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Institutions for Social Learning Towards Sustainable Development

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IDGEC Synthesis Conference. 6-9 December 2006, Bali ... Reflexion and adaptation observed: Process. Results. Adaptive Learning. Reflexive Learning ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Institutions for Social Learning Towards Sustainable Development


1
Institutions for Social Learning Towards
Sustainable Development
  • Bernd Siebenhüner Oldenburg University

2
Growing Awareness on Knowledge and Learning
  • Policy learning
  • Sabatier (1987, 1988) Advocacy coalition
    framework
  • E. Haas (1990) When Knowledge is power
  • P. Haas/Adler (1992) Epistemic communities
  • Mitchell et al. (2006) Information and/as
    influence
  • Policy diffusion
  • Rose (1999, 1994) Lesson drawing
  • Tews/Busch (2004) Diffusion of environmental
    policy innovations across different countries
  • Social learning
  • The Social Learning Group (2001) Societies learn
    to manage acidification, climate change and ozone
    depletion
  • Adaptive co-management

3
Defining Social Learning
  • Social learning can be understood as
  • a process of change on the level of a society or
    collective actors
  • that is based on newly acquired knowledge, a
    change in predominant value structures, or of
    general belief systems
  • which results in observable outcomes.

4
Approaching collective actors
  • No coherent use of the term actor in social
    sciences
  • Actor-centred institutionalism composite actors
    that have the capacity for intentional action
    (Scharpf, 1997)
  • Separate or collective control over action
    resources
  • Capabilities to employ resources in strategic
    action
  • Examples social/political movements, political
    associations, corporate actors
  • Management studies Organisations as systems of
    coordinated and controlled activities (Argyris
    Schön, 1996)
  • agreed-upon procedures for making decisions in
    the name of the collectivity,
  • individuals that have the authority to act for
    the collectivity
  • boundaries between the collectivity and the rest
    of the world

5
Defining collective actors
  • Collective actors build on
  • Membership patterns
  • Common objectives
  • Coordinated individual actions
  • Collectively shared routines
  • Authority to act for the collectivity
  • Boundaries between the collectivity and the
    envrionment

6
Forms of Learning
  • Adaptation
  • change in routines induced by external processes
    that do not include changes in the cognitive
    frameworks of the collective actor and its
    members
  • Error correction
  • Reflection
  • change in routines through change in the
    prevalent knowledge structure including the
    prevalent cognitive frame and the objectives

7
Key Influencing Factors
  • Existence of effective learning mechanisms such
    as regular evaluations, specific committees,
    workshops etc. (Poper and Lipshitz, 1995,
    Armstrong and Foley, 2003)
  • Organizational culture (Schein, 1985)
  • Leadership to initiate and promote learning
    processes (Glynn, 1996, Witt, 1998)
  • Contextual factors

8
Case Study Business Firms
  • Case studies of 6 German medium-sized and large
    corporations
  • Selection criteria
  • Sustainability related changes in product or
    process designs (successful/positive examples)
  • General sustainability strategies with observable
    effects

9
Case Study Business Firms (2)
  • Medium-size businesses have a higher potential
    for radical change than large companies
  • Reflexion and adaptation observed

10
Case Study International Organizations
  • Qualitative case studies in
  • World Bank
  • OECD
  • IMO
  • GEF
  • Treaty secretariats of UNFCCC, UNCCD, CBD, Ozone
  • Reflection with resulting change in the internal
    structure UNEP, World Bank
  • Adaptation resulting in the development of an
    environmental policy World Bank, GEF
  • Adaptation resulting in the adoption of new
    policies UNFCCC, UNEP, UNCCD, CBD
  • No learning IMO

11
Comparing Learning Processes
  • Externally different conditions (orientation on
    markets versus national governments)
  • Both types of organization show reflexive and
    adaptive learning processes
  • Size (and autonomy) helps reflexive learning, but
    inhibits implementation of results

12
Influencing Factors Learning Mechanisms (1)
  • Business firms
  • target-driven learning mechanism
  • formal communication (manual, trainings) and
    top-down diffusion of new knowledge
  • well structured research development processes
    drive learning and innovation
  • International organizations
  • Task force with internal and external experts
    (UNEP)
  • Evaluation department (World Bank)
  • Staff retreats (World Bank, UNCCD)
  • Workshops with experts (OECD)
  • Project reviews (GEF)
  • External review through governments/COP (CBD,
    UNCCD)

13
Influencing Factors Learning Mechanisms (2)
  • Any learning process necessitates a learning
    mechanism
  • Actors employ different learning mechanisms that
    seem to suit them
  • Learning mechanisms differ with regard to the
    inclusion of external knowledge
  • Business firms excluding external knowledge
  • International organizations including external
    knowledge (exception UNCCD Secretariat)

14
Influencing Factors Organizational Culture
  • No coherent pattern
  • Business firms
  • Culture matters for learning
  • Large firms
  • stakeholder demands are taken seriously
  • companies in fear of loss of reputation
  • elaborate sustainability reporting schemes
  • Medium-size firms management commitment crucial
    for sustainability culture
  • International organizations
  • Homogeneity and heterogeneity of professional
    cultures help learning

15
Influencing Factors Leadership
  • Business firms
  • leadership played in most cases an important role
    combined with a participatory culture of decision
    making
  • Medium-size firms leadership of executive level
    crucial
  • Large firms leadership executed by
    sustainability units or RD departments
  • International organizations
  • key role of leaders in UNEP and World Bank
  • Reflexive learning necessitates leadership while
    adaptation can take place without strong
    leadership

16
Contextual Factors
  • Business firms
  • Stakeholder pressures in case of large firms
    highly relevant
  • Markets often hindering than supportive of
    sustainability initiatives
  • Legal requirements partly support sustainability
    changes
  • International organizations
  • Pressure from governments or NGOs
  • More general policy processes UNCED and Joburg
    dynamics
  • Pressure from within the UN systems

17
Conclusions
  • Successful learning of collective actors requires
    adapted institutional arrangements for learning
    (learning mechanisms)
  • Organisational culture of openness to change
    necessary
  • Learning-oriented leaders at executive level are
    called for in IOs and medium-sized companies in
    large companies in med-level management
    positions
  • Good learners seem to have sizeable external
    effects

18
Questions for Future Research
  • Do these factors hold true also for other
    collective actors?
  • How do different collective learners interact and
    create a societal learning process?
  • How do different scales interact local, national
    and global levels of learning?
  • How to improve methods and concepts of (social)
    learning?
  • How does learning and knowledge relate to
    political power and economic self-interest?

19
Thank you!
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