Mainstreaming social sciences expertise in UK environment policy and practice organisations: retrospect and prospect

Carol Morris (), Beth F. T. Brockett, Sara Selwood, Victoria Carr, Jilly Hall, Joelene Hughes and Bianca Ambrose-Oji
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Carol Morris: University of Nottingham
Beth F. T. Brockett: Forest Research
Sara Selwood: Unaffiliated
Victoria Carr: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
Jilly Hall: Supporting the People who Support Nature (SPSN)
Joelene Hughes: RSPB
Bianca Ambrose-Oji: Forest Research

Palgrave Communications, 2024, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Building upon the concept of mainstreaming social sciences within conservation, we consider their mainstreaming, and so integration, within UK environment policy and practice (EPP) organisations. The paper responds to increasing calls to recognise the essential role of social sciences in addressing global environmental crises across policy, practice and research. An actor-oriented approach was deployed, producing empirical information from a multi-stage, co-designed, collaborative study involving 19 social scientists from a range of EPP organisations, to understand how they experience the mainstreaming of social sciences. The findings contribute to debates about the politics of knowledge in organisational domains other than those focused on research, specifically EPP organisations. Evidence was found of recent positive changes in how social sciences are perceived, resourced and utilised within EPP, as well as examples of positive impact. However, although EPP organisations are recognising the opportunities that social sciences expertise brings, in practice social sciences still face barriers to effective integration. Many of the challenges faced by the social sciences within academic multi-discipline research (e.g., late, narrow, or selective enrolment) were also experienced in EPP organisations, along with some unique challenges. Informed by the findings, the paper proposes a set of integration indicators designed to assess organisational progress toward addressing the observed challenges. It is recommended that these indicators are employed at a strategic level by EPP organisations seeking to better integrate social sciences expertise into their work.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1057/s41599-024-02891-z

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