New research tackles wicked problems
27 August 2020
New Tyndall analysis published in Futures, emphasises the importance of involving stakeholders when making decisions to tackle complex environmental challenges.
Alice Larkin, Claire Hoolohan and Carly McLachlan’s new paper published in the journal Futures, draws out insights from the EPSRC funded Stepping Up project. They studied the water-energy-food nexus, developing new methods and tools to tackle so-called ‘wicked’ problems such as climate change. The research challenges the dominance of optimisation models when analysing and designing solutions for mitigating environmental problems, highlighting weaknesses in prioritising technical over social solutions.
The team illustrate that participatory scenario analysis is needed to identify geographical, political and social barriers than can otherwise limit new innovations working at scale.
Read the full paper at the link below: