Title: Planetary Connections: ESRC Social Science of the Nexus Network Plus
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Abstract: Overview Interdependencies, tensions and trade-offs between energy, environment and food generate some of the most significant challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Addressing these at local, national and international scales, the social sciences have the potential to make ground-breaking contributions. But equally important is a process of continuous and deep engagement between the academic and non-academic communities. Run by the universities of Sussex, East Anglia and Cambridge, the 'Planetary Connections' Network+ (NW+) aims to engage the social science community with these complex 'Nexus challenges' and link them to research users from business, government and civil society. In order to co-design and deliver research that improves decision making in this critical domain, the NW+ will work through seven parallel work streams: 1. User Needs Analysis: mapping and building the network. Initially we will undertake an intense period of user-needs analysis in order to build membership of the NW+. In parallel, we will establish a 'Planetary Connections' NW+ website to widely promote the NW+. We will populate the website with existing articles and frameworks, and short opinion pieces by leading academics. Invitations to join the NW+ will be accompanied by an initial call for dedicated 'think-pieces' to scope nexus challenges and define issues, problems and perspectives. 2. Six thematic workshops on key nexus questions. We will run a series of two-day workshops on key nexus topics (from September 2014 until April 2016). Each will involve 30-40 participants, drawn from research and user communities, and identified through our network mapping process. Proposed workshop themes include: a) Values and valuation (Sept 2014); b) Ecological thresholds (Feb 2015); c) Resources and conflicts (June 2015); c) Urbanisation at the nexus (Oct 2015); d) Green technologies and transformations (Jan 2016). E) What works at the nexus - from evidence to policy to transformation (April 2016). 3. Annual 'Planetary Connections' conferences. To enable wider researcher and user participation we will host three annual conferences linked to the themes of the workshops. In January 2017 we will host a larger international conference that will draw together the work of the NW+ and provide a platform for showcasing new ideas, priorities and methods for co-producing research with users to meet global nexus challenges. 4. Data, methods and skills development. Throughout the course of the NW+ we will develop a suite of methods, as a resource for wider research, policy and practitioner communities. We will produce an NW+ methodology webspace, to give access to a suite of methodological resources including inter alia: methods-focused outputs from each thematic workshop; a wiki space for collaborative design and reflection, a discussion forum, tools and applications and links to wider resources. 5. Small grants and placements scheme. The NW+ will administer a series of small project grants (linked to the thematic workshops) in order to contribute essential ideas, empirical applications and practical research-user engagement to the NW+, and an ongoing placement scheme in order to support knowledge exchange and provide enhanced understanding of real world scenarios. 6. Rapid-response 'strategy labs'. To engage researchers, users and decision-makers in emerging issues, NW+ will convene up to 5 'strategy labs'. Each will focus on a particular, hot, controversial policy topic that highlights nexus issues and trade-offs at a given moment. This will ensure that the NW+ is able to respond in a flexible and timely matter as policy challenges arise. 7. Analysis, synthesis and strategic advice. Throughout the project, the NW+ team will provide strategic analysis, synthesis and advice to the ESRC, Research Councils, Technology Strategy Board, BIS and GO-Science and other key organisations.


Research activity codes: 1.4 METHODOLOGIES AND MEASUREMENTS;1.5 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (UNDERPINNING)
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE