Knowledge Co-creation Research Articles

Changing hearts instead of changing minds – another take on climate action

This piece elaborates on a ‘new way of thinking’ (Einstein, 1946) that would contribute to overcoming the challenge of climate change and its impacts. This ‘new way’ will have us go beyond using facts and figures alone to persuade and cajole. It will have us stretching our moral imagination (Johnson, 2016) and empathising with people very different from ourselves. It will have us investing in processes of exchange which support the co-creation of knowledge and the future we want together.

Impacting life expectancies of incarcerated people through dialogic scientific gatherings and dialogic scientific workshops in prisons

The scientific literature has presented evidence that participants in dialogic scientific gatherings (DSGs) transform their scientific interest in science. DSGs are based on a dialogical perspective, where egalitarian dialogue and the co-creation of knowledge are the two corner pieces that allow the development of new meanings for participants, improving their scientific literacy. There is a clear gap in scientific studies regarding DSGs in prison. This is the first research to address the impact of DSG and dialogic scientific workshops in prisons. The study presents the positive impact of the DSGs and scientific activities in promoting scientific interest in incarcerated people. A communicative case study was conducted in a Catalonian (Spain) prison between February and April 2022. Nineteen males who were incarcerated aged between 29 and 44 participated in twenty-one DSGs and twelve scientific workshops following a communicative approach. Data were collected through fifteen communicative observations during the application of the DSG and eight interviews with incarcerated people and two interviews with prison workers involved in implementing the DSG. The activities conducted and analysed in this study demonstrate that bringing science closer to all people, including the traditionally excluded population, is possible. The results show that the persons who experience incarceration’s motivation to participate in these scientific activities, which fostered their awareness of and interest in science, gave meaning to their learning and transformed their interactions in and out of prison.

Challenges and Prospects for the Determinants of Socioeconomic Development in Rural Areas: Evidence from Lithuania

Abstract This article presents the newly introduced model for EU policy-making, based on combined ‘bottom-up’ and ‘place-based’ approaches by establishing rural science-society-policy interfaces – Multi-Actor Platforms (MAPs). MAPs are open forums for exchanging relevant ideas in solving region’s most urgent place-based challenges, performing co-learning, and acting as knowledge co-creation platforms for the contribution of creating reflective research and policy agendas for the future of Europe’s rural areas. The main aim of this paper is to explore the challenges and prospects for the determinants of socioeconomic development (i.e., entrepreneurship, social economy, and sustainable and resilient value chains) in rural areas, based on SHERPA science-society-policy interface co-learning and co-creation results in Lithuanian MAP. Research results show that the combined bottom-up and place-based approaches with the help of regional MAPs as science-society-policy rural interfaces hold high potential to be applied to develop reflective research and policy agendas for the regions in the EU.

Community art therapy (CAT): learning from art therapy graduate students’ perceptions

ABSTRACT Background In recent years, therapeutic approaches in the field of art therapy have gone beyond clinical models to include community models that emphasize the potential of art to influence communities in distress and encourage art therapists to expand their therapeutic interventions and extend their professional boundaries. Aims: This qualitative study was designed to better understand the experiences of art therapy graduate students who implemented community art therapy (CAT) projects during their internship after taking courses on CAT. It examined how they experienced the transition from the familiar clinical model to the community model. Results Five main themes emerged from the analysis: the students' perceptions of the differences between CAT and the familiar clinical art therapy setting, the specific role of the community art therapist, the role of the art, a sense of belonging to the community, and the power of the group in CAT. Conclusions The artistic process in CAT contribute to the co-creation of community knowledge through metaphorical expressions of identity and belonging. The students experienced the role of the community art therapist as a continuous dialectic between intervener-joiner who makes an impact and is also affected by the process personally. Engaging in a shared examination of the training of CAT allowed the educators and the students to achieve a deeper understanding of the challenges and the transformation required. Implications for practice CAT should be taught as a separate topic in art therapy programs, and CAT professionals should be trained to support and supervise students and therapists. Plain-language summary In recent years, the field of art therapy has undergone significant changes from traditional clinical to community models that emphasise the potential of art to influence communities in distress and encourage art therapists to expand their therapeutic interventions, extend their professional boundaries, and at times become social activists. This study examined 11 art therapy students’ reports on their experiences as facilitators of a community art therapy (CAT) intervention in communities of their choice. The students wrote a one-page reflection on each community intervention and completed the Helpful Aspects of Therapy (HAT) questionnaire that explores helpful and hindering events in each intervention. Five themes emerged: the students` experiences of the differences between traditional art therapy and the CAT setting in terms of the specific role of the art therapist, the role of the art, a sense of belonging to the community, and the power of the group in CAT. The students indicated that the role of the community art therapist involves a continuous dialectic between participants and the facilitator, who can make an impact but is also affected by the process personally. Overall, CAT should be taught as a separate topic in art therapy programmes and CAT professionals should be trained to support and supervise the work of students and therapists.

Unveiling Pathways to Enhance Social Learning Processes in Water Struggles

To advance actionable knowledge production in the context of water struggles, this article identifies ways to strengthen transformative learning processes within riverine social movements. The complex challenges associated with water struggles point to an increasing need to explore ways in which these processes can be shaped and to promote changes in the worldviews that inform how water and riverine environments are perceived and structured. This study draws on the grassroots movement for the social-ecological regeneration of the Taquara Stream in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Research on this case has shown that the actions conducted by this movement fostered learning processes through the creation of innovative forms of involvement that brought together multiple actors. A panel of experts conducted an in-depth analysis of the learning practices observed in this case. This article discusses five aspects of the learning process, which have been identified by the experts, that are essential to expanding the transformative potential of water-related social movements: (1) building relationships of trust between actors, (2) building links with and between key actors in the process, (3) creating dialogue spaces that promote the co-creation of actionable knowledge, (4) engaging actors spontaneously, proactively, and co-responsibly in the process, and (5) bringing participatory research into local processes.

Farmer-Centred Multi-stakeholder Platforms: From Iterative Approach to Conceptual Embedding

AbstractResearch on knowledge exchange in multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) within smallholder farmer settings has primarily focused on adaptive designs and increased innovation rates. This paper addresses a knowledge gap by providing insights into the limited understanding of how knowledge sharing in MSPs can be inclusive of smallholder farmers’ knowledge. It shares experiences with a farmer-centred approach to learning and knowledge-sharing with smallholder farmers in Ghana and places this iteratively developed approach within a theoretical perspective. We relate the farmer-centred approach to five design principles inspired by human-centred design rules and inclusive development dimensions. Findings from observations, interviews, and focus group discussions illustrate how the farmer-centred approach creates multifunctional spaces for peer-to-peer learning, interaction with institutional actors, and network building (design principle 1). Prior farmer-centred research ensured that themes addressed were relevant to participant farmers and brought their innovations ‘from below’ to the table (design principles 2 and 3). A majority representation of farmers, facilitation by local researchers, and organising platform meetings at the district level created a safe space for farmers to share their knowledge and feel included and empowered (design principle 4). Several local institutional actors took ownership of the platform principles, which created opportunities for their manifestation in future collaborations with farmers (design principle 5). However, challenges remain in engaging crucial actors from higher scale levels and reducing donor dependency. The design principles presented in this paper contribute to the genuine inclusion of farmers’ knowledge and innovations. We recommend government agencies at the national and district levels incorporate these design principles into their work plans and budgets and prioritise farmers’ knowledge and innovation capacity for inclusive learning and knowledge co-creation.

Roadmap to Achieve Green Project Performance: The Role of Knowledge Co-creation

AbstractThe current study has attempted to identify the factors that can contribute toward green project performance. Based on the social exchange theory, the current study highlights that green leadership directs and promotes green vision, bringing everyone on the same page to improve the green performance of the project. The mediating and moderating mechanisms of green creativity and co-creation have also been discussed. Utilizing the data from the development projects, the study tested the antecedents of green project performance by collecting data from 231 project employees in three waves. The study’s findings confirm the importance of green leadership to achieve green project performance. Green co-creation does not moderate the relationship between green leadership and green creativity. It is essential to identify the factors that can help us deal with the energy crises. Roadmap to achieve green project performance through green leadership is highlighted in this study along with the intervening mechanisms. This study provides guidelines to practitioners that green competitive advantage can be achieved by empowering employees under green leaders through motivation and inspiration.

Bridging research-policy gaps: An integrated approach.

It is often difficult for policymakers to make informed decisions without evidence-based support, resulting in potentially ineffective policies. The purpose of this article is to advocate for collaboration and communication between researchers and policymakers to enhance evidence-based policymaking. The workshop hosted by the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology-Eastern Mediterranean Chapter further explores the challenges of connecting researchers and policymakers. The article highlights the gap between researchers and policymakers, attributed to different visions and objectives, time constraints, and communication issues. To strengthen the research-policy interface, strategies such as enhanced communication skills and early involvement of policymakers in research are suggested. The article proposes an integrated model combining the Collaborative Knowledge Model and the policy entrepreneurship mindset, emphasizing the co-creation of knowledge and evidence-based policy solutions. The use of this model can lead to the development of evidence-based policies that effectively address societal needs.

Making It Matter: Hagiology in a 21st-Century Classroom

In the early twenty-first century, the humanities are facing attacks on their value. At the same time, colleges and universities in the United States are pressured to retain students as funding models have shifted and become more dependent on tuition dollars, at least in public institutions of higher education. The two go hand in hand because, in this environment, faculty members need to justify what they teach as being relevant to their students, and research has shown that students are more likely to thrive and strive when they see themselves in the curriculum. This is particularly true at Hispanic-Serving and Minority-Serving Institutions. This essay is based on the following question: how do we help students recognize that hagiological texts are relevant to them in a modern world in order to meet both aims? It provides the Life of Anskar as a case study to show that when hagiology is read and analyzed in the classroom in accordance with principles of culturally relevant pedagogy, through comparison and the co-creation of knowledge, the texts provide a way for students to better understand themselves, their world, and the possibility for social justice; in other words, they, the students, matter.

Mapping everyday community life in suburban shrinking areas around Tokyo: case study of Minamiashigara, Kanagawa prefecture

ABSTRACT Although the suburbs of numerous cities worldwide are shrinking, research on how to address suburban decline remains scarce. This paper explores participatory mapping in shrinking suburbs as a tool to articulate knowledge co-creation between local officials and communities to inform planning decisions. The paper argues that participatory planning helps to identify sweet spots, everyday life community spaces upon which to anchor regeneration strategies. Using as a case study Minamiashigara, a shrinking suburb of Tokyo, the paper discusses how sweet spots can be integrated into existing municipal strategies to alleviate the consequences of shrinkage.

A servant perspective of leadership and knowledge co-creation process for IT/IS exploration-exploitation innovation in the B2B enterprise context

PurposeThis study aims to build an integrated model for information technology (IT)/information system (IS) team exploration and exploitation innovation in the business-to-business (B2B) enterprise context by empirically investigating the mediating role of tacit-explicit knowledge co-creation and exploring the behavior approach of servant leaders for IT/IS team exploration-exploitation innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe authors' analysis was supported by 182 enterprise-IT/IS teams (403 participants) in Taiwan. The authors used a questionnaire and Structural Equation Model (SEM)-SmartPLS to validate the development model. This study examines IT/IS exploration-exploitation innovation using a combination of quantitative survey research and qualitative case studies.FindingsThe specific roles of direct and mediating effects for two innovations of IT/IS team exploration and exploitation were investigated. The findings show a direct effect of knowledge creation (tacit and explicit) on IT/IS team exploration-exploitation innovation. Servant leader behavior positively influences tacit-explicit knowledge co-creation practices, IT/IS team exploration and exploitation. Moreover, knowledge creation (tacit and explicit) successfully mediates the correlation between servant leaders and IT/IS team innovations (for exploration and exploitation).Practical implicationsManagers, IT/IS consultants and enterprises at the executive level are suggested to encourage knowledge co-creation practices, both tacit and explicit to support their IT/IS team innovation. The greater the degree of explicit knowledge (i.e. socialization and internalization) and tacit knowledge creation (i.e. externalization and combination), the greater will be the opportunities for meeting the enterprise-IT/IS team exploration and exploitation innovation goals. The project manager may follow servant leadership behavior to promote effective knowledge co-creation process on the IT/IS team.Originality/valueThis effort contributes to greater and new understanding of how ambidexterity capability, tacit-explicit knowledge co-creation (mediators) and servant leaders for IT/IS team exploration-exploitation innovation in the B2B enterprise context and new foundations for future studies on a cross-enterprise IT/IS team. This research is also the first empirical effort to understand how a servant perspective leadership contributes through the knowledge co-creation process for IT/IS exploration-exploitation innovation.

Black Relational Methodology: Sustaining Nuanced Joy in Educational Knowledge Co-Creation

Our co-knowledged article conceptualized one version of an educator-activist collective’s Black relational methodology (BRM). Co-conceptualization began through Nate’s invitation to the Collective, a relational space dedicated to knowledge co-creation capable of imagining equitable and just educational policy futures. Over the course of four collective sessions, an answerability defense, a conference presentation, and co-authoring this piece, we agreed there was something ancestrally ordained about our Black onto-epistemology. Nate rendered his coding activities answerable to the Collective and we forwarded two epistemic themes—nuanced joy and relationality—as seminal to our BRM. By conceptualizing our BRM, we aim to amplify narratives offering paths towards equitable Black futures, center nuanced joy in educational research, and illuminate the influence relationality has on knowledge co-creation processes. Finally, we implicate how BRM could be an important onto-epistemological component in decisions to mobilize knowledge co-creation in pursuit of equitable educational policy futures.

Co-creation of Knowledge and Learning in Participatory Processes: Case Study of the DIY Exhibitions from the Estonian National Museum

Co-creation of Knowledge and Learning in Participatory Processes: Case Study of the DIY Exhibitions from the Estonian National Museum

One Health governance principles for AMR surveillance: a scoping review and conceptual framework

Abstract Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a pressing global health issue with serious implications for health, food security, and livelihoods. Collective action, from local to global, that draws on the One Health (OH) approach to facilitate collaboration between the human, animal, and environmental sectors is required to inform initiatives to mitigate AMR. For AMR surveillance, this involves applying an intersectoral, multistakeholder perspective to guide the co-creation of knowledge and policy around the collection, analysis, and application of surveillance data to detect, monitor, and prevent AMR health threats. Currently, there is little available evidence on how to operationalize a OH approach to support integrated AMR surveillance systems, or on how the governance of such systems facilitates intersectoral action on AMR. We conducted a scoping review of the literature to identify the governance domains most relevant to applying the OH approach to the design and evaluation of AMR surveillance systems. We found that governance is a crucial component of the development of surveillance systems equipped to tackle complex, structural issues such as AMR. The governance domains identified include participation, coordination and collaboration, management, sustainability, accountability and transparency, and equity. These domains are relevant throughout all stages of policy design, implementation, and evaluation of AMR surveillance systems. Equity is both a domain and an essential component of the other domains. All the domains are interdependent and co-constitutive, so that progress in one domain can accelerate progress in another. The conceptual framework presented in this article can inform the design and evaluation of OH AMR governance systems and other complex health challenges that have similar barriers and facilitators to OH governance. The qualitative evaluation questions developed for each domain facilitate assessment of the breadth (the range of actors involved in governance) and depth (how meaningful their engagement is) for each domain relevant to OH governance. Finally, the prioritization of formal, sustainable, and democratic governance of AMR can help to facilitate achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and promote conservation of the use of antimicrobials for future generations.

Applications of Organisational Learning in the Healthcare Sector

To address these challenges, healthcare organizations must be knowledge producers, consumers, and co-producers of co-created knowledge. This knowledge needs to be developed continuously, involving everyday healthcare practice and organized collaboration around organizational learning processes. In this paper, I hope to provide a scholarly contribution on this issue, along with an outline of different theoretical and practical approaches, before detailing research projects about Greece and then summarizing the lessons learned. Moreover, organizational culture in public hospitals in Greece will be examined, as the context in which learning approaches were implemented is decisive for the success or failure of that learning. Finally, the way forward will be discussed.

Kharkiv Living Lab: from an open innovation ecosystem to a participatory system of food sustainability during wartime

Since its establishment, the main idea of the Kharkiv Living Lab has centered around the co-creation and dissemination of knowledge and innovative values related to children food. In the aftermath of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kharkiv Children's Living Lab has been transformed to adapt to the exigencies of wartime, and the primary focus shifted towards ensuring food sustainability during the war. The Kharkiv Living Lab reformulated its key principles, prioritizing transnationality, reactivity, and volunteerism. The activities undertaken by the Kharkiv Living Lab during the war time constitute a distinctive and unprecedented experience of implementing a Living Lab during war time, illustrating how «locality» and «globality» are cooperating to tackle food-related challenges during the war, and how a new quality of social ties emerges among diverse local actors, thereby contributing to the strengthening of social cohesion in the face of profound adversity. The activities of the Kharkiv Living Lab are a unique, if not the first, experience of the implementation of the Living Lab during the war, which demonstrated how «locality» and «globality» cooperate in the context of food support tasks, and how a new quality of social ties is created between different by local actors, which strengthens social cohesion in difficult times of trial. In this context, the Kharkiv Living Lab is an example of building a small integration system based on the principles of social interaction and cohesion. After all, the main task of the Kharkiv Living Lab is the joint and mutual creation, distribution and exchange of knowledge, innovative values, established social practices regarding children's nutrition. The involvement of students of Kharkiv secondary education institutions, their parents, teaching staff and the administration made it possible to create an innovative and permanent platform for the exchange of knowledge with their further integration into a common «knowledge bank», which is formed and supported by a consortium of partners of the international research project FUSILLI, which is focused on building food stability.

Local contexts as alternative knowing spaces for design fields

ABSTRACT Lately, the notion of a single, unified form of knowledge has been questioned, and there has been increasing recognition of the importance of context-specific, varied forms of knowledge. This shift is reflected in the field of design studies, where there is a growing movement away from dominant models and strategies and towards contextually based methodologies and a pluralistic knowledge space of design. This paper explores the idea of diverse and equitable ‘ecologies of knowledge’ to understand the interplay between forms of knowledge and the customs and values that either facilitate or hinder their co-creation. Respectively, local contexts and knowledge are proposed as alternative spaces in which pluralistic design knowledge can flourish. By bringing together the latest efforts in design towards plurality with the ecologies of knowledge framework, this paper provides insights into the methods and processes involved in collaboration and co-creation of new knowledge within design research. These guidelines can aid designers and researchers in formulating methods that are contextually relevant and mutually agreed upon when engaging with local communities and in forging more accountable and epistemically imaginative links with local contexts.

Decolonising pedagogy in practice: cuerpo-territorio to consolidate students´ learning

ABSTRACT Cuerpo-territorio is a method stemming from Latin American geography, which recognizes the centrality of situated and embodied experiences as a form of knowing. We engaged with this method in the classroom to understand how students through their embodied and situated experiences had absorbed a post-development geographic course content and how these notions had remained with them. Given that emotions, particularly when elicited by images play a major role in consolidating knowledge, we asked students to explore their embodied feelings related to the course content by reflecting and representing them in a visual form on a poster. Through this paper, we aim to contribute to the debate on the importance of applying decolonial strategies in the classroom by widening the methodological toolbox of our geography colleagues. We find that, given the diversity of the students’ population, working with a boundary object such as the posters helped students to relate to each other via the course content. Finally, reflecting and assimilating the course content through cuerpo -territorio, we argue, was conducive to consolidating learning outcomes, while students experienced knowledge co-creation with their peers.

Formation of a transdisciplinary community of practice in rural areas, with an interactive database of co-created knowledge: A case study in Noto, Japan


 
 
 Many rural areas suffer from severe depopulation, and the absence of a university is one reason for outmigration. Where research and education are valued, however, such rural areas can attract scholars and students visiting from universities and other external institutions. Scholarly outputs of research, such as research articles and project reports, particularly those from community-based research (CBR), can themselves become an asset for use by local communities. We consider that CBR can contribute to asset-based community development (ABCD) when a transdisciplinary community of practice (TDCOP) emerges and drives the processes of collaborative creation and use of the knowledge. A particularly critical mechanism, which is currently lacking, is to allow the local community to collect knowledge outputs and make them easily available to interested actors within and outside of the community. We assume that a core tool in this mechanism is an interactive database. It can be equipped with a user interface, allowing enjoyable and active searches, and possibly a mechanism by which users themselves can contribute to gradual development of the database. We formed a study group of researchers and practitioners to conduct a case study in the Noto region of Japan. We identified the existing assets in Noto, including the knowledge created through CBR, and then collected and shared our own experiences and practices, as well as lessons learned from other regions in Japan, to explore the principles of designing a database. A CBR database should not only be a static inventory of past research, but also capable of facilitating new cycles of knowledge co-creation. With a comprehensive and easily accessible inventory of knowledge in place, we conclude that there is high potential in enabling CBR itself to be an asset, which can help achieve ABCD in rural communities.
 
 

AGROECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES AND ITS GAPS IN ADAPTION IN TERAI FARMING SYSTEM, NEPAL

Abstract. The present paper examines agroecological principles identified by FAO and its gaps by local farmers in terai farming system of Nepal. Household questionnaire survey, focus group discussion and KII were major tools of required information collection with regard to gaps of agroecology principles in their farming system. Agro-ecological principles have been examined with current farming practices carried out by local farmers. The gap analysis has been done with respect to ten agroecological principles: Efficient use of resources, balance use of chemical and organic fertilizer, , crop diversity, co-creation of knowledge, recycling of farm waste, synergy of crop, livestock and forestry ,human and social value, circular economy, cultural and food tradition, land and natural resource governance. 87.8 percent of households were used flooding method of surface irrigation against to principle of efficiency and deficit of water leading to wastage of water and constraining self-generating nutrient capacity of nature. 91.60 % of total cropped area was dominated by paddy - wheat based cropping system against to the principle of crop diversity. 72.4 % farmers used farm yard manure in limited temporal and spatial coverage area ranging from 0.03 ha to 1.69 hectare with the average of 0.39 ha and three months of year against the principle of recycling farm wastage to farm. Almost 14 % of households were having agroforestry practices against to the synergies of crop, livestock and forestry. Participation of women and youth in farming practices was found decreased due to remittance-led family economy. Geospatial technology-RS, GIS and GPS were extensively applied in preparation of all these agroecological resource maps required for agroecological studies and creation of their geo-database for sustainable land use planning in Nepal. Finally, the study necessitated the government policy to be instutionalized towards agroecological concept and hoped the methodology developed for this study could guide for achieving this goal.