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Royal Irish Academy. Future Earth Townhall Meeting 17 September 2014 Twitter: @ RIAdawson Wi-Fi: RIA Public # FutureEarth Password: Academy 1. Future Earth Finland European Alliance of Global Change Research Committees.
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Royal Irish Academy Future Earth Townhall Meeting 17 September 2014 Twitter: @RIAdawson Wi-Fi: RIA Public #FutureEarth Password: Academy 1
Future Earth Finland European Alliance of Global Change Research Committees DrTanja Suni Secretary General, Future Earth Finland Executive Director, European Alliance of Global Change Committees
Outline FUTURE EARTH FINLAND • Increasing the influence of global change research in Finland • Structure • Current projects EUROPEAN ALLIANCE • Bringing the European national committees together • Two levels of operation: national and European • How does the European Alliance fit in Future Earth?
FUTURE EARTH FINLAND Increasing the influence of global change research in Finland Future Earth Finland is an organisation of experts that maps and identifies national research needs in the field of sustainable development. It responds to these needs in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders. • Established in May 2014, initiative from the Council of Finnish Academies • Preparation phase in 2013-2014, including 5 experts from natural and social sciences and a Future Earth liaison (me) • Includes former IGBP and IHDP national committees, links to the upcoming IPBES panel, and WCRP national committee as an ex officio member
FUTURE EARTH FINLAND Increasing the influence of global change research in Finland Our mission: to promote multidisciplinary and societally relevant global change research in Finland • FEF collects and produces information about the complex links and effects of global change. This information benefits both the scientific community and the society aiming at sustainable development • The aim of FEF is to bring together scientists from various disciplines, decision-makers, the private sector, NGOs, and funders to identify research needs and to discuss the best ways to produce solutions for sustainable development in Finland. • FEF also initiates and maintains a dialogue among the existing scientific expert panels that aim at supporting societal decision-making.
FUTURE EARTH FINLAND Structure • Steering Group of 9 members + chair: high-level natural and social scientists and the most central stakeholder groups: ministries and municipalities, industry, and economic stakeholders • Chair in 2014–2017: Academy Professor MarkkuKulmala, University of Helsinki • Secretariat: 2 (paid) staff, office at University of Helsinki • A volunteer stakeholder coordinator
FUTURE EARTH FINLAND: Current projects 1. Global Change and Finland –seminar series This two-year global change seminar series examines the global change phenomenon from an integrated perspective and studies what our small country can do in a changing world. 6 seminars in 2015-2016 Partners: • Ministries of Environment; Agriculture & Forestry; Energy & Climate • Prime Minister’s Office: Interministerial Working Group for Research and Evaluation (manager of new research funding for solution-oriented research) • City of Helsinki, City of Tampere, Climate network of six major cities • University of Helsinki, Aalto Technical University • Forum for Environmental Information (YTF) • National Climate Panel • National Consumer Research Centre, Finland / Project: Public Engagement Innovations for Horizon 2020 • Helsinki Energy & Rudus & Helsinki Environment Management (private sector) Phenomena Politics & Ethics Science Solutions End-products
FUTURE EARTH FINLAND: Current projects 1. Global Change and Finland –seminar series • All partners involved in the design of the seminar and the brainstorming (working groups, panel discussions, world café, other, innovative ways to get people working together) of and later co-designing of end-products • The end-product(s) and seminar format aim to produce impact and engagement possibilities: global change application software, rapid assessment protocols, gatekeeper analysis on global change operators • FEF will use the process of producing short- and long-term end products to start a living lab-network for global change researchers and stakeholders in Finland
FUTURE EARTH FINLAND: Current projects2. A living lab network on global change research • A living lab is a flexible, user-driven network of open innovation, typically used to develop products or services. • Member organisations form a collaborative network where parties commit to work together towards the desired result. • Central operators and stakeholders identified for each project: “end-users, private or public sector commissioners who give the assignment, developers, enablers”. • Applied to global change research, a living lab is a long-term interactive network where producers and users of scientific results find each other around relevant research questions. Requires a boundary organisationto hold it all together (FEF). • FEF aims to start developing the living lab along with 1-2 pilot projects during 2015-2016, for example “Industrial symbiosis in a fully recycling economy” to assess how fluxes of material and energy can efficiently be used between different production processes. • An important part of any industrial project is developing the relevant legislation simultaneously, so policy-makers need to be involved from the start as well.
FUTURE EARTH FINLAND: Current projects3. A networking event for science/policy organisations In Finland, several expert panels and other organisations work to enhance the dialogue between science and society in issues of sustainable development. This FEF event brings them together to discuss how we can advance sustainable development goals even better by working together. Timing: 4 December 2014 • Invited participants: • National Climate Panel, National IPBES panel, National IPCC working group, Government expert panel on sustainable development, Expert panel on national economy policy, Prime Minister’s Office: Interministerial Working Group for Research and Evaluation, Expert panel on Bioeconomy • Aims: • To map and identify research needs and necessary actions in the field of sustainable development • To find effective ways of collaboration and to avoid duplication of work (”chains” of events on one topic, feeding results from one to the next) • A joint secretariat for all the panels?
FUTURE EARTH FINLAND: Current projects4. Co-design training for new strategic initiatives Prime Minister’s Office InterministerialWorking Group on Research and Evaluation (RE group) 5 teams on main themes (welfare, business, security etc) 5 M€of new research funding for solution-oriented research • First round completed – 18 applications successful • Prerequisite: results must be accessible to end-users • However, rather disappointing and traditional “dissemination plans” • RE group serious about getting results that can actually be used, so • Three training events • FEF to introduce the concept of co-design to project leaders and RE officials
Outline FUTURE EARTH FINLAND • Increasing the influence of global change research in Finland • Structure • Current projects EUROPEAN ALLIANCE • Bringing the European national committees together • Two levels of operation: national and European • How does the European Alliance fit in Future Earth?
EUROPEAN ALLIANCE: bringing the European national committees together • Launched in 2008 as a bottom-up association of national committees of the four international global environmental change programs (WCRP, DIVERSITAS, IHDP, IGBP, now also Future Earth) • Includes today about 24 member countries • An extensive network of experts and researches representing science academies, universities and research institutions • Committees vary from one national contact point to an individual GEC program committee to integrated Future Earth committees • New chair and two-person secretariat since January 2014: University of Helsinki
National level Providing local knowledge for sustainable solutions • Future Earth aims not only at advancing understanding of global change and sustainability issues but also at contributing to solutions • requires understanding of local factors and an access to local decision-makers and stakeholders • National committees can provide this understanding by acting as a link between the science community and the local decision-makers and stakeholders • Relationships to local decision-makers created over a long period of time The Alliance aims to support its members to develop their activities towards societal relevance and dialogue with local stakeholders and policy-makers.
European level Organising joint input to European research strategy • Long-term goal I: to become a platform for science-driven discussion with stakeholders to determine and highlight European priorities in global change and sustainability issues. • Long-term goal II: To organize joint input to European sustainability and global change research and funding strategy (Horizon 2020 work plans, Joint Programming Initiatives (JPI)). • Short-term goal: joint input to fact sheets aimed at national and European funders and policy-makers together with Future Earth core projects • Extreme events and environments (iLEAPS, PAGES, CLIVAR, GEWEX, ESG, UGEC, ICSU-IRDR)
European level Organising joint input to European research strategy Represented in the meeting: • Future Earth Science Committee • Future Earth Permanent Secretariat, European hub • European funding landscape (JPI, Horizon 2020) Next annual meeting on 28-29 October in Bern, Switzerland, hosted by ProClim. All existing and future national committees invited!
HOW DOES THE EUROPEAN ALLIANCE FIT TO FUTURE EARTH?A vision of the potential role SCIENCE COMMITTEE ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT HQs and regional hubs • Implementing Future Earth science priorities • Liaising with and supporting core projects • Facilitating co-design NATIONAL COMMITTEES European Alliance CORE PROJECTS • Integrative basic & applied science • Scientific input to co-design • Connecting with new science communities • For solutions: local political, economic, cultural systems • Access to and dialogue with stakeholdersand scientists • Translating FE science to local narratives for end-users • Platform for scientific discussion - European priorities • Influencing European research strategies and funders (H2020, Joint Programming Initiative (JPI))
The European Alliance and Future Earth Finland look forward to collaborating with you! FUTURE EARTH FINLAND www.futureearthfinland.fi EUROPEAN ALLIANCE OF GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH COMMITTEES www.EA-globalchange.org
HOW DOES THE EUROPEAN ALLIANCE FIT TO FUTURE EARTH?Recent developments • Future Earth committees have been established in Finland, Sweden, Germany and most recently in Spain (June 2014) • The European Alliance has been in contact with EA members and European GEC community representing countries that are forming their Future Earth committees: • France is speeding up its progress • In the UK, the British Academy, the UK Biodiversity Committee, and the Royal Society are collaborating and discussing about Future Earth committee • Romania and Switzerland are planning to establish a committee for Future Earth (including stakeholders) • the Irish Academy of Science will hold a Future Earth Townhall meeting in September and European Alliance has been invited to share experiences • The chair and Secretariat have met with Peter Liss, the leader of the upcoming European hub for the Future Earth secretariat, and had preliminary discussions about division of labor to advance the European "cause” The Alliance aims to engage the European global change committees in the work of Future Earth and facilitate the dialogue between European national committees and Future Earth, acting as the voice of European national committees.
International Perspectives of Future Earth: Professor Tim O’Riordan, FBA, British Academy