Perceived benefits and challenges of academic involvement in three strategic environmental assessments in Central Europe

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to reflect on the contribution academics make to SEA processes in practice, in particular the benefits that arise from that collaboration for both, practitioners and academics, as well as challenges. In this context, the authors focus on the perceptions of those involved in SEA. Three non-routine SEA case studies from Central Europe are explored, including a Polish-German development programme SEA, a 6-country (Austria, Slovenia, Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany) Alpine program SEA and a German marine spatial plan SEA. Information was obtained through interviews and questionnaires conducted with academics as well as private and public SEA actors. Participant observations were used to support the interpretation of results. In the three cases, academics fullfilled different roles, including being providers of expert knowledge and being members of advisory committees. Results suggest an overall positive perception of collaboration between academia and practice, with important contributions being the introduction of novel ideas and innovative assessment methods in SEA, the contribution of knowledge from the academic literature, and the generation of scientific backing for new approaches. Potential challenges for collaboration were found to be associated with negative previous experiences of actors with science-practice interactions along with some contextual factors. Academics benefit from implementing research knowledge in practice. Furthermore, teaching becomes informed by practice and can thus better embrace real life situations.