1. Enacting a just and sustainable blue economy through transdisciplinary action research.
- Author
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Heidkamp, C. Patrick, Garland, Michaela, and Krak, Louie
- Subjects
BLUE economy ,ACTION research ,IMAGINATION ,ECONOMIC forecasting ,PROBLEM solving ,COMMUNITIES ,CRITICAL realism - Abstract
To enact a just and sustainable blue economy, one must consider all the actors involved in its shaping. This paper argues that a quintuple helix approach to stakeholder engagement – involving government, academia, the business community, and civil society – and an inclusive transdisciplinary action research (TAR) methodology are promising avenues with which to do so. Embracing critical pragmatism as a foundational framework, key ideas from three strands of research are consolidated: (1) the recent work on the geographical dimension of socio‐technical sustainability transitions; (2) the literature on just sustainabilities and just transition; and (3) action research and transdisciplinary approaches to problem solving. This allows for the reimagination of a common future for the blue economy that is developed through a different kind of democratic process driven and informed by co‐learning, and shared experiences. By adopting a transdisciplinary action research approach, actors from different disciplines and spheres of experience can gain a better mutual understanding and find commonality through the open door of collaboration. The theoretical argument presented in this paper is illustrated by a vignette of an ongoing TAR project at Southern Connecticut State University, which outlines the challenges and opportunities inherent to implementing a TAR approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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