1Jun 2016
CEP at CECAN workshop on understanding complexity

CEP at CECAN workshop on understanding complexity

CEP’s Dr Clare Twigger-Ross and Dr Bill Sheate will participate in a 1 day workshop on 9th June hosted by the Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus (CECAN) to tackle the question of ‘What is complexity?’.

 Discussions will include:

  • What are our different understandings of complexity?
  • Examples of complexity in policy evaluation and design, and Nexus systems
  • What factors in policy processes and Nexus systems make complexity difficult to handle?
  • Sharing innovative ideas and approaches
  • What tools can we bring/matching of tools to complex problems
  • As a policy maker, how do I know I am dealing with a complex problem?

The workshop will focus on some of the real-world policy case studies put forward by CECAN’s co-funders and provide an opportunity to plan a wider public 2 day residential workshop in September 2016.

The event is by invitation only.

Team CEP
1Jun 2016
Ecosystem services and environmental assessment training delivered by CEP

Photo courtesy of Edvard Glücksman

CEP delivers one-day training workshop on Incorporating ecosystem services into environmental assessment

Dr Bill Sheate and Dr Peter Phillips delivered a very successful one-day training course in London on 24 May 2016 on Incorporating ecosystem services into environmental assessment, on behalf of the Ecosystems Knowledge Network (EKN).  The course is being run again in Manchester on 29 June 2016, at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Business School – just a few places are still available; booking is available online here.

Comments from some of the participants at the London training:

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“Grateful for an excellent day’s training with @EcosystemsNet in London”

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“Very informative. Trainers very knowledgeable and approachable”

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“Really useful, informative day”

Team CEP
31May 2016
Dr Clare Twigger-Ross at Winter Flood Project findings launch event

Image ‘The Somerset Levels’ by Nick (CC BY 2.0)

Dr Clare Twigger-Ross to participate in panel discussion on floods, adaptation and community

Dr Clare Twigger-Ross will take part in a panel discussion in an event launching the findings for the Winter Floods Project, undertaken at the Exeter University.

The Winter Floods Project examined how perceptions of the problems and solutions evolved during the year following the floods that occurred over the winter of 2013/14, in order to better understand how longer term policy responses occurs at local and national scales.  The project also investigated individual and community resilience after flood events to identify how flood events impact well-being and quality of life.

The event will present the project’s key findings, followed by a panel discussion on the theme of ‘floods, adaptation, and community’ with academic and policy contributors. 

The event will take place on 8th June 2016 at the Royal Geographical Society, London between 13:30 and 17:30.

If you would like to attend please use this link to register for a place.   

 

Team CEP
31May 2016
EC publishes CEP’s report on Public perceptions of environmental risks

European Commission publishes CEP’s report on Public perceptions of environmental risks

The European Commission’s Environment Directorate-General (DG Environment) has published Survey on public perceptions of environmental risks, a report of research conducted by CEP with partners at the University of A Coruña (Spain), the University of Latvia, Oikos (Slovenia), Sapienza University of Rome (Italy) and the West University of Timisoara (Romania).

This ambitious, Europe-wide project aimed to understand the differences between public perception and scientific assessment of environmental risks and the main factors influencing the evolution of public perceptions in Europe. The project used a mixed methodology research approach, including a survey of experts and focus groups with members of the public. 

While the issues of concern to members of the public were generally similar to the top risks identified by experts, in some cases the assessments differed widely.  This was the case with waste, which was of concern to public participants but not ranked highly by experts. The focus group discussions showed that while factors such as the proximity and scale of environmental risks do affect the way that lay people perceive these risks, their perceptions are also influenced by collective cultural, institutional and socio-political factors, including social values and the degree of trust in authorities. It was also clear that across Europe lay people are using multiple sources of information to develop their understanding of what are often complex environmental issues.

The full report can be downloaded here.

Team CEP
19May 2016
CEP delivering participatory land use planning workshop

CEP delivering workshop with stakeholder forum in the Pentland Hills Regional Park as part of ecosystems approach based land use planning project

CEP was commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage to develop and deliver a stakeholder led process that will apply the ecosystems approach to collaborative land use and management in the Pentland Hills Regional Park (PHRP).

On Friday 20th May, CEP’s Dr Peter Phillips and Paula Orr will be running a stakeholder workshop in the Pentlands as part of a participatory approach to developing the next Park Plan. Key objectives of the workshop include: (1) participatory ecosystem services mapping; (2) valuation of current ecosystem services using a socio-cultural values framework; and (3) assessment of future drivers of change in the Park. The workshop is being delivered in collaboration with the EU FP7 OPERAs project including academics from the University of Edinburgh School of Geosciences and the University of Potsdam Institute for Earth and Environmental Sciences.     

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18May 2016
CEP’s research presented at Scottish transport conference

“Face Over the Forth” by Chris Combe (CC by 2.0)

CEP work on climate change adaptation indicators for transport infrastructure to be presented at Scottish transport conference

In partnership with the University of Strathclyde Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, CEP recently completed a project for ClimateXChange developing climate change adaptation indicators for Scottish transport infrastructure. Strathclyde’s Dr Neil Ferguson will be presenting a paper on this work, co-written with CEP’s Dr Peter Phillips, at the Scottish Transport Applications and Research (STAR) Conference in Glasgow on 18th May.

Team CEP
17May 2016
CEP’S DR BILL SHEATE SPEAKING AT EU WORKSHOP ON SEA

Image: ‘Charlemagne is back in Europe’ by Eddy Van 3000 (CC BY-SA 2.0)

DR BILL SHEATE WILL BE SPEAKING AT A EUROPEAN COMMISSION WORKSHOP IN BRUSSELS ON 18 May 2016 ON THE STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT DIRECTIVE

Dr Bill Sheate, Technical Director at CEP, is an invited speaker at a workshop organised by the European Commission in Brussels on 18 May on “The application and effectiveness of the SEA Directive (Directive 2001/42/EC)“.  

Bill will be talking on “How Strategic is Strategic Environmental Assessment? The importance of ‘tiering’ with EIA”, looking at how the relationship between SEA and EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) has evolved in the EU, and how a better appreciation of this ‘tiering’ between different decision and assessment levels can help to make environmental assessment more efficient and effective. Bill has undertaken a number of studies on EIA and SEA for the European Commission over the years, and has been involved with the EIA and SEA Directives since their early conception from the early 1980s. 

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15Apr 2016
CEP presenting at Scottish ecosystem services conference

CEP’S DR PETER PHILLIPS PRESENTING ON LAND USE POLICY EVALUATION AT THE THIRD ANNUAL ESCOM CONFERENCE

CEP’s Dr Peter Phillips will be presenting at the third annual ESCom conference in Edinburgh on 20th April 2016. ESCom is the ecosystem services community for Scotland linking science, policy and practice. Peter will be talking about land use policy evaluation and the role of the Scottish Land Use Strategy providing a framework for ecosystems approach based land use and management. Peter’s talk will build on previous work undertaken by CEP in Scotland on land use policy and evaluation including the Scottish Land Use Strategy Delivery Evaluation for the Scottish Government and the Evaluation of the Land Use Strategy Forestry Focused Sub-Regional Pilot Studies for Forestry Commission Scotland.

 

Team CEP
5Apr 2016
CEP authors contribute to international SEA book

CEP authors contribute to new book: European and International Experiences of Strategic Environmental Assessment: Recent Progress and Future Prospects

Bill Sheate and Ric Eales are co-authors of Chapter 8[1]  in the recently published Routledge text book European and International Experiences of Strategic Environmental Assessment: Recent Progress and Future Prospects, edited by Barry Sadler and Jiří Dusík [2].  

This book brings together the latest thinking in Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and considers the key question of whether the processes are having a positive impact on strategic decision making, both in Europe and worldwide.  Bill and Ric draw on their experiences with SEA practice and the wider literature to examine the effectiveness of national SEA systems in Europe. They identify main trends and developments; key issues and perspectives; key lessons regarding process effectiveness and quality of practice; and future directions and prospects.[3]

 

[1] Chapter 8: Effectiveness of European national SEA systems: How are they making a difference?

[2] Published 24 March 2016.  Look inside the book here for contents and introduction.

[3] See here for a pre-print of the chapter.

Team CEP
29Mar 2016
CEP PART OF THE PROJECT TEAM EVALUATING COMPLEXITY ACROSS THE NEXUS

CEP part of project team for the ESRC Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity across the Nexus

CEP is part of the  consortium of leading UK bodies who have initiated a new national research hub to develop new ways to measure the effectiveness of domestic policies on energy, water, environment and food (the ‘nexus’), and how they affect wider society.

The focus of the Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus (CECAN) is to pioneer, test and promote evaluation approaches and methods across the nexus where complexity (e.g. of the issues and governance) presents a challenge to policy interventions, and so contribute to more effective policy-making.

CEP’s Dr Clare Twigger-Ross and Dr Bill Sheate are members of the project team.

For more information see the ESRC press release.

Team CEP