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A legtöbb szerző egységesen a helyi gazdaságfejlesztés céljaként a helyben élők helyzetének javítását jelöli meg. Ugyanakkor nem tisztázzák sem azt, hogy mit értenek a helyben élők jólétén, sem pedig azt, hogy a javasolt beavatkozások hogyan hatnak arra. Tanulmányunkban a helyi gazdaságfejlesztés jólétértelmezését fejtjük ki az egyik legnagyobb hatású kortárs közgazdaságtani/filozófiai gondolatrendszer, a képességszemlélet alapján. Azt vizsgáljuk, hogy a jólét fogalmával kapcsolatos különböző előfeltevések hogyan befolyásolják a helyi gazdaságfejlesztés célját, fókuszát és munkamódszerét. Tanulmányunkban megmutatjuk, hogy a képességszemléletre alapozott helyi gazdaságfejlesztés jelentősen különbözik az általunk eszközorientáltnak nevezett modelltől. Szemben az értéksemlegesnek és objektívnak gondolt szokásos fejlesztési megközelítésekkel, a képességszemlélet-alapú helyi gazdaságfejlesztés emberi értékeket középpontba állító, nyíltan értékvezérelt, közösségközpontú megközelítést kínál. Amellett érvelünk, hogy a képességszemlélet melletti elköteleződés nagyban segítheti a helyi fejlesztésekkel kapcsolatos kudarcok megértését és hozzájárulhat ahhoz, hogy olyan megoldások szülessenek, amelyek az eszközorientált modellben felismerhetetlenek. Rámutatunk arra is, hogy az érintettek aktív részvétele (a problémafeltárástól kezdve egészen a megoldások megtalálásáig és végrehajtásáig) a fejlesztés eredményétől függetlenül is értékes tevékenység, amely elősegítheti a helyi gazdaságfejlesztés sikerét.

Nemzetközi felmérések, valamint hazai kutatások egyaránt rámutatnak arra, hogy az európai és a hazai cigány lakosság zöme a társadalom leghátrányosabb helyzetű csoportjai közé tartozik. A cigányság esetében a társadalmi hátrányok és a térbeli szegregáció sok esetben összekapcsolódnak. Tanulmányunk középpontjában a fenti problémához kapcsolódó szegedi esettanulmány áll. 2011 eleje óta részvételi akciókutatási folyamat keretében együttműködünk helyi roma vezetőkkel és helyi szegregátumokban élő családokkal. Együttműködésünk célja kettős: kutatóként egyrészt érvényes tudást szeretnénk létrehozni a cigányság (helyi szintű) társadalmi integrációjáról, másrészt e tudást a gyakorlatban is tesztelve szeretnénk közösen hozzájárulni az integrációhoz. Az elmúlt bő három év során számos kutatási eredménnyel, tapasztalattal gazdagodtunk a helyi társadalmi kirekesztéssel és integrációval, annak területi-térbeli vetületeivel, valamint a helyi politikai döntések és a társadalomtudomány viszonyával kapcsolatban. Tanulmányunkban néhány, a témát érintő általános kutatás-módszertani és -etikai kérdés mellett kitérünk arra, hogyan függ össze a térbeli szegregáció a társadalmi hátrányokkal, hogyan befolyásolják azt a helyi politikai folyamatok, valamint írunk a társadalomkutatással szembeni követelményekről, amennyiben az a részvételi akciókutatás megközelítése mentén a társadalmi integráció kérdésével foglalkozik. Következtetésünk, hogy a részvételi akciókutatás megközelítése a társadalomkutatást új kihívások elé állítja, és a társadalmi integrációval foglalkozó részvételi akciókutatás könnyen azt eredményezheti, hogy a kutató „objektív”, „kívülálló”, „független” szakértőből helyi politikai szereplővé válik. Ez azonban nem a szakértői-kutatói szerep megváltozását, pusztán a kutatói szerep mögött szükségszerűen megjelenő érdek- és értéktartalom nyílttá tételét jelenti.

An approach that has been suggested as potentially addressing the challenges of science-policy-interfaces (SPIs) is the mobilization of existing networks through a 'network-of-networks' (NoN) approach. This paper shares empirical findings from a mixed-method study, combining qualitative and quantitative data, that critically evaluates the 'network-of-networks' approach for SPIs. To establish whether and how a NoN can help existing networks act more effectively at the boundary of science and policy, we use the Eklipse Mechanism as a key example. We analyse the major characteristics of networks active in biodiversity-focused science-policy interactions, the potential roles and types of engagement of participants, and the major challenges faced by networks and individuals when acting at the boundaries of science and policy. Results suggest that the more diverse the actors involved, the more effective the SPI. While a formalized EU-level SPI for biodiversity is welcomed by most respondents, willingness and actual potential to contribute to such an entity differed amongst networks, highlighting that contributions to SPIs are highly dependent on individual and organizational capacities. The challenges faced by individuals and networks range from limited resources to effective communication and achieving meaningful impact even if the institutional context is unrewarding. To make a 'network-of-networks' model fully operational requires meeting the capacity building needs of networks, providing institutional support, and creating room for wider engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reflects on a participatory action research process in partnership with segregated Roma communities in Hungary. It will focus on the "non-positivist good theory"-building capacity of participatory action research in situations where social distance between participants is high and where action-oriented cooperation involves numerous actors, continuously extends to new stakeholders and areas, and aims to contribute to long-term and general social goals. Special attention will be paid to the effects of three phenomena: extreme poverty, extreme egalitarianism, and community hierarchy. We show that as cooperation shifts from discussions to actions and theories-in-use start dominating the process, PAR might become a complex and fuzzy process, characterized by numerous pragmatic and ethical challenges and contradictions. Thus, in a setting described above, it is a rather challenging task for PAR to create a "non-positivist good theory": one which enables and empowers community members to make pragmatic and sustainable changes in their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An alternative food network (AFN) is a comprehensive concept that aims to capture new and socially innovative networks of consumers and producers in short supply chains. The objective of this study is to understand the relationship of users to AFNs using subjective well‐being (SWB), which is a relevant concept connected to eating and alternative consumption. This paper explores the engagement and nature of SWB by qualitative data collected through in‐depth interviews of new and experienced members of different AFNs. The results suggest that membership in AFNs is able to increase SWB, while certain characteristics of these networks can also decrease it. Differences according to the level of engagement have been found for the studied AFNs. The results contribute to a better understanding of consumers in alternative consumption networks and also indicate some of the limitations of this business model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding uncertainties and risks can be considered to be the main motivation behind environmental scenario studies to assess potential economic, environmental, social or technical developments and their expected consequences for society and environment. The scenario study presented in this paper was designed to contribute to the question of how natural capital and ecosystem services may evolve in Europe under different socio-environmental conditions. The study was conducted as part of OpenNESS, an on-going EU FP7 research project. We present the iterative participatory scenario process, the storylines and drivers, examples for regional applications, as well as initial feedback from stakeholders. In a participatory iterative approach four scenarios were developed for the period to 2050, involving regional and EU-level users and stakeholders. Subsequently, scenarios were successfully contextualised and applied in regional place-based studies under widely differing socio-environmental conditions. Regional teams used different approaches to adapt storylines and drivers to the regional contexts. In an internal evaluation process among regional stakeholders some participants expressed concerns about the scenario method. Suggestions are made how to overcome these limitations. However, most participants approved the scenario method, especially in terms of provoking discussions, and confirmed the usefulness and applicability of the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative food supply systems have been a subject of increasing interest for many decades in various perspectives of food and agriculture studies. This paper contributes to the discussion by examining how farmer led Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement in Hungary creates an alternative in the dominant food regime. To examine CSAs future potentials, semi-structured interviews with producers, consumers-members, and experts, a consumer-member survey, and secondary data sources were utilized. We analyse ambiguities or uncertainties of production, logistics, economic viability, and community formation to sort out social and material practices that co-produce goods and values centred on sustainability. We conclude that CSAs create open and democratic spaces of active and direct producer-consumer cooperation and thus present a model for rethinking our food system. However the scaling up of these experiences is the main challenge today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexity of sustainability issues prompts both science and policy-making to broaden their methodologies in finding solutions to problems of environmental, social and economic sustainability. In the realms of post-normal science, quests to find adequate answers to everyday challenges happen in an issue-driven, policy-oriented manner where the issue of involving the widest possible range of stakeholders is of utmost importance. Participatory systems mapping is a new type of participatory technique, which has emerged in the last few years. In such a process, participants jointly devise diagrams on a topical issue and develop policy recommendations. The paper discusses an experiment applying this method concerning the issue of sustainable consumption. The authors point out that systems mapping has many significant features that can enrich participatory methodologies. However, the participatory potential of systems mapping might be limited because it can be demanding for groups with lower levels of knowledge capital. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the participation opportunities and role of nominated experts from the Eastern European region in the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The governance of international knowledge-making spaces and events occurs through standardised institutional rules and expectations that affect experts as well as define accepted forms of knowledge. Within IPBES, experts may participate through United Nations Regional Groupings, which are regions that have complex geopolitical legacies and features. Between regions, experts have variable financial, networking and institutional capacities that in turn affect the operations and outputs of their contributions to science-policy interfaces. For IPBES, regional and localised environmental assessments and ecosystem services valuations require existing place-specific knowledge that may not be ‘available’, as well as understandings that are frequently in conflict with the standardised, homogenising practices of international environmental knowledge-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halting biodiversity loss is a critical aim for the forthcoming decades, but is hindered by the gap between research and practice. Bridging this gap is a significant challenge in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, where, compared to Western European countries, biodiversity is higher but the research budget is lower. Approaches to address bridging this gap include participatory research prioritizing exercises. These demand-driven collaborative ranking processes have proven to be a useful tool in providing a research agenda derived from a review of critical challenges based on stakeholder engagement. However, for research agendas to be effectively realized, they are best developed and implemented at the operative level of research financing and implementation. This paper shows the process and the outcome of an exercise conducted in Hungary aiming to compile the most important conservation research questions at the country-level and outlines a set of further measures and tools required for dissemination and advocacy for the research agenda. During the process 792 research questions were collated from conservation practitioners and natural resource managers based on interviews and via an online questionnaire; the final 50 most important questions were identified by practitioners and policy makers during an expert workshop. Questions are embedded in global and EU biodiversity targets and imply a pragmatic approach with the aim of identifying research that supports policy- and decision-making regarding habitat management, land-use and regional development, while also focussing on conflicting issues. The outcome of the process includes the potential for lobbying, therefore post-publication activities and dissemination strategies are outlined as an integrated part of the exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use changes induced by nature conservation regulation and management practices, especially in protected areas, often result in trade-offs between ecosystem services (ESs). Exploring trade-offs between ESs and linking them with stakeholders can help reveal the potential losers and winners of land use changes. In this paper, we demonstrate that ES trade-offs do not always go hand in hand with conflicts. The perception of local stakeholders about trade-offs between ESs at three protected sites in the Great Hungarian Plain were assessed through qualitative methods. In all areas significant conservation measures had been introduced since the 1990s resulting in land use changes. Locals (farmers at each site and inhabitants at one site) were the main ‘losers’ of the land use changes and related ES trade-offs, while there were many winners at different spatial and temporal scales. Conflicts appeared only between locals and the national park directorates, and not between locals and other beneficiaries of the new ESs. Due to scale mismatch, locals might not be in direct contact with other stakeholders, and vice versa, and therefore there is no interface between them for confrontation and negotiation. Integrating scale into the analysis also helps in advising policy instruments to minimise local-level conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We conducted a backcasting project on sustainable employment in Hungary. [•] Four main social theories are presented in relation to society and social change. [•] The topic, the method, the naive theories and the context mutually shape each other. [•] Involving social theories in backcasting projects leads to more fruitful processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sustainability and employment are terms seldom used together. Especially when defining sustainability in the stricter sense of the word, delineating a world where strong sustainability is the norm, it is problematic to deduct which elements may compose sustainable employment. In the relevant discourse, two distinct directions can be identified. Ecological modernization promises "quick fixes" to employment problems while reducing environmentally harmful economic activities without initiating major changes either in our ways of thinking or in our way of living. At the same time, the radical change paradigm disposes of the concepts of the free market society and believes that new "great transformations" are unavoidable, whereby values must change just as much as institutions. Yet, how far have these normative theoretical approaches penetrated our everyday thinking? The paper builds upon the experience of a backcasting project on sustainable employment conducted in Hungary in 2012 and early 2013 and suggests that when people are given the chance to leave the path dependencies of today behind and imagine a sustainable future, their normative visions provide us with invaluable insight as to what may constitute sustainable employment. It also contributes towards our understanding of which policy tools lead us towards a more sustainable world of work in particular and a more sustainable society in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the second cycle of an ongoing participatory action research (PAR) project that aimed at facilitating bottom-up, sustainability planning and development in one of the most socio-economically disadvantageous micro-regions of Hungary. The process at the very beginning started as conventional qualitative research, and gradually emerged to a PAR process as deeper relationships with local people were developed and previous research practices and research focus were questioned. Current institutional changes, such as the availability of European Union funding for rural development and the micro-regional re-districting driven both by top-down and bottom-up processes, were structural factors that created a more promising context for participatory planning. Although a PAR project generally targets silenced groups, for this to happen it is arguably necessary to legitimize such development work in the eyes of local decision-makers and funding organizations, in order to establish more inclusive communicative spaces around future rural development. However, this also creates a controversial situation: breaking away from prevailing structural inequalities and hierarchies remains difficult through a process which is designed around consensus-building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Discussions about the potential role of academic and research institutions in regional sustainability initiatives (RSIs) inevitably raise the issue of the role of science in society in general. In democratic societies, it can be argued that science–society relationships should be based on establishing and institutionalizing mutual dialogues, making public concerns not only visible but the public as equal partner. In order to fulfil the social responsibilities of academic institutions involved in RSIs through establishing dialogues with diverse stakeholders, a possible methodology is conducting participatory action research (PAR) combined with the educational model of service learning. The PAR project reported here aims at facilitating a bottom-up, micro-region level sustainability planning and development process in one of the most socio-economically disadvantaged rural areas of north-east Hungary. Some of the main results of this university–community partnership were its contribution to sustainability, including the activation of local capabilities and networking across various local stakeholder groups through various small-scale projects and the co-production of a socially grounded and landscape-based rural development plan for the micro-region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ecological modernization as a social theory is gaining more and more attention in environmental social science in general and environmental management studies in particular. Ecological modernization carries a positive message of the current institutional order being able to accommodate the challenge of ecological sustainability. This paper, by applying a critical organization studies perspective, highlights some of the theoretical shortcomings of the theory of ecological modernization assessed at the micro level of business firms. A case study of a Hungarian chemical firm is presented in order to point to the practical limits of ecological modernization as an uncontested, conflict-free way towards sustainability. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We explored the perception of ecosystem services (ES) in two communal forests (CFs). • Socio-cultural techniques were applied on stakeholders with different geo-profiles. • Differences in ES appreciation were detected between landowners and visitors. • Disservices were mostly related to anthropogenic areas and activities. • These multifunctional peri-urban CFs pose a great opportunity for rural development. Galician communal forests are private lands collectively owned by the neighbours of the rural settlement where they are located. Their societal role shifted from the support of the traditional agrarian system in the past, to a variety of situations nowadays. The intrinsic characteristics of these social-ecological units make them a promising opportunity for rural development in the region that calls for more scientific attention on the arena of ecosystem services. In this study, we investigated the social perception and valuation of a comprehensive range of ecosystem services and disservices on the peri-urban communal forests of Mount Xalo (NW Spain), distinguishing among the perspectives of landowners and various visitor types. For this, we used a socio-cultural approach consisting of 175 semi-quantitative surveys that included a basic Public Participation Geographic Information System. Our results showed that Mt. Xalo is a well recognised provider of ecosystem services that constitutes a local hotspot in the region. The most frequently perceived and most valued ecosystem services within ecosystem services classes were the provision of drinking water, the practice of sports, climate regulation and a group of three cognitive cultural ecosystem services: socializing, mythical features and sense of place. Nevertheless, nuances were noticed among landowners and visitor types following a rural–urban gradient where landowners and urban users presented the most significant differences. These findings address recognition to the actual role of these communal forests for society and call for collaboration with public institutions to facilitate the sustainable management of their resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one Peter Söderbaum on the political aspects of sustainable development, György Pataki on ecological modernization, and Rupert Baumgartner on the ambitious corporate sustainability.

The article presents the experience and results of a research project that used the technique of backcasting. Backcasting is a preferred method in transition management - especially with regard to sustainability issues - as it facilitates the deliberation of complex socio-economic issues and enables participants to think freely outside the realms of present cognitive frames and still find adequate, future-oriented policy answers. In the case of this particular Hungarian backcasting experiment, a sustainable employment scenario was developed and policy recommendations were determined for reaching such a desired future. The article attempts to demonstrate that applying future-oriented methodological approaches can indeed lead to the design of feasible sustainability policies even when dealing with path-dependent systems burdened with lock-in effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stakeholder participation in nature conservation policies and especially in the management of protected areas has gained importance in the last decades. These changes are underlined by democratic principles and the perceived contribution of stakeholder involvement to the effectiveness of conservation management. Evaluating participatory processes is essential to learn about the past and thus increase the quality of future processes. The evaluation can be useful for the organisations responsible for planning and management, stakeholders and policy makers as well. The present paper shows the results of a systematic evaluation of 25 participatory processes related to the development of management plans for Natura 2000 sites in Hungary between 2007 and 2015. A conceptual framework was developed to evaluate the process and outcome of participatory management planning processes. Criteria were based on the scientific literature on public participation and tailored to conservation-related management planning and stakeholder involvement. Evaluated processes were grouped in three cases based on their time range and financial sources. Overall, the analysed processes scored at a medium level, showing better performance in the process criteria than in the outcome criteria. The best case scored significantly higher in four criteria compared to the other cases: representativeness, resource availability for facilitation, new, creative ideas and impact on the plan. The main factors behind the success were (1) embeddedness of the planning process in a larger project, where the plan was a tool for conservation, (2) carrying out only one process at a time, (3) previous experience of facilitators and planners with participatory planning and (4) the opportunity and capacity to propose a payment scheme as an incentive. But even this case received low scores in some criteria: conflict resolution, early involvement and well defined goals. Based on the results we suggest that more data is needed to evaluate the implementation of the plans and, in many cases, the impact of the process on the plan. Performance can be improved with the assistance of policy makers by further developing guidelines, harmonising payment schemes with the conservation measures of the plans and providing training on conflict resolution. The evaluation framework proved to be suitable for the assessment of a large set of conservation related management planning processes, but it also had some limitations, e.g. concerning the incorporation of stakeholders' views in the evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]