Governing Sustainable Futures

Devon Communities Together is a partner in Governing Sustainable Futures, an ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council)-funded research project led by the University of Exeter that takes on one of the most pressing challenges of our time: how to govern sustainability transitions in ways that are effective and are acceptable to the public.

What is the project?
 

The way we travel, eat, use land and power our homes is changing as we try to become more sustainable. But these changes don’t always have widespread support and can sometimes cause disagreement or conflict within communities.

This University of Exeter research looks at what happens when attempts to make our lives more sustainable become controversial in particular places.

The project focuses on these local “flashpoints” — for example, changes to transport, farming and land use, food production or energy. It explores why people disagree, what influences those disagreements, and how local communities experience and respond to these changes.

Working with organisations and communities in Devon and elsewhere in the UK, the research is also looking at how decisions about sustainability can be made in a more open and inclusive way, so that local people have a meaningful say and the outcomes are fairer and more effective.

Find out more on the project website here: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/research/institutes/gsi/research/climateriskresilienceandadaptation/gov_sust_futures/