Dr  Joanne Tippett - Research

Many of the social and environmental problems faced by industrial societies will not be solved without a fundamental re-think of how citizens and organisations interact with the environment. A shift towards sustainability will require new approaches that effectively integrate stakeholder and community participation with ecologically informed planning. In this research, Joanne draws on systems thinking and complexity theory, asking how changes in scientific paradigm may change the way we go about spatial planning. Future action research will test and develop the concepts underlying this approach.

Capacity building and adaptive learning

There is a lack of skilled practitioners able to facilitate integrated, participatory planning. This is a major barrier to sustainable development and our ability to respond to global challenges. In this research area, Joanne is developing new ways to build capacity amongst professionals, with a focus on reflective learning, creativity and communication. Joanne has conducted a research project with the Environment Agency, which looked at action learning for sustainability practitioners. She has worked with over 200 staff in Tesco in action research into improving sustainability skills through the Sustainable Consumption Institute at the University of Manchester.

Open source in knowledge propagation

Joannes research into capacity building has led to an emerging area of interest, looking at the potential for open source concepts of intellectual property to help in the development and sharing of new approaches to knowledge. She is currently exploring the potential for open source to promote the spread of ideas from sustainability research whilst maintaining the integrity of the ideas, funded by the Sustainable Consumption Institute.