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Crafting usable knowledge for sustainable development
William C Clark1, Lorrae van Kerkhoff2, Louis Lebel3
1Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138; william_clark@harvard.edu.
Summary
Researchers can create more actionable knowledge for sustainable development by understanding the co-production of knowledge and decision-making. Training should incorporate practical lessons on collaboration and social learning for effective science-society integration.
Area of Science:
- Sustainability Science
- Science and Technology Studies
- Environmental Social Science
Background:
- Researchers often struggle to translate scientific findings into practical solutions for sustainable development.
- Existing formal training for researchers inadequately prepares them for knowledge co-production with societal actors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To distill core lessons for researchers to increase the production of usable knowledge for sustainable development.
- To articulate essential knowledge and practices for researchers engaging in sustainability-focused action.
Main Methods:
- Drawing lessons from global practical experience and scholarly research on science-society relationships.
- Utilizing the ICAP (Innovation, Complex, Adaptive, Political) lens to analyze knowledge co-production in social-environmental systems.
Main Results:
- Identified four key areas of knowledge: understanding co-production in social-environmental systems through the ICAP lens.
- Identified four key practices: building capacity for stakeholder collaboration, social learning, knowledge governance, and researcher training.
Conclusions:
- Formal researcher training must integrate lessons on knowledge co-production for effective sustainable development.
- Enhancing researcher capacity in collaboration, learning, governance, and training is crucial for bridging science and action.
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