (to explore synergies), the influence of context on program design (to explore context dependency and transferability of innovative design features) and to evaluate any programinduced changes in context.

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Box 2. Summary of conclusions from the AIRP-SD project on the design and conduct of research programs in support of sustainable development Financial model: Given the multiplicity of objectives that sustainable solutions are asked to meet and the trade-offs between these that are implied, a diversity of funding sources (co-funding arrangements) together with flexible funding mechanisms that are oriented to problem-solving (phased funding arrangements with in-built decision moments) are best suited to provide for the independence and integrity of researchers and research results. Such financial models also enable innovative 'checks and brakes' mechanisms to be incorporated. Because learning and sharing knowledge are key components of the sustainable development process, funding should cover the creation of knowledge partnerships, training activities and quality assurance procedures. Dedicated funding is specifically required for promoting internal cross-learning among program projects or components and for promoting external knowledge sharing with stakeholders and the general public. Owing to the long-term nature and inherent uncertainty and complexity of sustainability-oriented research a balance is required in financial management between traditional approaches and openness. Schemes and criteria for program evaluation are needed that allow for uncertainty and risk. Organizational model: Considering the high degree of complexity and uncertainty surrounding the objects and modes of sustainability-oriented research, flexible management and decision making patterns (adaptive management) embedding change as a structural factor and an orientation toward participatory problem-solving are needed. Openness, transparency and accountability of management are important guiding principles for the good governance of programs. Continuous quality assurance procedures by processes that engage an extended research community and mechanisms for extended consultation/participation with stakeholders across societal sectors are needed. Because socially robust (shared) decisions are highly desirable, there is a need to re-define success factors for management away from simply financial factors so that these include the guiding principles just listed: participation, openness and transparency. Managers' profiles and selection criteria might be modified accordingly and enhanced via on-going learning. Equally, because sustainability research transcends natural and social sciences, management and research teams should engage multi-disciplinary capacities to enable new forms of problem conceptualization and new pathways for solving problems to emerge.

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Research model: Quality checks are needed at the exploratory and initiation phases of program set-up to ensure all required aspects and stakeholders are duly considered and to ensure internal consistency. There is a need to ensure complementarities and coherence among components of research design and process. The program design should preferably be inter- and trans- disciplinary, long-term oriented, implementation oriented, vision led, and system based including global concerns. Broad participation mechanisms from exploration and initiation phases are needed with repeated moments of participation throughout the research program in order to build a basis of shared knowledge and supporting 'language' to allow interchange of knowledge and information as well as to promote discussion and bargaining of values. The selection of activities for funding should be open to scrutiny via transparent criteria. Accountable evaluation methods are required based on transparency and upon input from representatives of multiple interests. Multifunctional approaches and tools should be used in the research to develop and to evaluate developmental options and these should be justified in terms of legitimacy, fitness for purpose, reliability, etc. Quality assurance procedures are needed at each outcome level. Knowledge management, communication and dissemination: Science for sustainable development implies a paradigm shift in research, development and innovation. The main issues for knowledge management relate to sustainability awareness raising, knowledge sharing, mutual learning and quality assurance to assure legitimacy of both research and practice. Essentially, these call for a new model of science for policy based on a co-production of knowledge. In turn, this calls for a democratization of the research process, which requires extended participation across societal sectors and accountability of different perspectives. This requires mediation structures, spaces and processes to be created within RTD programs to enable different types of knowledge to be exchanged and mediated into useful input for sustainability research, especially in relation to problem-framing, the creation of shared visions and the evaluation of research processes and products. Inter- and trans-disciplinary research implies a "mixed" community of researchers and research users, so knowledge has to be prepared for many different audiences if sharing is to be successful. Time must be invested in developing and clarifying meanings and a common language. Equally, when dealing with external audiences, training and dissemination efforts should be tailored for specific target groups. The range of such groups necessarily extends in sustainability-oriented research well beyond the usual scientific peer groups of normal science. In essence, sustainability research can be considered as a platform for multiple languages, perspectives and scales; this needs to be made operational through methods that create contexts of dialogue among diversity and plurality. Quality checks by peer reviewers and by users (extended peer reviews) are needed at all stages in the research in order to attain socially robust research processes and products. Uncertainty and risk: The management of uncertainty and risk must be considered explicitly in the research design, not only because sustainability issues are inherently prone to uncertainties, but also because program outcomes may be further sources of uncertainty and risk when RTD programs are highly innovative and are concerned with innovation in situations characterized by vulnerability. Management of risk and uncertainty in such cases depends upon establishing

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assessment activities and on creating resilience conditions for adaptation, such as strategies for coping with unintended effects. Risk and uncertainty management activities therefore need to be transversally integrated into programs in a recursive and reflexive way. Equally, special efforts are needed to communicate uncertainty and risk. Essentially, uncertainty, lack of knowledge and potential risk are drivers for more inclusive and accountable governance agendas. Hence the communication of uncertainty and risk - as ever, tailored to the needs of specific target audiences - is an essential step in attaining shared decisions and policies.

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Clearly, good practice may be context specific in some instances, but may also be in the form of more generally-applicable lessons. There was certainly a good deal of conformity across programs about the importance of adopting liberating financial and administrative models, re-conceptualizing the innovation challenge, setting ambitious targets, adopting a systems approach, adopting a co-evolutionary approach, practicing transdisciplinarity, using iterative and participatory procedures, using multi-purpose and multifunctional tools and methods, etc. It also seems to help to have an influential, respected and charismatic person to make the initial breakthrough by taking the fight to the funding agencies to win backing for a sustainability-oriented RTD program and/or to have a creative administrator in a funding agency willing to risk some percentage of a research budget on efforts aimed at supporting long-term sustainable development and scientific renewal.

GOOD PRACTICE IN SCIENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Findings from the AIRP-SD project support the hypothesis that research programs that are designed, administered and implemented in conformity with sustainability principles and goals and which practice the principles of sustainability deliver outcomes that support sustainable development. Furthermore, there are clear synergies among design features of successful programs. By way of example, broad participation and transdisciplinary working is an important design feature for sustainability-oriented innovation. So is an iterative research procedure. But the presence of both in the research design is what provides opportunity for mutual learning and enables assumptions and positions to be revisited in the course of a program, paving the way for a dynamic adjustment in the research process, which is needed to build compromises and to handle risks and uncertainties. Just as sustainable development represents a coherent, integrated, systems approach to finding solutions to development problems, so innovation in support of sustainable

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development needs to adopt a compatible systems approach. This requires that the approaches taken to research management and design integrate sustainability principles and objectives into each and every aspect of process. Detailed recommendations for sustainability-oriented research program design and conduct are summarized by Jansen et al 2003 and Funtowicz et al 2003. Summary conclusions are provided here in Box 2. These cover appropriate financial models, organizational models and research models for sustainability-oriented RTD programs together with suggestions for managing cross-cutting aspects of programs, including knowledge management, communication and dissemination, and the handling of risk and uncertainty.

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PIONEERING EXAMPLES: HIGHER EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT What are good practices for learning for sustainable development in different learning environments? Just as with good practice in research for sustainable development this will have to be explored by, and while, doing. In this section some examples are given from the Netherlands to illustrate this process of exploration. We take the pioneering cases of the Dutch network for sustainability in higher education (DHO), the Dutch Open University, the Regional Centers of Expertise organized within the framework of the UN DESD, a specific example of a regional network organization in Zuid (South) Holland devoted to achieving „synergies in knowledge‟ (KISSZ), and the pioneering work of Delft University of Technology in integrating sustainable development into the engineering school curriculum.

THE DUTCH NETWORK FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION (DHO) The DHO network started as an initiative of students and rapidly grew to an impressive network of students and teachers, together about 1000 in number and associated with about 80% of institutes of higher education. Within the DHO network staff members of Dutch higher education institutes work together with the joint objective to give sustainable development a place

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in all Dutch curricula in higher education. The organization of the activities in the network could be characterized as bottom up. Activities are organized in concrete projects and, during bi-annual thematic workshops, network members meet face-to-face to exchange experiences. The network produced 19 so called disciplinary reviews on sustainable development, some of which are in the English language. As a result of intensive lobbying activities accreditation terms for higher education for sustainable development out of the network were implemented. A strategic advisory board supports the network board and staff. The network is supported by the Ministry of Environment, Housing and Planning, but creating synergy between activities at different institutes is also a very important resource. Illustrative projects so far have involved creating opportunities for trans- and interdisciplinary education, writing of a series of so-called disciplinary reviews, organizing student exchange projects, developing an Auditing Instrument for Sustainability in Higher Education (AISHE) and developing a training course for those who want to use the AISHE instrument (Roorda 2004). AISHE makes use of 20 criteria, with subjects ranging from the university mission & policy towards sustainable development, the staff development plan, the graduate profile, the curriculum and its educational methodologies, and stakeholder satisfaction. These subjects are expressed in a five-point ordinal scale ranging from “activity oriented‟ (stage 1) to “system oriented” (stage 3) and “society oriented” (stage 5), based on an instrument for quality management, developed by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). AISHE has been widely used in the Netherlands and other Eurpean countries, and the “Certificate for Sustainability in Higher Education”, based on the AISHE assessment, has been awarded to about 40 study programs, mainly in universities of applied sciences (vocational high schools). An annual assessor training is organized annually. Some cases are described in Roorda & Martens (2008). AISHE, which was published in 2001 (Roorda, 2001), focused on just one of the possible roles towards sustainable development of universities: its education. At the end of 2009, a new version called “AISHE 2.0” will be published, developed in cooperation with an international group of universities and education network organizations. AISHE 2.0 gives equal attention to four university roles towards sustainable development: education, research, operation, and society participation, in a modular structure. At the basis of this structure is the “Identity” module, which deals with the fundaments of the university regarding sustainable development.

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Pioneering Examples: Higher Education for Sustainable Development 57

Certification Reporting

AISHE 2.0 CHECK

Operations

Education

Research

Society

Quality Assessment

Output Assessment

Output Assessment

Impact Assessment

Humanity

Interdiscipl. Integration

Interdiscipl. Integration

Connecting

Ecology

Thematic Integration

Thematic Integration

Thematic Involvement

Economy

Awareness & Basics

Awareness & Basics

Awareness & Learning

Physical Structure

Methodology

Methodology

Methodology

Goals

Goals

Goals

Goals

ACT

DO

PLAN

Identity CHECK

Transparency & Accountability Coherence Expertise ACT

DO Communication Leadership PLAN

Vision & Policy

The modular structure of AISHE 2.0

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THE DUTCH OPEN UNIVERSITY Another pioneering initiative involves the Open University of the Netherlands, an institute for distance education for adults. Most students combine their study with a professional career. Refresher trajectories or reorientation within a professional career are among the important motives for study. Because of these characteristics of their students, the Open University wants to combine education at an academic level with a great flexibility of time, place and pace of study. Against this background it can easily be understood that the use of ICT for creating innovative learning environments is explored actively. „Learning for sustainable development‟ has an important place in the programs of the school of natural sciences. The Bachelors program has a natural sciences base and focuses on the application of this knowledge in complex societal settings. Graduates should be able to actively contribute (as a partner in a multidisciplinary team) to problem solving and dealing with dilemmas in the domain of environmental sciences and sustainable development. Therefore in addition to a sound natural sciences

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base, a certain amount of knowledge of policy development and management is needed as well. Students can – to a certain extent – choose a personal profile. The Masters program is a tailor-made program that gives students the opportunity to develop their knowledge and competences according to a personalized trajectory. The program is designed by staff in interaction with the student and matches the personal interest and professional activities of students on the one hand and society-relevant developments in environmental sciences and sustainable development on the other. It will be evident that both the student profiles (adults active on the labor market) and the objectives described above (graduates that are able to deal with dilemmas in complex societal settings at scale levels from local to global) ask for innovative learning environments. The design and development of such innovative learning opportunities and environments requires creativity, collaboration with stakeholders and collaboration internationally. As in competence-based learning, learning-by-doing is central. Learning environments are used and explored in which students work on sustainability issues in multi-disciplinary and/or multi-nationally composed groups. In traditional learning environments group work on projects in cross-boundary contexts is difficult to realize, as it requires bringing students from different disciplinary, national and cultural backgrounds repeatedly together at the same time at the same place. E-Learning environments provide an almost ideal solution to this problem, as the modern ICT-tools they exploit allow time- and place- independent communication. (Ivens et al. 2002, van Dam-Mieras, 2007, de Kraker et al 2007).

REGIONAL CENTERS OF EXPERTISE Yet another pioneering example concerns the development of Regional Centers of Expertise, an initiative of the United Nations University in the context of the UN DESD. Regional Centers of Expertise offer a framework for shaping collaboration between education, science and society (Figure 14) (Fadeeva, 2007; Dam-Mieras and Rikers, 2005).9 Mochizuki and Fadeeva 9

During the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002 it was agreed that a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development would be organised in the UN system (UN DESD 2005 – 2014). In the meantime an implementation plan was prepared by UNESCO in an interactive process involving a broad range of stakeholders. In 2005 the UN DESD was launched (UNESCO 2004, http://www.UNESCO.org). In the context of UN DESD, the United Nations University (UNU) advanced the ambition to create a

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Pioneering Examples: Higher Education for Sustainable Development 59 (2008) report that the RCE initiative is proposed in order to overcome inertia created by the difficulty of reaching international concensus on the nature and scope of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). RCEs are aimed at enhancing collaboration between different levels of formal education (i.e. between primary, secondary and higher education) and at facilitating relations between formal education and local actors relevant for ESD, (such as research centres, local businesses, museums and local governments). The objective is to have created towards the end of UN DESD a global learning space for Sustainable Development with these RCEs as nodes at the local level. In 2005 the first 7 RCEs were recognised. In September 2009 62 RCEs were registered in all continents and 4 more are to be recognised. RCEs develop their activities locally and choose the organisational form that best fits the local needs and the local understanding of the meaning of sustainable developmend. An analysis of 10 current RCE‟s in 2008 (van Dam –Mieras, Mochizuki and Fadeeva) showed the corresponding diversity in the ways they develop.10 “RCE” is recognised as an evolving concept and attention focuses on the “RCE process” as a promising example of “social learning” and of “communities of practice”, as well as being a “knowledge management system”. UNU requires an RCE to involve one or more Higher Education Institutes (HEI). HEIs are required because they not only generate knowledge and educate future leaders, but also forge links between these processes. The are expected to provide guidance and leadership in all education and to take the initiative in aligning education from pre-school onwards, as well as play a role in ensuring scientifically-based ESD. It was observed that one of most often-identified local obstacles for the cross-cutting and holistic nature of ESD is the vertically segmented and compartmentalised traditional institutional structures in HEIs and in governmental organisations, etc.The RCE concept, including participatory design and creation of “a local knowledge base”, opens the possibility of action-oriented research for finding solutions to society‟s pressing problems. This is an opportunity for HEIs to do transdisciplinary research in transdisciplinary settings.

10

worldwide network of Regional Centres of Expertise (RCEs) for Education for Sustainable Development (EfSD) (van Ginkel 2004, Fadeeva, 2007). The 10 RCEs described are: Saskatchewan (Canada), Graz-Styria (Austria), Toronto (Canada), Limerick (Ireland), Rhine – Meuse (Netherlands, Germany, Belgium Euregion), Barcelona (Spain), Skåne (Sweden), Hyogo – Kolbe (Japan), Penang (Malaysia) and Hamburg (Germany).

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Society NGO‟s

tion ransi T n i ties Socie

Science & Education

Corporations

Governments 17/09/20 07

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13

Figure 14. Collaboration for transition.

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The RCE Rhine – Meuse Starting from this conceptual idea for RCEs, the Open Uniersiteit Nederland and HogeschoolZuyd for Applied Science created RCE RhineMeuse (van Dam-Mieras et al. 2005). In the Rhine-Meuse region that extends over The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium there are 7 research universities, 15 universities for applied science, several multinationals, a large number of SMEs (among which some very innovative SMEs are represented), and regional governments with policy plans in the field of sustainable development. The objective of RCE Rhine-Meuse is on the one hand to be an active participant in a global RCE network and on the other to function as a regional connection point for knowledge interactions on sustainable development issues among stakeholders in society (knowledge institutes, governmental institutes and bodies, community based organizations and companies). Deliberately the somewhat vague term „knowledge interactions‟ is used here because the classical concept of knowledge generation in universities and research centers and subsequent dissemination of knowledge to society is too limited for the generation of knowledge relevant for sustainable development in our present society. All actors in society can – or even have to – contribute to the participatory process of context-embedded knowledge generation for sustainable development. By formulating the

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activities in this way it is not meant to say that the generation of scientific knowledge according to an agreed-upon scientific methodology would not be relevant for sustainable development. On the contrary, it remains very important as well and it belongs to the core activities of some of the RCE partners. However, the focus of the RCE is on knowledge generation embedded in the regional societal context. The center will develop activities for both the present generation – especially for people in positions to make decisions in relation to sustainable development issues – and, inter alia via education, for future generations. The center will also contribute to awareness building in civil society because the ambition is to convince all citizens that a more sustainable development than the present one starts with individual responsibility. In that context explaining the necessity is not enough, however; individuals should also feel empowered to contribute to a more sustainable development from their own function/role in society. To realize its goals the center will organize activities, projects and information channels to reach different target groups. The center has the additional ambition to support, via co-operation, the formation of RCEs in other regions of Europe and the world and to work together with these in a global network of RCEs. Jointly the RCEs could build a global learning space for sustainable development. Figure 15 provides a schematic representation of the interaction between the different scale levels.

The nodal network Global Network

European Network

Regional Network

17/09/20 07

NOVA

Figure 15. Interaction between different scale levels.

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To realize the RCE ambitions the Open Universiteit Nederland and the Hogeschool Zuyd, both located in Heerlen, the Netherlands, have established a foundation. This will facilitate the network via a small office. Other partners in the network associate with the foundation for a longer or shorter period to become an active partner in the network organization.11 The main task of the coordinating office is to ensure smooth communication between partners and with the outside world. The projects, which form the real core of the RCEs activities, are undertaken by the partners themselves. The effectiveness, the regional visibility of RCE Rhine Meuse and its strength and outreach all thus hinge on the activities performed by its partners. A coordinating office is of course not enough to develop the RCE Rhine Meuse strategy and to create regional visibility. A Board of Management forms the network‟s legal and administrative core. The Strategic Advisory board can be seen as a “think tank” that has the task to develop the RCEs strategic and policy plans and ensure these meet the needs of the region. Safeguards in relation to both academic quality and stakeholder participation are needed so as to guarantee a lasting commitment on the part of regional actors. The list of participating organizations that connect to the RCE network for a shorter or longer period shows a wide variety. Without an attempt to give a full overview the following partners are involved: City of Heerlen, City of Kerkrade and several other cities in the border region, the Provincial Government of the Dutch Province of Limburg, Arcus College (for vocational training), Zuyd University (for applied sciences), Open Universiteit Nederland, Maastricht University, the Chamber of Commerce Limburg Starter Centre, Continuum Science Centre, Dutch Ministery of Development through their agency Senternovem and their programme X-plore, Vebego International, and several schools of secondary education. These organizations connect to the network as partners in RCE-initiated projects. Projects are developed in the area of innovative education (EU funded projects as well as regional and national projects); awareness raising and inclusion (e.g. youth exchange project with African partners, events involving schools in the region); and, regional sustainable development (e.g. 11

This format for the organization of RCE activities is chosen starting from the following description of an organization. An organization is the sum total of individuals, relations among them, capital and processes that is most optimal for realizing defined objectives in a given societal context. What exactly the most optimal form of an organization must be depends on the objectives to be realized and the societal context the organization is operating in. As one could state that the most constant factor in our present globalizing society is continuous change, a flexible network organization co-ordinated from a small office appears a most optimal format. Such an organization format will allow working with minimal overhead costs.

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Pioneering Examples: Higher Education for Sustainable Development 63 an urban upgrading project). Most of the information on the different projects is shown on the RCE information sharing platform: www.euregio-office.eu.

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KISSZ – “ KNOWLEDGE IN SYNERGY FOR A SUSTAINABLE ZUID HOLLAND” Another example of a newly-started RCE (using the RCE model, adapted to local conditions) is in Zuid Holland. The RCE is called “Knowledge in synergy for a sustainable Zuid Holland” (KISSZ). It is instructive to review the setting-up process, which is still on-going, and also the background to the sustainability issues faced in the region. The province of Zuid Holland in the Netherlands (Figure 16) is located in a vulnerable delta area with a high population density and a high concentration of commercial, industrial and agricultural activities (glass horticulture and dairy cattle). Most of the province lies below sea level – 6 m below sea level in the lowest places – and most of the soil consists of peat and reclaimed land. The province suffers a threefold water threat: the sea level is rising as a result of climate change, there is a seasonal threat of high water discharge from rivers and there is a slow-developing threat from oxidation of peat arising from an artificial maintenance of low water levels in the agricultural areas that causes settling of the soil and percolation with brackish water (giving rise to methane emissions). The region has a high level of economic activity: the population density amounts to 1200 inhabitants per km2, the gross provincial production amounts to some € 100 billion per annum and 1.4 million private cars are registered. The contribution to CO2-emission in the province is about 50 million tonnes per annum. In large parts of the province the norms for fine dust (10 p.p.m.) and NO2 are exceeded. There is a constant pressure to extend urban areas and transportation infrastructure at the cost of rural areas in the so-called “green heart” of Holland. Three universities (Rotterdam, Delft and Leiden) and eight Colleges of Higher Professional Education are located in the province as well as important public and private knowledge institutes, such as TNO, Habiforum, the Center for Energy-efficiency, and the main laboratories of Shell, Unilever and DSM.

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Figure 16. The province Zuid Holland in The Netherlands.

In the 1970s the heavy industrial area “Rijnmond” was designated as an “environmental redevelopment area” because of pollution threats to public health. In 1978 severe soil contamination was found. Since then a tremendous improvement in reducing emissions to air, water and soil has been achieved by optimization within the existing and expanding economic and industrial structure. However, as a consequence of the growing economy in the Netherlands and in particular in Zuid Holland the region is confronted with some persistent problems: increasing use of energy and emission of CO2, everincreasing demands for mobility and transportation, loss of biodiversity, unsustainable practices in agriculture and increasing pressure on the quality of space. These challenges raise issues of sustainability in the fields of energy, mobility, water management, spatial quality and spatial planning. The „low hanging fruits‟ harvested by optimization and improvement within existing structures, although important and useful, will not be sufficient. Systems renewal will in the end be necessary. Some examples of systems renewal now emerging and being explored include new horticultural systems under glass that yield an energy surplus rather than create a fossil energy demand, transportation of goods using underground distribution networks, and the development of zero-energy housing. New ways of participatory decision-

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Pioneering Examples: Higher Education for Sustainable Development 65 making are being developed in regional spatial planning including multiple use of space. This approach demands transparent and effective communication and cooperation between the involved parties. However, an initiative-group found that communication on societal problems within and among public authorities and knowledge institutes is often poor and that cooperation among different groups (each working on the same problems from their own perspective) often fails. This situation (of severe sustainability challenges, availability of potential knowledge, poor communication and lack of cooperation) inspired the initiative-group to explore with potential stakeholders their interest in a strategic network aimed at achieving greater “synergy in knowledge” for sustainability.12 The crucial question in this exploration is whether such a knowledge network will generate added value in the midst of numerous specific networks and programs. The main activities of the KISSZ in Zuid Holland are to identify urgent current problems and „white‟ spots, identify failing coordination and cooperation, put these problems on policy and research agendas, exchange experience/knowledge and broker between new coalitions and running initiatives, and involve (higher) education in explorative projects. The focus is on connecting societal problems. Private business is involved in so far as they are agents in either the problem or its potential solution. The network is focused on a set of central issues (climate, space-use, energy, raw materials, air quality), takes long-term perspectives on these (30 – 50 years), adopts an integral and trans- disciplinary perspective, follows the „planet, people, prosperity‟ approach, and is action-oriented with the objective of initiating near-term projects (within 5 years). There is a strong motivation for all the participants: the public bodies are motivated to find effective access to knowledge to support their complex process towards sustainability challenges. The educational institutes are motivated by the possibilities to incorporate society in their educational system. The knowledge institutes see a chance to improve the quality of knowledge development and transfer with colleagues and public bodies. The scope of sustainable development is global. However sustainability challenges have to be handled at all governance levels from the pan-national to the national, provincial and municipal levels. Initiatives to contribute to sustainable solutions are taken at more or less corresponding levels: landscape

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– macro, regime – meso, niche – micro.13 The instruments that the province has available to meet sustainability challenges are limited. Therefore the network may operate on two levels:

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Problems, which can be handled with regional means on a regional level. Problems which go beyond regional capacities and competences, in which cases problem definitions and agenda setting on national and pan-national (in this case at EU-level) will be accomplished. The idea of an RCE was the starting model for KISSZ, but this has been adapted to local needs and the process of exploring the possibilities for setting up the network has progressed through a bottom-up approach. This has involved repetitive phases of conceptual work, bilateral interviews, adaptation of concepts and plenary sessions. The process involved key persons with operational responsibilities in many different fields, including NGOs, universities, colleges of vocational higher education, knowledge institutes and the provincial government. The network will not be a new institute but will offer a forum for its members, all of whom are involved in sustainable development, through which cooperation among its members might improve the prospects for innovations aimed at renewal. In successive phases the circle of involved institutions was widened (and will be further widened) to include municipalities and industry. The initial membership of KISSZ is set out in Table 3. Now, after two phases, the outline of a mode of operation for the KISSZ is becoming visible. The network will organize itself as a strategic platform of partners of equal-standing. Each partner will deliver its effort on the basis of a common interest in overview, coherence and cooperation. The organization will be as informal as possible. The network will act as a broker to bring relevant parties together on the basis of a problem analysis. The network will focus on the development of solution concepts, but will not carry out projects

12

13

In line with the so-called RCEs (Regional Centers of Experience for sustainable development), an initiative of the UNU (United Nations University) in the framework of the decade for education (2005-2015) launched in Johannesburg 2002. Martens, Pim and Rotmans, Jan, “Transitions in a globalising world”, SwetsandZeitlinger B.V, Lisse, 2002, ISBN 90 265 1921 4 (HB).

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Pioneering Examples: Higher Education for Sustainable Development 67

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itself; rather its members may participate in initiated projects.14 By 2009 full commitment and participation of the boards of participating organizations was gained, while these boards are forming mutual networks among themselves. Already, during the setting-up period, the contours of a possible initial agenda for KISSZ have become visible. Three thematic priorities have been identified: climate change and space, energy and mobility, and major urban development. The theme “structuring and regional embedding (higher) education for sustainable development” is being considered. Of course these are initial themes and the network remains open to new themes or reformulation within the context of persistent sustainability questions in or around the province. These themes have to be further specified in a process of consultation and interaction. Once the agenda has been set, (parts of) the network will work together with key actors on problem analyses and to identify relevant key players. „Tables of exploration‟ will be formed around the first two of these themes, engaging frontrunners and cross-thinkers of different backgrounds. In a first phase they will brainstorm on gaps in the use of knowledge in addressing these themes, any programs being carried out already on these themes, weaknesses in these arising from any lack of transdisciplinary or inter- cultural perspectives or approach, potential partners in new coalitions for integral projects within these themes, and (especially important) interconnections with other themes. The way of operation will correspond to the earlier-mentioned repeating phases of conceptual work, bilateral interviews, adaptation of concepts, and plenary sessions; that is to say, identification of topics, connection of players, contextualization, and the development of new solution concepts. In its operations KISSZ entails sustainability-oriented networks on different levels:

14

The work of the network will be organized around three interconnected „tables‟. A „table‟ consisting of budget holders from participating organizations will act to legitimate and authorize contributions “in kind” from their organization to network operations. A „table‟ consisting of representatives of the organizations and having insights into the competences of their organization and its staff will organize support for network operations and, especially, will act to connect people from within their organizations to network initiatives. Finally, „tables‟ of actors, brought together from the participating organizations in the context of particular problem-based initiatives will work out themes, contribute to network activities and participate in networks initiatives.

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Leo Jansen, Paul Weaver and Rietje van Dam-Mieras Mutual strategic networks between boards of participating orgenisations, Strategic networks inside management of institutions, Operational networks of staff members of institutes in KISSZ accountancy, Operational networks of cooperating KISSZ partners, Implementational networks of KISSZ partners and involved stakeholders.

Table 3. List of KISSZ participants, actual and anticipated, October 2007 Nature of participant Public bodies:

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Colleges of vocational higher education

Universities

Science centres

Actual Province Zuid Holland DCMR (coordination environment Rijnmond) Municipality Rotterdam Rotterdam municipal Port Authority Municipality Leiden Municipality den Haag Municipality Dordrecht Hogeschool Den Haag Hogeschool Rotterdam Hogeschool In Holland (several locations) Delft University of Technology Erasmus University Rotterdam Leiden University Habiforum (Multiple and Efficient use of space)

Anticipated Municipality Zoetermeer

Progress to date with KISSZ has been impressive. The consultation of key players resulted in a core network being formed earlier than might have been expected. Profiles of the various representatives from the different participating organizations have been established. Importantly, the core network decided on a „half open‟ network, so that new organizations may come in if they fit the profile for a participating organization and are able to delegate account holders. It is expected that the circle of members will be extended in the near future through addition of further municipalities and private commercial partners.

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Pioneering Examples: Higher Education for Sustainable Development 69

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The Delft University of Technology Initiative in Education for Sustainable Development At highest levels within Delft University of Technology (DUT) is the belief that technological universities have a responsibility to train and educate students not only to design „technology„ but also to develop „solutions for problems‟ in which technology is integrated with economic, environmental and social issues. The University therefore initiated a project aimed at integrating sustainable development in its engineering education curricula (Jansen et al, 2004). In the process of embedding sustainable development at DUT a pragmatic course was chosen based on two basic premises: sustainable development represents a challenge for technology, not a threat; and integration should be achieved via a “learning by doing” process. These principles were very important for the success of the venture. The first premise implied that the perspective for the educational projects came from the side of engineers searching for solutions, not from that of technology critics arguing against technology as a cause of unsustainability. The second premise recognizes that there are no universal formulae for success in sustainable development; rather, there are many different roads towards sustainable development, which have in common only that the people involved can integrate that road with the culture and structure of their organizational unit. In the case of a university (in this case a university of technology) the basic and most important questions to be addressed when confronting a profound change of the content and/or structure of its education are: what is the future role of our graduates and what should be the exit qualifications of our graduates? Re-phrased, the question might be: what kind of graduate do we want to deliver to society? This leads to anther question: What kind of institute do we want the university to be? After having drawn a future image of the exit qualifications and the role of the institute in meeting these qualifications, back-casting is an effective means to develop a reform trajectory. From this future image it is possible to derive the changes necessary in the educational programs. This whole procedure has to be supported by the university community. As the university departments are primarily responsible for education and research, they are key factors in this process. In November 1997, against this backdrop, the committee of DUT proposed a plan consisting of three interconnected operations: the design of an elementary course on „Technology in Sustainable Development‟ for all DUT students, the integration of sustainable development into all regular disciplinary courses in a way corresponding to the nature of each specific

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course, and the development of a possibility to graduate with a sustainable development specialization within the framework of each department. From the start the committee strived for co-operation with the departments in a process of „learning by doing‟. The DUT initiative did not remain a stand-alone feature in Europe. In 2002 an international conference was organized in Delft: Engineering Education in Sustainable Development (EESD 2002). In 2004 this initiative was continued in Barcelona by the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (EESD 2004). Further events have followed in 2006 organized by the University of Lyon (EESD 2006) and in 2008 by the University of Graz, Austria (EESD 2008). The initiative will be carried further by Chalmers University, Sweden, (EESD 2010) and by Kiev University in Ukraine (EED 2012). This bottom up European network in engineering education has delivered “Sustainable development for Engineers: a handbook and resource guide”, (Mulder, 2006), a report on the extent that sustainability is embedded in European engineering education (AGS, 2006) and a journal special issue (Ferrer-Ballas and Mulder, 2005). In his closing address to delegates to the inaugural „Engineering Education for Sustainable Development‟ conference in Barcelona, UPC, 2002, DUT rector Fokkema stated: “I believe that each engineer has a responsibility to society. Each engineer should have an awareness of possible ethical, social, environmental, aesthetic and economic implications of their work and to act accordingly. An engineer should know the basic principles and implications of sustainable development and should be able to incorporate these in their work. It is a new element of the qualification profile of our graduates.” This statement recognizes that technology development for sustainability is a transdisciplinary playing field where the engineer plays together with other disciplines (and with other specialist engineers) and also with non-scientific stakeholders. In this field of play social parties may identify sustainability problems, but the engineer has a special role in the development of solutions. In this, the engineer is presented with a threefold challenge: Providing creative approaches while also keeping up in terms of improvements of existing structures. Cooperating with other disciplines and non-scientific parties while also guarding disciplinary adjustment. Bridging between moralism and strategic pragmatism.

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Pioneering Examples: Higher Education for Sustainable Development 71 This reflects in the attitude, the skills and the knowledge, which we expect from our future engineers (Figure 17). During its 161ste anniversary DUT proclaimed to be a sustainable university. As a research university it focuses on 4 domains to contribute to major challenges of society, all of them linked to sustainable development: energy, environment, health, and infrastructure & mobility. More specific are multidisciplinary Research Centres dedicated to sustainable energy, sustainable industrial processes and sustainable urban areas. Integral approach Application oriented Systemic Communicative

A

LS

TT

IL

IT

U

SK

D

E

Sustainability Cooperative

STUDENT

KNOWLEDGE

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Technology Culture Structure

ATTITUDE: •

Sustainability oriented

•

Cooperative

SKILLS •

Integral approach

•

Application oriented

•

Systemic

•

Communicative

KNOWLEDGE •

Technology

•

Culture ( Behavior, Need-orientation)

•

Structure (Institutions, Economy etc)

Figure 17. (Continued)

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Graduation in sustainable development. Final Terms: •Ability to apply most relevant methods, •Ability to analyze complex (environmental) problem situations and develop alternative approaches, •Ability to design and implement solutions •Ability to signal, anticipate and eventually overcome barriers to solutions

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Figure 17. Terms for engineers in sustainable development.

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Chapter 8

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PERSPECTIVES FOR FUTURE LEARNING In earlier Chapters we have identified some of the changes in learning, education and science that are needed for these to contribute to a sustainable development. An overarching question is the need for inter- and transdisciplinary intercultural competences. This demands not less than a transition in the system of learning and education. First experiences in learning experiments illustrate that such a transition path is possible when this is guided by an appropriate vision. Innovations that contribute to such a transition need to occur in different domains (in science, in education/learning and in applied problem solving) and at different levels (niche – such as local experiments, regime –in sectors such as science and higher education, and landscape- such as through national and supranational cooperation) (Table 4): Experiments in each of these domains and at the different levels are already taking place, and new and forthcoming experiments will offer the opportunity for “meta-learning” from the collective of experiences. The „crosscutting‟ challenge is to develop a new generation of young adults that is able to cope better than its predecessors with the radical innovations implied by a more sustainable development. A fundamental meta-question concerns which are the most appropriate systems of education and learning for the upcoming generation of young adults (the so-called “Generation Einstein” (Boschma and Groen, 2006) or „Homo Zappiens‟ (Veen, 2006). This upcoming generation now stands before the doors of higher education. Veen identifies attitudes and skills of this generation that may be very promising in view of the competences for innovation and transition in inter- and trans-disciplinary operations:

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Leo Jansen, Paul Weaver and Rietje van Dam-Mieras Table 4. Fields of experience Science

Science and education. General science at universities National science Regime programs Landscape UN CSD 2nd decade Niche

• • • •

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•

Education Learning Local institutions, at different educational levels EESD-network GUNI

Integration Practice Local RCEs

Dutch STD AIRP UNU RCEs

Iconic competences to judge not only textual information, but also information in many other forms; Multi-tasking, especially the ability to devote attention to more than one information source at a time; Zapping, recognizing essentials in discontinuous information flows and on that basis evaluate the whole; Non-linear behavior, the ability to search quickly and non-linearly through information; Collaboration and the ability to ask for support in solving problems from a (worldwide) virtual community.

These characteristics demand change in teaching and in many teachers‟ competences. In the integration of education, science, and practice, initiatives such as those of the RCEs (discussed in Chapter 7) may offer effective opportunities. Since the inception of RCEs, their number worldwide has grown rapidly and they are now found in very different cultural contexts. Meta-questions here concern: • • • • •

Under which conditions are they most effective? Which characteristics of internal organization and target setting are most successful? How do new initiatives arise? Which players are essential: i.e., how broad should an RCE be to function properly and how narrow can it be and still be effective? Is funding necessary and, if so, how should this be organized?

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Perspectives for Future Learning

75

The combined RCE – EESD conference in Graz, Austria in September 2008 delivered new insights and raised further research questions.15 http://eesd08.tugraz.at Other questions arise for the further evaluation of these and similar initiatives in all fields of science, education and practice and to analyze structural factors for success and failure of all initiatives on a meta-scale. We can identify at least two main types of barrier that hinder transition: behavioural and institutional. Behavioural barriers include, among others, bureaucratic resistance to change, a lack of will in respect of transition goals like bridging the poverty gap, preferences for short-term results and for economic over other values, risk avoidance, and inexperience in developing future visions. Overlying these is a layer of institutional barriers in higher education and research that creates a tension between accountability and mono- disciplinarity, on the one hand, and flexibility and trans-disciplinarity on the other, as analysed briefly already in Chapter 4 (see also, Jansen, 2008). This results in a strong pressure of funding preferences for direct, shortterm applicable research. “On the one hand universities are under pressure to strive for excellence in knowledge output in all fields; on the other hand they must contribute pragmatically to resolving the immediate problems of different sectors of society. Scientific and technological research may bring about considerable gains for industry, agriculture, health and all other fields of human life, but it is important that higher education fosters human development in all its dimensions and that its benefits spread to the whole of society” (Sobrinho and Georgen, 2007). The situation is illustrated in Figure 18. In broad terms, we can say that private parties are interested in and prepared to fund research that appears on the left-hand side of Figure 18, while public parties deal with problems that appear on the right-hand side. It appears particularly difficult to fund the long-term research oriented on systems renewal or transitions that is vitally important for a more sustainable development. Therefore support is expected from Higher Education and Research in the design of those solutions in which private corporations are not interested. Usually this is the case when there is a lack of near-term earning opportunities, and/or the issues require an interdisciplinary approach, and/or social interactions play a role, and/or long-term options for innovations are at stake. In such cases competition with consultants is avoided. (Jansen et al, 2005). 15

Since 2002, biennial EESD conferences (see section 7) have been held. One of the impacts of these conferences is the emergence of a loose international network. In first evaluations criteria and factors for successful operations were identified.

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Leo Jansen, Paul Weaver and Rietje van Dam-Mieras education

Disciplinary knowledge

Attitudes Social competences

accountability

flexibility

monodisciplinary

transdisciplinary

Research for Systems Optimisation Improvement

Research for Systems Renewal

research

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17/09/20 Figure0718. Fields

NOVA

19

of tension in higher education for sustainable development.

This requires a clear vision in higher education on the role of science in the process of sustainable development in the short-, medium- and long terms, to set up spearheads in research and on the nature of research in general, to develop terms of reference for research in correspondence with sustainable development (Mulder and Jansen, 2005; Jansen, 2008), and to develop an operating procedure to initiate and implement future need-oriented sustainable development options in research. Or, in brief, a clear vision is needed to embed sustainable development strategically in the mainstream research of all departments to fulfill expectations from the outside. In the course of the present work we have sketched the outlines of such a vision and have begun to fill in some detail at least, while acknowledging that much remains still to be done.

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REFERENCES AGS, Alliance for Global Sustainability (2006), “The observatory, status of engineering education for SD in European higher education”, Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, ISBN: 978-91-976327-1-3, 18 pp. Andringa, J. and Weterings, R. (2006), “Competenties van transitieprofessionals”, http://www.senternovem.nl/mmfiles/Competentiecahier%2018%20aug%2 02006%20A5_tcm24-195326.pdf Beck, U. (1997), Was ist Globalisierung?, Suhrkamp Verlag. Bras, R. and Dam-Mieras, M.C.E. van (2005), Over cultuur gesproken, in: Techniek als menselijk ontwerp. Nieuwe opleidings- en loopbaanroutes voor jongeren, STT/Beweton, Den Haag. Breton, G. (2003), Higher Education: From Internationalization to Globalization, in: Universities and Globalization. Private Linkages, Public Trust, Breton, G. and Lambert, M. eds. , UNESCO/Université Laval, Economica, pp. 21-33. Brooks, C.W. (2003), Globalization: A Political Perspective in: Universities and Globalization. Private Linkages, Public Trust, Breton, G. and Lambert, M. eds. , UNESCO/Université Laval, Economica, pp. 45-50. Brundtland, G. H. (chair) World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), „Our common future‟, Oxford University Press, Oxford-New York. Castells, M. (1996), The Rise of the Network Society. The Information Age / Volume 1: Economy, Society and Culture, Blackwell, Oxford. Dam-Mieras, M.C.E.van, (2003) Globalisation as a challenge, Opening van het academisch jaar, Dies natalis 2003, Open Universiteit, pp. 21–37.

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Dam-Mieras, M.C.E van, Rikers, (2005) “RCE-Europe: Regional Centres of Expertise in the context of the UN Decade for SD ” in Proceedings “Committing Universities to SD”, RNS TU Graz, Austria, p 202, 203. Dam-Mieras M.C.E.van, Lansu A, Rieckmann M, Michelsen G; (2007), Development of an Interdisciplinary, Intercultural Master‟s Program on Sustainability: Learning from the Richness of Diversity, Innovative Higher Education, Volume 32, number 5 Dam-Mieras, M.C.E. van (2008), Innovating Education for Sustainable Development, Proceedings Engineering Education in Sustainable Development 2008 Conference, Graz, Austria, 22-24 September 2008 Daniels, B. (2006), “Lectoren bij hogescholen”, Quantes, Rijswijk The Netherlands, 2006, ISBN 90-6390-253-0, www.scienceguide.nl Dutch Network for Sustainable Higher Education (2006), “Disciplinary reviews SD”, Amsterdam. Some in English e.g. Egbert Tellegen, “Sociology and SD” 75 pp. Dijstelbloem, H. en Schuyt, K. (2002), De publieke dimensie van kennis, H. Dijstelbloem en C.J.M. Schuyt (red), Sdu Uitgevers, Den Haag, pp. 7-29. Eurelings, A.M.C., Melief, A.B.M., Plekkenpol, H., (2002), Leren in een kennissamenleving. De gevolgen van de digitale revolutie voor het hoger onderwijs en de beroeps- en volwasseneneducatie in Nederland, Sdu Uitgevers, Den Haag. Eussen, J. (2007), oral communication. Factor 10 Club (1997), Statement to Government and Business Leaders, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Energy and Environment. Fadeeva, Z. (2007), "From centre of excellence to centre of expertise: Regional centres of expertise on education for SD." In Arjen E.J Wals “Social learning towards a sustainable world, Principles, perspectives, and praxis”, Wageningen Academic Publishers, The Netherlands, 2007, ISBN: 978-908686-031-9, p 245-264. Ferrer- Balas, D., and Mulder, K. (eds.) (2005), Engineering education in sustainable development, Special issue: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. Vol 6, nr 3, 2005. Freeman C.. and Perez C., (1988) Structural crises of adjustment, business cycles and investment behaviour, (in Technical Change and Economic Theory, Pinter, London and New York). Friedman, T. L., (2007), The world is flat: the globalized world in the twentyfirst century, Penguin Books, London 2007, ISBN 13+ 978/0/141/03489/8. Funtowicz, S.O. and Ravetz, J.R. (1991), A new scientific methodology for global environmental issues, in: R. Constanza (ed.) Ecological economics:

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for quality assurance - what is at stake?” Palgrave Macmillan, New York, ISBN-13: 978-0-230-00046-9, p xxxiv. Heideveld A. & Cornelissen S. (2009), “Learning for Sustainable Development:exploring learning strategies across the life span”, Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO. Hinterberger F. (2003) Adaptive Integration of Research and Policy for SD – Prospects for the European Research Area, Project No STPA – 200100007 final report. Holling, C. S. (1978) Adaptive Environmental Assessment and Management. John Wiley and Son: London. Holling, C. S. (1990) Integrating Science for Sustainable Development: In: Sustainable Development, Science and Policy. Proceedings of the Bergen Conference, May 8-12, Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities. Pp. 359-370. Ivens, W.P.M.F., Dam-Mieras, M.C.E.van, Kreijns, C.J., Leinders, J.J.M. (2002), Use of virtual communities for education in sustainable development, Conference proceedings Engineering Education In Sustainable Development, TU Delft, 24 and 25 October. Jansen, L., Bosch, G. and Weaver, P.M. (2003) Research and Technology Development Programmes: From the very start to the very finish. In: Final Report of the AIRP-SD Project, EC-STRATA Programme, Vienna, June 2003. Jansen, L., Holmberg J., Saverio C. F. (2005), International Evaluation of UPC Environmental and Sustainability Research and Education, UPC, November, http://www.upc.es/mediambient/UPCSostenible2015.html English. Jansen, L., (2008), Higher Education‟s contribution for sustainable development: the way forward, Special contribution I.10 in: Higher education in the world 2008. New challenges, changing roles: Steering a course for human and social development, March. Jantsch, E. (1968) Integrative planning of technology, in Jantsch, E. Perspectives of planning, OECD, Paris 1969. P179-185. Kerka, S. (1997), Constructivism, workplace learning and vocational education, ERIC Digest. Kessels, J., Boers, E., Mostert, P. (2002), Vrije ruimte. Filosoferen in organisaties, Uitgeverij Boom, Amsterdam. Kibwika P. (2006), “Learning to make change, Developing innovation competence for recreating the African university of the 21st century”,

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Wageningen Academic Publishers, The Netherlands, ISBN-13: 978-908686-017-3, 207 pp. Kirschner P.A., van Vilsteren, P., Hummel, H., and Wigman, M. (1997). A study environment for acquiring academic and professional competence. Studies of Higher Education, 22(2), 151–171. Kraker J.de, Lansu A, Dam-Mieras M.C.E van (2007), Crossing boundaries: innovative learning for sustainable development in higher education, VAS-Verlag für Akademische Schriften, Frankfurt am Main Kreijns, C.J., P.A. Kirschner, W. Jochems (2002), The sociability of computer-supported collaborative learning environments, Journal of Education Technology and Society 5, 1. Kreijns, C.J., (2004) Sociable CSCL Environments: Social Affordances, Sociability and Social Presence, Thesis Open Universoteit, Heerlen, the Netherlands, http:www.ou.nl. Larrabee Jared, (2007) in Deloitte: Strategic Corporate Community Involvement. Loo, J. van and Semeijn, J., (2000), Measuring competencies in school-leaver surveys, paper presented at the 5th Annual ILM Conference, Aberdeen, Scotland. Loorbach D and Rotmans J, (2006), Managing transitions for sustainable development, www.ksinetwork.nl/down/output/publications/TM_Itchapter.pdf Lynch, R. L., (1997), Designing vocational and technical teacher education for the 21e century, ERIC Clearing House. Martens P. and Rotmans J., (2002) Transitions in a globalising world, Swets and Zeitlinger Publishers, Lisse, Abingdon, Exton (PA), Tokyo, ISBN 90265 1921 4 (HB) Martens P. and Rotmans J., (2005) Transitions in a globalising world, Futures 37, p 1133-1144, available as: http://hdl.handle.net/1765/7671 Meadows, D. (1995), Curitiba and its visionary mayor, available as: http://www.globalideasbank.org/site/bank/idea.php?ideaId=2236 Ministryof Economic Affairs Netherlands (2008), “Energie rapport 2008” Ministry of Economic Affairs Netherlands (2008),“Energy innovation agenda, Creative energy” Mochizuki, Yoko and Fadeeva, Zinaida (2008), “Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Developments (RCE‟s): an overview in Dam Mieras et al , Special issue, Sustainability in Higher Education, 9,4,2008, Esmerald Group Publishing, ISSN 1467-6370.

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Mulder K. and Jansen J. L. (2005), “Evaluating the sustainability of research of a University of Technology: towards a general methodology”, In: Proceedings “Committing Universities to SD”, RNS TU Graz, Austria. Pp. 249 – 256. Mulder, K., (2006), “Sustainable Development for Engineers: a handbook and resource guide”, Greenleaf Publishing Ltd, Sheffield UK, 2006. ISBN: 13 978-1-874719-19-9. Myers, N. (1990) Facing up to the lack of interface. In: Sustainable Development, Science and Policy. Proceedings of the Bergen Conference, May 8-12, Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities. Pp. 513-522. Peet, D.J., Mulder, K.F., Bijma, A., (2004), Integrating sustainable development into engineering courses at The Delft University of Technology: the individual interaction method, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 278-288. Robèrt, k.-H., Schmidt-Bleek, F., Aloisi de Larderel, J., Basile, J., Jansen, J. L., Kuehr, R., Price Thomas, P., Suzuki, M., Hawken, P. and Wackernagel, M. (2002) Strategic SD - selection, design and synergies of applied tools”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 10 (3) pp. 197-214. Roorda, N. (2001): AISHE - Auditing Instrument for Sustainability in Higher Education. DHO (Dutch Foundation for Sustainability in Higher Education), Amsterdam 2001, downloadable from www.dho.nl/aishe. Roorda, N. (2001): “AISHE – Assessment Instrument for Sustainability in Higher Education”. Stichting Duurzaam Hoger Onderwijs (DHO), Amsterdam. Roorda, N. (2004): Policy development for sustainability in higher education – results of AISHE audits. In: P.B. Corcoran, A.E.J. Wals (eds.): Higher Education and the challenge of sustainability. Kluwer, Dordrecht, 2004, pp. 305 – 318. Roorda, N. & P. Martens (2008), “Assessment and Certification of Higher Education for Sustainable Development”, Sustainability: The Journal of Record, Vol.1 – No.1, February 2008. Ruttan V.M. (2005), Is war necessary for economic growth? Military Procurement and Technology Development, Oxford University Press, ISBN10: 0195188047. Sobrinho, J.D. and Georgen P, (2007), “Social commitment in higher education”, special contribution C in GUNI, “Higher Education in the

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world 2007, Accreditation for Quality Assurance, What is at stake?”, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, p xxxviii. Veen W., (2006), Homo Zappiens: Growing Up In A Digital Age, Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd, Culemborg, The Netherlands. Waddell S., (2005), Societal learning and change, How Governments, business and civil society are creating solutions to complex Multi Stakeholder Problems, Greenleaf Publishing Ltd, Sheffield, UK. Wals Arjen E.J., (2007), Social learning towards a sustainable world, Principles, perspectives, and praxis”, Wageningen Academic Publishers, The Netherlands, 2007, ISBN: 978-90-8686-031-9, p 245-264. Walters, C. J. (1986) Adaptive Management of Renewable Resources. Macmillan Publishing Company: New York. Weaver P. M., Jansen, J.L., Grootveld, G. van Spiegel, E. and Vergragt, P. (2000), Sustainable Technology Development, ISBN 1 874719 09 8, Greenleaf Publishing, Sheffield UK. 2000, 256 pp. Weaver, P.M. (2002a) Defining science for sustainable development, Deliverable 2, AIRP-SD Project, EC-STRATA Programme, available as: http://web205.vbox-01.inode.at/airp-sd/start/_docs/AIRPSD_Del2_ExecutiveSummary.pdf. Weaver, P.M. (2002b) Evaluating science for sustainable development, Deliverable 3. AIRP-SD Project, EC-STRATA Programme, available as: http://web205.vbox-01.inode.at/airp-sd/start/_docs/AIRPSD_Del3_ExecutiveSummary.pdf Weaver P. M. and Jansen J. L. (2004) Defining and evaluating “science for sustainability”. Paper presented at the International Conference on Sustainability Engineering and Science, Auckland, New Zealand, July 6-9, available as: http://www.nzsses.auckland.ac.nz/conference/2004/Session 5/63%20Weaver.pdf Weaver P. M. (2005) National Systems of Innovation: Chapter 13. In: Hargroves, K. and Smith M. H. (Eds.) The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st Century, Earthscan, London, pp. 244-270.

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INDEX

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A acceleration, 24 accountability, 50, 75 accreditation, 56, 79 achievement, 6, 37 acquisition of knowledge, 41 adaptation, 20, 50, 66, 67 adjustment, 52, 70, 78 administrative, 52, 62 adults, 43, 44, 57, 58, 73 age, 40 agents, 7, 11, 14, 22, 24, 27, 65 agrarian, 9 agricultural, 28, 63 agriculture, 28, 64, 75 air, 64, 65 air quality, 65 Amsterdam, 78, 79, 80, 82 anther, 69 ants, 25 application, 42, 57 argument, 5, 19 assessment, 50, 56 assumptions, 16, 18, 52 attitudes, 9, 14, 26, 43, 73 Austria, 49, 59, 70, 75, 78, 79, 82 availability, 6, 10, 30, 35, 43, 45, 65

avoidance, 75 awareness, 35, 50, 61, 62, 70

B back, 69 bargaining, 50 barrier, 75 barriers, 24, 75 behavior, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 26, 40, 43, 74 Belgium, 59, 60 belief systems, 22 beliefs, 41 benefits, 15, 75 benign, 19 biodiesel, 28 biodiversity, 64 biotechnology, 23 bottom-up, 66 Brazil, 24 broad spectrum, 43 Brundtland report, 24 business cycle, 78

C cables, 10

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86

Index

Canada, 59 capacity building, 31, 35, 37 carbon, 21 carbon dioxide, 21 casting, 69 cattle, 63 causality, 22 channels, 61 chaos, 19 chaotic behavior, 17 chemicals, 19 childhood, 2, 37 children, 1, 37, 43, 44 citizens, 1, 2, 7, 10, 11, 26, 37, 61 civil society, 23, 27, 61, 83 classical, 41, 60 climate change, 63, 67 coalitions, 65, 67 coherence, 50, 66 cohesion, 25 collaboration, 27, 30, 35, 58 Collaboration, 35, 60, 74 colleges, 66 Colombia, 79 combustion, 10 communication, 8, 21, 22, 41, 50, 53, 58, 62, 65, 78 community, 9, 28, 50, 60, 69, 74 competence, 3, 28, 35, 58, 80, 81 competition, 75 complex systems, 16, 17, 18 complexity, 7, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 26, 30, 49, 50, 79 components, 50 concentration, 10, 21, 63 conceptualization, 49, 50 concrete, 56 conformity, 48, 52 Congress, xii consciousness, 32 constraints, 14 constructivist, 42 consultants, 75

consumption, 9, 13, 48 contamination, 64 contextualization, 67 control, 16, 17 convergence, 10 corporations, 75 costs, 22, 62 creative process, 23 creativity, 19, 58 crops, 29 cultural perspective, 67 culture, 18, 22, 28, 41, 69 curiosity, 6 curriculum, 55, 56

D dairy, 63 danger, 19 decision makers, 14, 49 decision making, 16, 19, 22, 48, 50 decisions, 11, 14, 16, 50, 61 definition, 45 degrees of freedom, 42 democratization, 50 deprivation, 15 diffusion, 8, 79 dignity, 7 discipline, 16, 18, 41 discourse, 5 dissipative system, 15 distance education, 57 distribution, 1, 15, 16, 64 diversity, 1, 48, 50, 59 division, 21 doors, 73 dust, 63

E earth, 1, 7, 11

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87

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Index ecological, 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 17, 19, 25, 28, 48, 79 Ecological Economics, 79 ecological systems, 8, 25 ecology, 22 economic activity, 63 economic development, 10 economic growth, 8, 15, 82 economic systems, 1, 8 economics, 78, 79 ecosystem, 48 Education, 8, 13, 25, 27, 37, 39, 40, 55, 56, 58, 59, 63, 69, 70, 74, 75, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 educational programs, 69 educational system, 2, 22, 37, 40, 42, 43, 65 electricity, 27 emission, 28, 63, 64 empowered, 61 energy, 10, 24, 27, 28, 64, 65, 67, 71, 81 engagement, 20, 26 engines, 10 environment, 10, 11, 19, 28, 40, 42, 68, 71, 81 environmental impact, 23 environmental issues, 78 environmental policy, 31, 79 environmental sustainability, 8 equity, 48 Europe, 24, 61, 70, 78 evolution, 22, 23, 24, 43 exercise, 15 expertise, 16, 78 extreme poverty, 7

F facilitators, 22 failure, 75 family, 11, 40 family life, 40 February, 82

feedback, 11, 48, 49 feedstock, 28 fiber, 10 filtration, 28 finance, 45 first principles, 22 fitness, 50 flexibility, 57, 75 flow, 21 forecasting, 31 formal education, 1, 25, 26, 37, 44, 59 fossil, 10, 27, 64 fossil fuel, 10 fossil fuels, 10 framing, 5, 22, 50 freedom, 42 fruits, 64 fulfillment, 2 functional approach, 50 funding, 22, 27, 50, 52, 74, 75 futures, 14, 48, 49

G gas, 27 generation, 3, 5, 9, 43, 60, 61, 73 genomics, 23 Germany, 49, 59, 60 glass, 63, 64 globalization, 9, 10, 15, 43 Globalization, 9, 10, 77, 79 goals, 20, 22, 25, 33, 35, 49, 52, 61, 75 governance, 13, 50, 65 government, xii, 7, 8, 10, 21, 27, 28, 59, 60, 66 greenhouse, 1 group work, 58 groups, 26, 40, 41, 50, 58, 61, 65 growth, 8, 15, 82 guidance, 5, 59 guiding principles, 50

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Index

H handling, 14, 22, 48, 49, 53 hands, 7 hanging, 64 health, 71, 75 heart, 30, 63 heuristic, 47 high school, 56 higher education, 3, 22, 35, 43, 55, 59, 66, 68, 73, 75, 76, 77, 79, 81, 82 holistic, 59 Holland, 55, 63, 64, 65, 68 horizon, 31 House, 81 housing, 64 human, 10, 15, 18, 75, 80 human development, 75 humanity, 7, 15 humans, 23 hypothesis, 52

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I identification, 67 impact assessment, 14 imperialism, 10 implementation, 20, 37, 38, 39, 50, 58 in situ, 20, 50 in transition, 24, 30, 33, 35 incentives, 27 inclusion, 6, 16, 62 independence, 50 indeterminacy, 15 indicators, 48 indigenous, 27, 28 individual development, 10 industrial, 1, 9, 37, 63, 64, 71 industrial revolution, 1, 9, 37 industry, 27, 66, 75 inertia, 59 Information Age, 77

information and communication technology, 8 information and communication technology (ICT), 8 information sharing, 63 infrastructure, 43, 63, 71 initiation, 50 injury, xii innovation, 2, 9, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 30, 31, 35, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 73, 80, 81 Innovation, 20, 23, 42, 83 insight, 1, 17 inspiration, 2, 19, 32 instability, 1 institutions, 3, 8, 9, 10, 13, 21, 22, 23, 49, 66, 68, 74 instruments, 66 integration, 3, 5, 17, 18, 30, 69, 74 integrity, 50 interaction, 23, 30, 37, 40, 43, 58, 61, 67, 82 interactions, 15, 18, 25, 42, 60, 75 interdependence, 16 interdisciplinary, 20, 56, 75 interface, 20, 21, 82 internal consistency, 50 internal organization, 74 international law, 40 internationalization, 10 interviews, 66, 67 intrinsic, 19 investment, 78 Ireland, 59 isolation, 16

J Japan, 49, 59 Jatropha, 28, 29 judge, 74 judgment, 15 justice, 43

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89

Index justification, 40, 48

M K

knowledge transfer, 43

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L labor, 10, 11, 43, 58 labor force, 10 land, 63 language, 41, 50, 56 law, 40 leadership, 59 learners, 41, 42 learning, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 20, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 32, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 48, 49, 50, 52, 55, 57, 58, 59, 61, 69, 70, 73, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83 learning environment, 25, 40, 42, 43, 44, 55, 57, 58, 81 learning process, 5, 25, 27, 40, 42, 43, 44 learning styles, 43 leisure, 40 leisure time, 40 liberalisation, 24 life expectancy, 40 life quality, 15 life span, 25, 80 life style, 41 lifelong learning, 40, 43 lifespan, 25, 27 lifestyle, 43 lifetime, 38 linear, 15, 16, 24, 74 links, 11, 14, 18, 20, 50, 59 lobbying, 56 local government, 59 London, 78, 79, 80, 83 long period, 41

magnetic, xii mainstream, 76 maintenance, 48, 63 Malaysia, 59 management, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 30, 32, 33, 43, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 53, 56, 58, 59, 64, 68, 79 mandates, 45 manifold, 6 manners, 37 market, 11, 14, 23, 43, 58 market value, 14 markets, 10, 14 meanings, 50 media, 41 mediation, 50 mediators, 22 membership, 66 mental model, 40, 41, 42 metabolomics, 23 metaphor, 26 methane, 63 Millennium, 7 Millennium Development Goals, 7 Ministry of Environment, 56 missions, 63 mobility, 27, 64, 67, 71 modeling, 19 models, 18, 22, 40, 41, 42, 48, 50, 52, 53 morality, 33 motivation, 65 motives, 57 movement, 2, 37 multicultural, 30 multidisciplinary, 30, 40, 42, 57, 71 multinational companies, 10 multiplicity, 9, 50 muscle, 10 muscle power, 10 mutual respect, 7

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90

Index

N

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nanotechnology, 23 nation, 8, 10 nation states, 8, 10 natural, 15, 16, 18, 50, 57 natural science, 18, 57 natural sciences, 18, 57 neglect, 18, 21 Netherlands, 25, 27, 31, 49, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83 network, 32, 43, 55, 56, 59, 60, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 74, 75 network members, 56 networking, 32, 43 new media, 41 New York, 77, 78, 79, 80, 83 New Zealand, 83 nodes, 59 non-linear dynamics, 15 non-linearity, 18 normal, 42, 50, 79 norms, 23, 40, 63

O oil, 28 on-the-job training, 44 openness, 50 optimization, 22, 64 oral, 78 orientation, 2, 8, 24, 41, 42, 44, 45, 48, 50 overexploitation, 1 oxidation, 63

P paradigm shift, 50 Paris, 79, 80 partnership, 8 partnerships, 50

pathology, 7 pathways, 15, 50 peat, 63 peer, 50 peer group, 50 peer review, 50 peers, 19 percolation, 63 persuasion, 32 philosophy, 40 physical environment, 11 planetary, 15, 21 planning, 64, 80 platforms, 28 play, 10, 21, 23, 33, 42, 59, 70, 75 plurality, 16, 17, 50 policy makers, 19, 20, 21, 22 policy making, 21 politics, 16 pollutants, 19 pollution, 64 poor, 1, 8, 65 population, 1, 63 population density, 63 poverty, 7, 15, 75 power, 10, 16, 17, 32 pragmatic, 40, 69 pragmatism, 33, 70 praxis, 78, 79, 83 premium, 20 pressure, 19, 24, 63, 64, 75 private, 11, 63, 68, 75 probe, 20 problem solving, 2, 14, 22, 41, 44, 57, 73 problem-solving, 2, 50 production, 9, 10, 13, 48, 50, 63, 79 productivity, 31 professions, 2, 37 program, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, 35, 41, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 57 program outcomes, 48, 49, 50 property, xii prosperity, 65

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91

Index proteomics, 23 psychology, 19 public, 10, 49, 50, 63, 64, 65, 75 public health, 64 public interest, 10

Q

S

qualifications, 69 quality assurance, 50, 80 quality of life, 14, 15

R

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risk, 19, 20, 22, 50, 52, 53, 75 risks, 15, 20, 52 rivers, 63 role-playing, 41 rural, 1, 63 rural areas, 63

range, 15, 22, 25, 43, 50, 58 rationality, 40 raw material, 65 raw materials, 65 reality, 17, 42 reasoning, 43 recognition, 8, 45 reconstruction, 24 redevelopment, 64 refining, 48 reflection, 40 regional, 1, 6, 13, 14, 20, 55, 60, 62, 65, 66, 67 regular, 69 regulations, 23 relationship, 5, 6, 8, 17 relationships, 5, 11, 16, 18 reliability, 50 religion, 10, 40 renewable energy, 28 renewable resource, 20 research design, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52 research funding, 22 resilience, 18, 19, 48, 50 resistance, 75 resources, 1, 15, 20, 45 responsibilities, 21, 66 restructuring, 2, 44

safety, 10 satisfaction, 56 scaling, 32 school, 1, 37, 42, 43, 55, 56, 57, 59, 62, 81 scientific knowledge, 42, 61 scientific method, 61, 78 scientific understanding, 49 sea level, 63 search, 14, 15, 49, 74 searching, 69 Second World, 24 Second World War, 24 secondary education, 62 Self, 26, 32 self-consciousness, 1, 7 self-organizing, 15 separation, 8 series, 56 services, xii severity, 7 shape, 9 shaping, 58 sharing, 48, 50, 63 Shell, 27, 63 short-term, 75 singular, 24 skills, 2, 26, 32, 43, 71, 73 SMEs, 60 sociability, 81 social capital, 2, 25, 48 social cohesion, 25 social construct, 6 social development, 10, 80

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92

Index

social environment, 10, 40, 42 social institutions, 10 social learning, 3, 5, 24, 27, 28, 59, 79 social sciences, 50 social structure, 9 social systems, 16, 18 soil, 63, 64 space-time, 48 Spain, 59 spatial, 14, 64 specialization, 1, 8, 37, 38, 41, 70 specificity, 2, 19 spectrum, 43 spheres, 16 stability, 15 stable states, 15 staff development, 56 stages, 24, 42, 50 stakeholder, 20, 22, 56, 62 stakeholders, 1, 13, 14, 15, 19, 22, 24, 27, 28, 30, 35, 49, 50, 58, 60, 65, 68, 70 standards, 47 strategic management, 14, 49 strategies, 16, 25, 26, 50, 80 strength, 8, 17, 48, 49, 62 structuring, 32, 37, 43, 67 students, 55, 57, 58, 69 Styria, 59 subjective, 17 subjectivity, 16, 17, 19 substitution, 79 supply, 21 surplus, 64 survival, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 35 sustainability, 8, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 31, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 55, 58, 63, 64, 65, 67, 70, 79, 82, 83 sustainable development, 3, 6, 7, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 31, 37, 39, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 55, 56, 57, 60, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83 Sweden, 49, 59, 70

symptoms, 8 Synergy, 63 system analysis, 32

T tangible, 5 targets, 6, 52 teachers, 27, 41, 42, 55, 74 teaching, 41, 42, 43, 74 tension, 15, 75, 76 territory, 41 thermodynamic, 15 thermodynamic equilibrium, 15 thinking, 32, 33 threat, 1, 63, 69 threatened, 15 threats, 16, 64 threshold, 15 time lags, 15 time periods, 18 timing, 32 Tokyo, 81 toxic, 19 trade, 14, 24, 28, 50 trade-off, 14, 50 tradition, 17, 18 training, 1, 2, 3, 40, 43, 44, 50, 56, 62 trajectory, 39, 58, 69 trans, 30, 49, 50, 56, 65, 67, 73, 75 transfer, 5, 9, 43, 65 transformations, 15 transition, 3, 7, 8, 14, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 43, 48, 49, 60, 73, 75 transitions, 3, 9, 22, 24, 25, 28, 30, 35, 43, 49, 75, 81 transparency, 48, 50 transparent, 50, 65 transport, 10 transportation, 10, 24, 63, 64 transportation infrastructure, 63

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Index tribal, 28 trust, 20

vulnerability, 48, 50 vulnerable people, 15

U Ukraine, 70 uncertainty, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 49, 50, 53 United Nations, 8, 58, 66 universities, 56, 60, 63, 66, 69, 74, 75 university community, 69 urban areas, 10, 63, 71

V

war, 24, 82 water, 28, 63, 64 wealth, 1 welfare, 10 wellbeing, 5 western countries, 10 Western countries, 42 wind, 28 women, 28, 29 workforce, 9 workplace, 80 World War, 24 writing, 41, 56

Y yield, 64 young adults, 43, 44, 73

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validity, 42 values, 14, 20, 23, 33, 40, 50, 75 variables, 16, 17 virtual world, 9 visible, 66, 67 vision, 2, 5, 24, 25, 40, 50, 73, 76 vocational, 42, 56, 62, 66, 68, 80, 81 vocational education, 80 vocational training, 62

W

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