EU FP7 PROJECTS


GLAMURS

GLAMURS -GREEN LIFESTYLES, ALTERNATIVE MODELS AND UPSCALING REGIONAL SUSTAINABILITY- seeks to develop integrated models of lifestyle change as well as the transition to a green economy, by taking into account the dynamics of lifestyles, the conditions under which economic systems are transformed and the governance designs enabling a sustainable transformation.  Therefore the performance of sustainable lifestyles was analysed in seven Case Studies across Europe by qualitative and quantitative approaches to identify relevant lock-in areas, potential paths towards alternative economies and governance designs fostering sustainable development. In this relation both internal (values, needs, motivations, identity, habits, social & personal norms etc.) as well as external (social, economic, institutional, structural) factors contributing to existing lifestyle patterns and lock-in situations were under investigation.

The People-Environment Research Group of the University of A Coruña has been the project coordinator of the GLAMURS project. UDC group was also the leader of the Work-Package 4. The overall objective of Workpackage 4 is to provide an empirically-grounded understanding of patterns of time-use (with an emphasis on work-leisure balance and leisure options, as well as on the perception and effects of time pressure) and associated consumption patterns for the six areas under study: status and use of homes, energy consumption in households, food consumption, mobility patterns, leisure options, and consumption of manufactured products.

We focus on the factors determining these patterns in the seven regions under study, as well as on the trade-offs and spillovers between time-use categories, levels of consumption and relevant internal and external constraints. It will investigate both internal (psychological – needs, motivations, and identity) factors as well as external (social, economic, institutional, structural) factors contributing to existing lifestyle patterns and lock-in situations.

More information about the results of GLAMURS project on the website: http://glamurs.eu

TRANSIT

TRANSIT (TRANsformative Social Innovation Theory) was an ambitious research project that developed a theory of transformative social innovation which is about empowerment and change in society. It was co-funded by the European Commission and ran for four years, from January 2014 until December 2017. The TRANSIT project was coordinated by DRIFT (Erasmus University Rotterdam – The Netherlands), and involved 12universities and research institutes from across Europe and Latin-America.

TRANSIT utilized a research method that encouraged feedback from social entrepreneurs and innovators, policymakers and academics, to develop a theory with practical relevance. The theory that has been developed is based on insights from other theories e.g. transition theory, social movement theory and institutional theory. The research project studied how social innovation can bring about empowerment and societal transformation.

The theory of Transformative Social Innovation was formulated in a dynamic and iterative process that builds on existing theory, grounded the emerging theory in in-depth case studies and tested it through a meta-analysis of the journeys of social innovation initiatives based on critical turning point data. Using an embedded case study approach, TRANSIT researched a total of 20 transnational networks, 110+ related social innovation initiatives in 25+ countries.

The People-Environment Research Group contributed to the formulation of a Theory for Transformative Social Innovation with a Social Psychological approach which focuses on the motivational factors and social learning processes for transformative social innovation. Drawing on the psychological developments of the Self-Determination Theory, we applied this framework to the in-depth analysis of social innovation networks and local/regional initiatives such as the Slow Food Movement, the European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banking, the Time Baking Movement or the European Network of Social and Solidarity EconomyThese social innovation networks were further studied on the Critical Turning Points Database, comprising qualitative accounts of more than 450 ‘critical’ episodes in the evolution of social innovation initiatives in 27 different countries.

 Consult the reports and results of the TRANSIT project on the website: http://www.transitsocialinnovation.eu/home

LOCAW

The People-Environment Research Group of the University of A Coruña was the project leader of the LOCAW project. LOCAW- LOW CARBON AT WORK- aimed at identifying the complex determinants of everyday practices in the workplace, as well as the ways in which practices from one life domain influence those in another, in order to be able to provide a thorough account of the barriers to and drivers of transitions to sustainable practices in organizations.

LOCAW has focused on three categories of practices, chosen for their relevance to achieving reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs): consumption of materials and energy; waste generation and management, and work-related mobility. In order to advance understanding on the determinants of everyday practices within large scale organizations, LOCAW undertook multi-method empirical research on the following dimensions:

a) analysis of the patterns of production and consumption in the workplace with their resulting GHG emissions;

b) analysis of the organizational strategies to reduce emissions and EU regulations regarding the “greening” of their production processes.

c) analysis of everyday practices and behaviours at work of employees and factors influencing it on different levels of decision-making within the organization.

d) the relationship between behaviours and practices at work and behaviours and practices outside work.

e) the patterns of interaction between relevant agents and stakeholders in the organization’s environment and the resulting barriers and drivers for implementing sustainable practices and behaviours in the workplace.

 

The empirical research was then used to derive a comprehensive and theoretically-sound account of determinants of sustainable practices in the workplace in the areas mentioned above and in different types of organizations. Six organisations were studied: two heavy industry organizations, two public sector organizations and two private service providers. The project research looked at structural, organizational and individual determinants of practices and at how they interact to create specific contexts that are either supportive of sustainable practices or create specific lock-in situations that hinder the possibilities to effectively carry our sustainable practices.

Furthermore, the conclusions of the empirical research were then used to develop simulations of the case study organizations in which effects of scenarios for transitions to sustainable practices were tested, for the target year 2050. These scenarios were built using participatory back-casting scenario development approaches, with workers of the organizations under study, and by formalizing theoretically and empirically driven conclusions on factors influencing transitions to sustainable everyday practices in organizations. Scenarios included policy pathways that were tested with an agent-based modelling approach. Agent-based modelling was used to both test the assumptions derived from the empirical research as well as to dynamically test policies that could contribute to effective change in everyday practices. Several policies were tested so as to check their effectiveness. Policies were checked separately, in combination, isolated in time and maintained through time.

Consult the reports and results of the LOCAW project on the website:http://www.locaw-fp7.com  


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