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H2020Doctoral network2015–2019

SUSPLACE · SUSPLACE

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2015-10-01 → 2019-09-30
EU contribution
€3,818,411
Participants
13
Scheme
MSCA-ITN

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

SUSPLACE

Places face all sorts of sustainability challenges such as inequalities between places, exclusion of people, poverty, economic decline, resource depletion, ecological hazards and food insecurity. Often a narrow approach of sustainable development limited to efficient resource use is promoted, whereby development is understood as economic growth. Such a ‘place-less’ approach is not sensitive to differences in contexts and the relations between places. SUSPLACE, the acronym for ‘sustainable place-shaping’, assumes that the ability to adapt effectively to the current environmental and social challenges calls for an inherently ‘place-based’ approach. A place-based approach builds on the specific resources, assets, capacities and distinctiveness of places. Specifically, sustainable place-shaping is seen as a way to strengthen the capacities and autonomy of people in places. The assumption is that place-shaping supports their participation, collaboration, and collective agency. The overall aim of the Marie Curie ITN programme SUSPLACE was to train 15 Early Stage Researchers (or fellows) in innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to study sustainable place-shaping practices. A selection of European initiatives and cases were analyzed under the heading of five themes: Inclusive Places, Resilient Places, Connected Places, Greening Economies and Pathways to Sustainability. The central questions that guided SUSPLACE research were: What are place-based resources? What are place-shaping practices that can support the transformation to sustainability? How can the full potential of places and capacities of people be utilized to spur place-shaping processes? How can researchers support such processes?

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

SUSPLACE will train 15 ESRs in sustainable place-shaping by 1) its cutting edge scientific knowledge and methodologies 2) enhancing transferable skills 3) supporting a career development plan and 4) expose ESRs to science, public administration and governance, private businesses, NGOs and citizens initiatives. This will create career prospects for ESRs as an academic, policy-maker or policy-advisor, private business consultant or intermediate between various stakeholders in collaborative sustainable place-shaping projects. SUSPLACE consists of 6 academic beneficiaries and 7 non-academic partners. Training will include training-through research, joint training and events, optional courses, and 'on the job' training during secondments. SUSPLACE supports ESRs to complete a PhD-thesis. SUSPLACE will raise capacities to implement place-specific, integrative solutions via 15 individual research projects, divided along five interconnected research themes: inclusive, resilient and connected places, greening economies, and pathways to sustainability. SUSPLACE will share its outcomes with non-participants via a range of training, communication and dissemination activities. The integrative place-based approach of SUSPLACE will take up the societal challenges formulated in the EU Territorial Agenda 2020, and contribute to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and social innovation, to enhance social cohesion. SUSPLACE will provide insights and means how to fully utilize the potential of places and communities via interdisciplinary research in places and Living Labs. Sustainable place-shaping will strengthen the participation, collaboration, collective agency and leadership of people engaged in these places. Sustainable place-shaping entails a well-balanced: 1) socio-cultural re-appreciation of respective places; 2) ecological re-grounding of practices in place-specific assets and resources; 3) political-economic re-positioning towards markets, technology and policies.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY · WageningenCoordinatorNetherlands
  • BOSSCHAERT ANTONNetherlands
  • Binaural - Associação Cultural de Nod · Uniao das Freguesias de Antas e Abade de VermoimUnknown Region
  • CARDIFF UNIVERSITY · CARDIFFUnited Kingdom
  • HASKONING NEDERLAND BV · AmersfoortNetherlands
  • KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN · LeuvenBelgium
  • LATVIJAS UNIVERSITATE · RIGALatvia
  • LUONNONVARAKESKUS · HelsinkiFinland
  • SABIEDRIBA AR IEROBEZOTU ATBILDIBUKALNCIEMA IELA KQ · RigaLatvia
  • Suomen kestävän elämäntavan yhteisöt ry · ValittulaFinland
  • UNIVERSIDADE DE AVEIRO · AveiroPortugal
  • VISIONARY ANALYTICS UAB · VILNIUSLithuania
  • WELSH GOVERNMENT · CardiffUnited Kingdom

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union