2022-2025
Horizon 2020 / european commission
For a fair and inclusive Green Deal
Policy
GENDER+
POLICY DESIGN
CO-CREATION
SOCIAL INNOVATION
"ACCTING has fruitfully combined three strands of learning: case mapping of inclusive bottom-up initiatives, action-research pilot cases, and multi-stakeholder ‘open studios’."
Dr Lara Houston
Research Fellow, Global Sustainability Institute and ACCTING Advisory Board member
A multi-faceted approach
ACCTING engaged in research along eight distinct ‘research lines’, which covered a variety of topics such as disaster management, land use and biodiversity, energy communities and energy poverty, energy efficiency in SMEs, food security and food values, and sustainable travel and transport choices. All research lines maintained a focus on the various inequalities and vulnerabilities that might influence outcomes in these varied domains.
ACCTING combined different forms of evidence to understand these inequalities and identify opportunities for more inclusive policy responses and societal initiatives.
OPEN STUDIOS: TURNING EVIDENCE INTO IDEAS FOR ACTION
Yellow Window had previously developed the participatory Open Studio methodology, and adapted its concept to fit the specific areas of study in ACCTING over two research cycles.
Research findings were translated in, e.g., personas and Better Stories, which provided the starting point for structured co-creation. Participants explored the challenges identified through the research, brought different perspectives and expertise into the discussion and developed ideas for possible responses.
The Open Studios created a clear pathway between evidence, collective exploration and action ideas.
Inspiring initiatives & better stories
“There is always a better story than the better story.”
Dina Georgis
From ideas to policies and actions
The Open Studio process fed into the project’s wider solution-development work, including operational recommendations, pilot actions and agendas for future research.
This created a connected process from understanding inequalities to exploring possible responses and translating project learning into resources for policy and practice. In particular, the ten pilot actions that were launched offered tangible benefits to people on the ground and generated valuable insights for future societal initiatives.
Most of the pilots covered individual research lines; for instance, Todas en bici (led by aquí in Barcelona, Spain) focused on transport choices, aiming to make cycling more accessible and inclusive by connecting cycling activism with social justice struggles. Another example is Echoversity (led by EcoMuseum Zagori in Zagori, Greece) which bolstered local citizen science and awareness campaigns in order to record and conserve the biodiversity of the region.
Moreover, two of the pilot projects transcended the research lines and facilitated positive action across a variety of themes: Uključi se! (led by the Young Researchers of Serbia) set up a digital platform that brings together volunteers with organisations that have need of them to help carry out their pro-environmental initiatives. School goes green (led by Per Esempio in Palermo, Italy) engaged students in secondary education, motivating them to participate in sustainable initiatives and mentoring them on activism and sustainability.
More information at the following links:
