Is spatial planning a collaborative learning process? A case study from a rural–urban gradient in Sweden

International and national policies stress the importance of spatial planning for the long-term sustainability of regions. This paper identifies the extent to which the spatial planning in a Swedish region can be characterised as a collaborative learning process. By combining qualitative interviews and systems thinking methods we analysed the main attributes of public-led spatial (i.e. comprehensive) planning in nine municipalities representing a steep urban–rural gradient in the Bergslagen region of Central Sweden. We show that the attributes of strategic spatial planning needed for collaborative learning were absent or undeveloped. All studied municipalities experienced challenges in coordinating complex issues regarding long-term planning to steer territorial development and help to solve conflicts among competing interests. Stakeholder participation was identified as a basic condition for social learning in planning. Together with stakeholders we identified the causal structure behind stakeholder participation in municipal planning processes, including main drivers and feedback loops. We conclude that there is a need for arenas allowing and promoting stakeholder activity, participation and inclusion that combines both bottom-up and top-down approaches, and where evidence-based collaborative learning can occur.     

What You Don't Know Can Cost You: A Web-Based Experiment in Price Discrimination

This paper presents a Web-based experiential learning tool to assist instructors in conveying the central principles of price discrimination under asymmetric information. The game allows students to make monopoly-pricing decisions when the characteristics of individual consumers are not known. The Web-based approach allows for involvement by all students in the class and can be used in or out of class as a support for classroom lectures.     

Individualized student-centred education: prototype for an agroecology BSc programme

Students in agricultural universities follow a rather conventional and structured sequence of courses in specific discipline subjects. Here, a BSc programme in agroecology is proposed that will build on the unique competencies and prior experiences of each student, and will combine individual paths through the learning landscape with team projects and other group work to ensure social learning. Drawing on experiential learning theory and action learning, and confronting some of the perceived weaknesses in these theories, the programme is geared to build confidence in graduates to deal with complexity and uncertainty in future agricultural and food systems. Academic study will therefore be combined with field internships and frequent interactions with a range of people who are active in the farming and food system. Much of the learning will be accomplished outside of traditional academic boundaries. This, as well as the proposed blended use of electronic media in education, may present challenges to teachers and faculties. Teachers will need support to reconsider their roles and to redesign courses. Yet, we believe that steps can be taken in the direction of the proposed programme. There are already several examples of models for organizing teaching that can offer inspiration.     

Cross-level information and influence in mandated participatory planning: Alternative pathways to sustainable water management in Germany's implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive

State and non-state actors increasingly work across scales to address complex environmental problems. Prior studies of stakeholder participation have not fully examined how collaborative processes play out in multi-level policymaking. At the same time, multi-level governance studies do not adequately investigate the impacts of stakeholder participation. This study examines the cross-level interactions of influence and information in the participatory implementation of the European Union's Water Framework Directive. This directive is an example of mandated participatory planning, a relatively new approach that engages grassroots collaboration through a top-down structure with nested policy cycles. A case analysis of three collaborative planning units in the Land of Lower Saxony, within the federal governance structure of Germany, finds limited influence and information transmission across levels via formal planning and implementation processes. However, the collaborative efforts did yield alternative pathways for achieving substantive progress toward the directive's aims via learning, coordination, and buy-in among participants.     

An Assessment of Student Acceptance and Performance in Distance Education with Two-Way Interactive Compressed Video

This paper summarizes the debate concerning the value of distance education, reports distance education experiences in agricultural economics courses at The Ohio State University, and analyzes the effects of "distance" on student performance in and acceptance of the distance course. Results suggest that distance and "live" students performed equally in the same course, and they evaluated the course experience in a similar manner. These results provide some assurance that distance education, at least using the two-way interactive synchronous learning model of the courses in this study, does not place the distant student in jeopardy.     

Learning through practice? Learning from the REDD+ demonstration project,Kalimantan Forests and Climate Partnership (KFCP) in Indonesia

Despite a growing recognition of the importance of social learning in governing and managing land use, the understanding and practice of learning has received limited attention from researchers. In global environmental programs and projects aimed at supporting sustainable land use in developing countries, learning is often promoted but without explicit learning goals. The focus may be on capacity building and community participation, and on testing policy tools, rather than on collaborative social learning. In this study, we looked behind the rhetoric of learning in the Kalimantan Forests and Climate Partnership (KFCP), a large demonstration project for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in Indonesia. The novelty of such mechanisms, linked to international forest carbon outcomes, means that learning lessons provides a rationale for REDD+ pilot activities. We used a qualitative approach to examine the nature and type of learning that occurred in the KFCP. While the stated project aims were to support policy experimentation and apply learning, the project design was highly technical, and project decision-making did not explicitly encourage joint problem solving. Despite the project’s shortcomings, we identified that learning did occur by the end of the project in ways that were different to the initial goals. Our findings suggest that flexibility and openness in project design and implementation can enable different local actors to define shared learning agendas in ways that are meaningful for them. Designing and implementing environmental projects, and learning goals within them, should attend to the needs and aspirations of those who will have to live with their long-term consequences. Learning should be integrated into international environmental programs and projects at all levels, including for policy and funding bodies, rather than focusing on local capacity building and similar project ‘benefits’. Interviewees’ eagerness to learn suggests that building approaches to social learning into program design has the potential to yield opportunities for learning beyond REDD+ to other forms of policy experimentation and governance innovations.     

基于智慧课堂混合式教学在应用微生物技术中的应用探究

结合应用微生物技术课程的特点,利用智慧课堂平台进行线上线下混合式教学,相比传统课堂更能够满足学生不同的需求,增强学生的参与感,提高学生的学习兴趣.同时还能实现分层次教学,引导学生进行深度学习,达到提高教学质量的目的.本文以"认识病毒"一节为例,探究了混合式教学的具体实施及教学效果.课后测试显示,混合式教学可有效帮助学生掌握重难点.     

基于化肥减量化管理的农业清洁生产多方联动机制框架研究

[目的]化肥减量增效是实现农业可持续发展的关键举措和优先任务,文章首先基于环境经济学的外部性理论分析与国内外研究现状综述,提出了新形势下基于利益相关方的视角开展化肥减量化管理多方联动机制研究的必要性。[方法]为构建有效的多方联动机制,需要全面了解利益相关方参与化肥减量化管理的现状与主要问题,该文实地调研了普通农户、新型经营主体的耕地保护意识、地力改善意识、清洁生产支付意愿和对政府的主要利益诉求并对其做了对比分析,同时通过关键人物访谈了解基层农技部门、有机肥生产企业在化肥减量过程中面临的主要困难。[结果]构建了化肥减量化管理多方联动机制框架,具体包括肥料生产与使用监管机制、耕地保护责任追究机制、化肥减量化技术推广机制、农业清洁生产补贴机制和绿色农产品消费引导机制等。[结论]结合当前农业供给侧结构性改革的政策背景,强调通过综合运用规范性、激励性和市场性政策工具和手段,建立有效的化肥减量化管理多方联动机制是实现化肥减量增效和农业可持续发展的必然要求。此外,该文补充强调了当前化肥减量应坚持用地、养地相结合,化肥、有机肥配合使用,在保持和改善当前地力水平的前提下,通过提质增效来确保粮食安全、农民增收。     

Collaborative governance arrangements to deliver spatially coordinated agri-environmental management

Several studies show that agri-environment schemes (AES) are likely to be more effective if they are designed at the landscape scale. However, this requires spatial coordination of environmental management across multiple farm holdings and collaboration among governmental and other actors, including, possibly, groups of farmers. In this study we analyse alternative approaches to spatial coordination and collaboration. Through case studies from five EU member states in North West Europe we analysed collaborative governance arrangements, from the perspective of the distribution of governance tasks among collaborating actors and changes to these over time. Of these governance tasks, spatial coordination had our particular interest. The collaborative governance arrangements were shaped in various ways. In four out of five case studies a group of farmers had become involved in the performance of more governance tasks over time. In all cases a professional(ized) organisation (governmental organisation or a group of farmers) was responsible for spatial coordination, possibly due to the complexities inherent to a landscape approach. In relation to the change of schemes over time, we argue that adaptive collaborative governance, incorporating learning, monitoring and evaluation in the governance arrangements, is key to effective agri- environmental management.     

Co-creating Value in the Dyadic Relationships of Small and Large Firms in the Agri-food Sector

Given the increasing interest in the process of how value is co-created through interaction in business relationships, this paper examines the areas of collaboration, value co-creation practices and the respective co-created value in the dyadic relationships. Multiple case studies design involving in-depth interviews were undertaken with small and medium-sized suppliers (SMEs) of organic food in South West England with the dyadic relationship being the unit of analysis. The findings suggest that SME suppliers and their larger customers collaborate in many areas including: innovation, corporate social responsibility, planning and interactive learning. The collaboration led to co-creation of monetary and non-monetary values. This research advances the extant literature on value co-creation in business relationships by examining this complex phenomenon in the context of small and large firms’ dyads in the organic food sector. It is novel in identifying the linkage of the co-created value to the respective value co-creation practices and collaborative areas.     

Golf course irrigation and self-sufficiency water in Southern Spain

During the first decade of the 21st century, many golf courses were developed in the Southeast of Spain, which greatly increased the number of these facilities. Almost all of these golf courses have been accompanied by large residential developments composed of thousands of dwelling units. This article seeks to identify the factors that influence golf courses’ water consumption and estimate the number of dwelling units that an associated residential development needs to have to provide the effluent necessary to fully meet the irrigation needs of a golf course. The study indicates that private golf courses achieve greater levels of irrigation efficiency than public golf courses and that the golf courses associated with residential developments subject the irrigation needs of the grassland to the sale requirements of the real estate properties. The study also estimates that a golf course requires approximately 3000 dwelling units with an average annual occupancy of 33% to achieve self-sufficiency for irrigation.     

New institutional approach to collaborative forest planning on public land: Methods for analysis and lessons for policy

Collaborative planning has become an increasingly popular approach in environmental decision-making, particularly in situations where there are multiple actors with conflicting interests. In this paper, collaborative environmental planning is perceived as being embedded in an institutional environment that has an impact on the processes and outcomes of planning. Building on the theory of new institutionalism, the paper combines legal analysis of forest regulation with interviews and policy document data from two case studies on collaborative Natural Resource Planning in state-owned forests in Finland. These approaches will be used to analyse how formal regulations and informal norms are interpreted and implemented in the planning processes. The paper highlights the important role institutions can play in promoting or hindering successful collaborative planning, and makes recommendations for developing a forest governance system that is equipped to deal with the identified challenges.     

Assessing the potential of SRI management principles and the FFS approach in Northeast Thailand for sustainable rice intensification in the context of climate change

The paper describes the facilitated learning process of farmers, its results and implications in addressing the low productivity of Jasmine rice in northeast Thailand using the SRI-FFS approach in a collaborative action research. Other involved included rice traders, millers, researchers, government and non-governmental organizations. Working through an inclusive process of dialogue, observation, diagnosis, experimentation and exposure to different types of innovative agronomic crop management (IACM) practices resulting from the SRI–FFS approach, participants made a thorough analysis of the current management practices and evaluated various IACM practices for their productivity and profitability. The results confirmed the potential of IACM in enhancing crop and water productivity along with soil fertility with relatively low input-use (seed, water and fertilizers) and higher net farm-income compared to existing crop management practices. However, factors such as (i) the age of the farmers and (ii) off-farm employment opportunity are key drivers that affect the crop management decision-making process. Therefore, exploration of value-added production alternatives and favourable policies is required to sustain IACM that can benefit farmers, consumers and the environment. The participation of policy-makers at the action research continuum is essential for effective follow up, scaling up and sustainability of such environmentally sound practices.     

“世界水谷”协同创新效率测度模型研究

从系统的角度构建"世界水谷"协同创新系统,该系统包括政府、企业、高校、科研院所、金融机构5个子系统;通过回顾以往文献,构建基于BCC模型的多系统DEA模型,提出"世界水谷"协同创新效率测度模型——三阶段DEA模型,第一阶段为多系统DEA模型,第二阶段引入SFA模型,消除随机误差和环境因素的影响,第三阶段将结果代入第一阶段DEA模型得出最终效率值。模型同样适用于其他有关协同创新系统效率评价。     

Facilitating collaboration in forest management: Assessing the benefits of collaborative policy innovations

Collaborative governance and landscape approaches have become a more prevalent in public land management in the United States in the face of increasing ecological and societal complexity and decreasing government resources and capacity. In this era of devolution and social-ecological change, there is a growing need for policy approaches that facilitate partnerships and participatory approaches to land management. One unique policy that emphasizes collaboration and large-landscape restoration on US federal forestlands is the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP), established in 2009 to accelerate the pace and scale of forest restoration. The policy included novel characteristics such as a decade-long commitment to landscapes and formal requirements for collaboration. This program presented an opportunity to assess how this policy affected collaboration and the factors that led to differential policy implementation. We conducted 89 interviews across all 23 CFLRP projects with internal agency staff and external collaborators on each project. We found that the CFLRP generated a variety of benefits related to collaboration, including increased trust and stronger relationships, increased collaborative partner influence, decreased litigation and conflict, and increased capacity to accomplish work; however, there were also challenges associated with the program, including thetime-intensive nature of collaboration and the lack of industry or contractors. Various local factors affected collaborative outcomes under the policy, including staff turnover and capacity, local leadership, and collaborative history. Successful collaborative outcomes were widespread under the CFLRP, and from this, we draw implications for the broader environmental governance literature about the policy characteristics that facilitate collaboration and the other institutional variables that may require attention in this context.     

协同治理框架下黄河流域河南段水环境治理

为推进黄河流域河南段水环境善治进程,通过对水环境主要特征以及质量现状的分析,结合协同治理理论,构建了由党、政府、企业、社会组织、公众等多元主体参与,基于利益协调机制、信息公开机制、制度信任机制和政策协同机制这4个影响机制而形成的黄河流域河南段水环境协同治理分析框架。基于该协同治理分析框架,针对目前黄河流域河南段水环境治理过程中存在的问题,提出优化职权范围、推动多元主体参与以及完善影响机制等政策建议。     

农地细碎化的协同治理模式——以皖南繁昌区为例

研究目的：运用协同治理理论对农地细碎化治理实践进行实证分析,为破解农地细碎化困境提供一种新模式。研究方法：实地调查法和经验归纳法。研究结果：（1）协同治理是克服农地低效利用问题的重要方式,侧重于解决农业发展面临的农地细碎化问题,有效推动了农地整合与整体流转。（2）依托于制度、政策和理念构建的特定环境,多方治理主体构建完整的组织结构和权责配置形态进而塑造农地细碎化治理秩序,在此基础上借助多元主体利益协同、多方资源整合和多重机制耦合持续优化协同过程,形成农地细碎化的协同治理效应。研究结论：协同治理模式能够揭示中国农地细碎化治理的实践机制,为乡村振兴背景下农地资源高效利用提供参考。     

Examining the policy needs for implementing nature-based solutions in cities: Findings from city-wide transdisciplinary experiences in Glasgow (UK), Genk (Belgium) and Poznań (Poland)

To advance the science and practice of implementing nature-based solutions in cities, it is important to examine the obstacles and provide means to overcome them. This paper presents a conceptual framework of policy needs for analysing the science of nature-based solutions’ implementation and connect it to the practice of their implementation that advances the literature by connecting well-researched gaps to a more innovative action-oriented policy development approach that we argue is required for embedding scaled-up nature-based solutions. We conceptualise and ground the policy needs framework of skills, knowledge and partnerships theoretically in current literature of NBS policy and planning and empirically in three European case study cities: Genk in Belgium, Glasgow in UK and Poznan in Poland. The cross-case study analysis points to the knowledge needs of systems’ thinking and solutions-oriented thinking as paramount for implementing nature-based solutions. Our analysis further points to the skills’ needs of negotiation and collaboration for administrative silo bridging and for forging multi-sectoral partnerships essential for planning, and co-managing NBS. We conclude with three ways forward to addressing the policy needs for implementation: first, cities can invest in tailored and targeted capacity building programs, second, institutional spaces need to be established that allow for collaborative learning through and for partnerships and third, cities need to chart governance innovations that promote evidence-based policy for nature-based solutions’ design and implementation.     

A framework for evaluating and designing collaborative planning

Collaborative planning processes have been criticized for inefficiency, but attempts to improve them in planning of urban nature have been limited by lack of usable evaluation methodologies. This paper presents a framework for evaluating and designing collaborative processes in strategic planning of land use and nature areas. A framework with four key perspectives and their success criteria was developed with the help of literature and data from interviews and focus groups in two case areas in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland. Planning organizations can use the framework as a tool and source of inspiration in designing collaborative processes and their evaluation, and in shifting their practices towards the organizations’ own specified goals. A conscious design of more efficient and holistic collaborative planning can be achieved with case-specific operationalizing of this framework.     

农林类院校大学生创业法律风险认知调查研究

通过问卷方式,调查农林类院校大学生对创业法律风险认知的情况,分析法律风险认知与创业率、成功率之间的联系,探讨影响其创业法律风险认知的主观因素和客观因素,从而为毕业大学生就业问题的缓解提供研究依据。调查数据显示:农林类院校大学生对创业法律风险的认知程度较低,而日常学习法律的时长、学习内容涉及法律的程度、专业背景与大学生对于创业法律风险认知有显著影响。提出了高校应以创新创业课程为基础开展创新创业实践教育,学生应增强日常对法律法规的学习,学会用法律维护自己的合法权益等对策建议。