“This project gives us a unique opportunity to explore how we can better govern environmental and digital policies,” says project leader Amanda Machin from the University of Agder (UiA).

She will lead the RECODE MLG project, which has received support from the EU’s Horizon Europe, the world’s largest research programme. Grants from this programme are considered highly prestigious.

The project will address one of the major, unresolved challenges facing the world today—the transition to societies that are both digital and sustainable.

While digitalisation increases energy consumption and places burdens on the natural environment, it can also drive technological innovations that facilitate the green transition.

“One of the most important challenges of the twin transition is making it less technocratic and more representative of different perspectives in society. If transition is not democratic it will not be socially legitimate,” Machin says.

Collaboration is key

To tackle these challenges, researchers will both analyse the possibilities of co-creation and use it as a method.

This means that different stakeholders — citizens, NGOs, authorities, and other interested parties — will work together in so-called co-creation labs to discuss problems and pathways to a greener and digital future. One of these gatherings will take place in Agder.

By involving more people, especially groups that are often overlooked, the researchers hope to create and test new forms of decision-making processes around difficult issues.

“Co-creation can potentially counteract decision-making being left to a small group of experts and bring in the valuable insights of different social groups with different kinds of experience and knowledge. But it is not necessarily easy,” says Machin.

Building trust and engagement

A key part of the project is to examine the possibilities and the barriers to cooperation between local, regional, national and international authorities as well as civil society and industry.

“We will create concrete tools that promote collaboration between public authorities and citizens and industry”.,” Machin says.

The project will conduct six studies in different parts of Europe. These studies will look at city networks, urban and rural regions, and cross-border territories, examining how the challenges of climate change and digitalisation are governed. They will also examine how to include the insights of those often marginalized in decision making.

The aim is to develop practical guidance on collaborative policymaking, according to Machin.

– We aim to provide recommendations to policymakers and to develop cutting edge social science on the governance of critical complex issues. This will help decision-makers design and implement policies that are both democratic and effective, she says.

Finally, a documentary film will be produced to share the project’s work with a wider audience.

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

• The full title of the project is Rethinking Co-creation of Digital and Environmental Policy in Systems of Multilevel Governance (RECODE MLG).
• The project is led by the University of Agder.
• Other participating universities include Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in the Netherlands, University of Heidelberg in Germany, Universitatea Lucian Blaga din Sibiu in Romania, Université de Lausanne in Switzerland, University of Trento in Italy, and Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.
• Two non-academic partners are also involved: Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar in Germany and Agder County Council in Norway.
• The project has a total funding of NOK 36 million, of which UiA receives NOK 8 million.
• It will begin in 2025 and last for three years.