0000000000939376
AUTHOR
Talis Tisenkopfs
Learning and Innovation in Agriculture and Rural Development: The Use of the Concepts of Boundary Work and Boundary Objects
Purpose: The paper explores the role of boundary work and boundary objects in enhancing learning and innovation processes in hybrid multi-actor networks for sustainable agriculture (LINSA). Design/Methodology/Approach: Boundary work in LINSA is analysed on the basis of six case studies carried out in SOLINSA project under a common methodology. In developing typologies of boundary work and objects, a grounded approach is used. Findings: LINSA analysis demonstrates the dynamic character, diverse forms and multiple functions of boundary work and objects in three domains: learning, innovation, and sustainability. Addressing specific types of goals and actors leads to specific types of boundary …
Learning as Issue Framing in Agricultural Innovation Networks
AbstractPurposeNetworks are increasingly viewed as entities of learning and innovation in agriculture. In this article we explore learning as issue framing in two agricultural innovation networks.Design/methodology/approachWe combine frame analysis and social learning theories to analyse the processes and factors contributing to frame convergence and hence improved practical collaborative outcomes in networks. Issue framing in the networks was followed during a two-year period with the help of multiple methods assembled under a transdisciplinary case study, action research and grounded methodology framework.FindingsOur research suggests that learning and collective action for more sustainab…
A Comparative Analysis of the Social Performance of Global and Local Berry Supply Chains
The goal of this paper is twofold: to comparatively analyze the social performance of global and local berry supply chains and to explore the ways in which the social dimension is embedded in the overall performance of food supply chains. To achieve this goal, the social performance of five global and local food supply chains in two countries are analyzed: wild blueberry supply chains in Latvia and cultivated raspberry supply chains in Serbia. The study addresses two research questions: (1) What is the social performance of the local and global supply chains? (2) How can references to context help improve understanding of the social dimension and social performance of food supply chains? To…
A discursive analysis of oppositional interpretations of the agro-food system: A case study of Latvia
Abstract This article critically reflects on the literature that addresses the complexity of food systems, which is often caught in application of simplistic binary oppositions of local vs. global, short vs. long, sustainable vs. intensive, etc. It then goes on to show, through a case study analysis of food-system discourses in Latvia how the binary oppositions surrounding with food systems, are actually mobilised in a specific national context. Agro-food systems are often explained through binary opposing knowledge systems that, depending on the theoretical affiliation of the author, might be called frames, narratives or discourses. These powerful instruments are used to explain, and often…
Manoeuvring between regulations to achieve locally accepted results : analysis of school meals in Latvia and Finland
Rather than having a consistent food policy, countries often tend to regulate food from the margins of other policy domains such as agricultural, environmental, welfare or educational policies. Regulatory interventions perceive food as an instrument rather than a domain with its own specific set of policy issues and view food provision as an activity to achieve certain economic, social and environmental objectives. This fragments the food policy into disintegrated points of interventions from various policy areas and leaves unregulated voids that can be exploited either to improve or to reduce the effectiveness of the interventions. This article explores interlinkages between fragmented pol…
Network governance arrangements and rural-urban synergy
Increasing attention has been paid to the importance of balanced rural–urban interaction to sustainable regional development. Yet, our knowledge on the elements of network governance for such interaction is scarce. The aim of this paper is to study what kind of network governance arrangements currently exist, how they can be improved, and whether evolutionary governance paths can be identified. We analyse five existing and evolving cases of functioning rural–urban interaction in European Union (EU) member states, using a network governance framework as an analytical lens. We supplement the governance analysis with examining what kind of spatial understanding or combination of di…
Are local food chains more sustainable than global food chains? Considerations for assessment
© 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This paper summarizes the main findings of the GLAMUR project which starts with an apparently simple question: is "local" more sustainable than "global"? Sustainability assessment is framed within a post-normal science perspective, advocating the integration of public deliberation and scientific research. The assessment spans 39 local, intermediate and global supply chain case studies across different commodities and countries. Assessment criteria cover environmental, economic, social, health and ethical sustainability dimensions. A closer view of the food system demonstrates a highly dynamic local-global continuum where actors, whil…
Rurality as a Created Field: Towards an Integrated Rural Development in Latvia?
The article looks at the post-socialist countryside as a created field constructed through the discourses and practices of different actors. Despite the fact that small-scale holdings are the major outcome of agricultural reform, and subsistence oriented farmers constitute the bulk of the rural population, there are a variety of other actors in the new Latvian countryside. Their interests are reflected in three competing approaches to rural development: the small farmer approach, the liberal economic approach and the integrated development approach. Although it is not yet clear which strategy will take the lead, the article argues for policies in favour of varied rural actors, the strengthe…