Why the future Why the future is important: is important: The value of The value of research research partnershipspartnerships

Mary-Ellen Tyler & Mike Mary-Ellen Tyler & Mike QuinnQuinn

CRP General Assembly - November 22, 2012

… as shown by the future of fashion video

… The Future is Uncertain!

The CMP is about ‘preferred’ outcomes in the Future

Understanding how regional social-ecological system functions are spatially organized and interconnected can help guide the spatial configuration for sustainable growth patterns.

- “bounding” is difficult- problem definition unclear- cause/effect relationships are non-linear- social values are critical- engaging the problem changes it

Sustainability Problems are “Wicked problems”

The CMP is about managingWicked Problems

Research is about finding new ideas and information to inform decision-making and enable innovative actions

“over the last 20 years a slowing of investment in research and innovation has held Canada back”

- Calgary Herald p. E1,Oct. 31, 2012

“The Conference Board of Canada gave Canada a ‘D’ for innovation”

“business intelligence is not just for business anymore …”

Calgary Herald November ‘12

There is a reason why business intelligence sounds like an astute approach to decision making

… it is!

“Having some pretty graphs and columns of numbers won’t necessarily provide actionable insight into decision making”

- Financial Post p.E8, Oct. 31, 2012

What do Strategic decision-makersNeed to know?

“Facts, trends and predictive ‘what if’ scenarios need to factor into critical decision-making”

- Financial Post p.E8, Oct. 31, 2012

Research involves Innovation

Innovation involves Re-Framing

Innovation related to Climate Change?

The Sustainability Transformation (Atkisson)

▪ Indicators – tell us what’s happening

▪ Systems – non-linear cause-and-effect linkages

▪ Innovation – changes that are new to the system of interest

▪ Strategy – a plan for getting from here to there

Efficiency is not enough

▪ Good science is necessary - but not sufficient

▪ Coupled human and natural systems

▪ Inter-connections and feedbacks

Resilience

Resilience is the capacity of a systemto deal with change and continue to develop.

Resilience thinking embraces learning, diversity and above all the belief that humans and nature are strongly coupled to the point that they should be conceived of as one social-ecological system (Resilience Alliance 2012).

A few examples of current research

“Ecological infrastructure, resilience and governance in the Calgary region: a partnership for regional sustainability”

▪ Researchers - Drs. Quinn and Tyler, Post-Doctoral, PhD and Masters Students in Environmental Design & the Miistakis Institute for the Rockies at U of C.

▪ Value Added – close to $400,000 from SSHRC Partnership Development Grant and Private Foundations brought to CRP research over the last 5 years

Research Relationship with CRP ongoing over the last 6 years

1. Re-framing & the Co-creation of Knowledge

▪ shift from specific tasks and projects to “orchestrating processes of co-creation, creating new solutions with people, not for them” (Bason, 2010)

▪ shift from silos of expertise (climate modeling, in-channel flow modeling) to transdisciplinary integrative networks

▪ shift from ‘assuming’ there are social and ecological systems to identifying the regional footprint of a social-ecological network

Green Flow’ > 70%Blue Flow < 30%

2. Re-framing Water

Managing the Hydrologic Cycle

A Regional Moisture Gradient in thirds…

WEST EAST

Protect the Source

- Primary recharge

Careful land cover management in the transition zone

- Critical for mid-late summer low flow periods

Maintain wetland dynamics

- Compatible with ecological design interventions

3. Re-framing Landscape Connectivity

Process map of Analysis of Landscape Connectivity using a permeability approach

Process map of Analysis of Landscape Connectivity using a permeability approach

Human footprint (H)

4. Re-framing Government to ‘Governance’

• Network governance emerging concept for better manage complex social ecological systems

• ‘Bridging organizations’ such as the CRP are an example of network governance.

• Looking for patterns of effective governance configurations

Re-framing the Future?

Thank You! Season’s Greetings!

This Holiday Season Don’t Drink

and Reframe!