Abstract
Participatory processes are integral to sustainability and resiliency planning, as involving diverse stakeholders ensures planning practices and outcomes are grounded in local social, economic, environmental, and cultural contexts and realities. It follows that research and tools supporting planning processes should also be participatory, and such research approaches can lead to useful knowledge for developing appropriate, place-based approaches for addressing critical sustainability issues, such as climate change. Using the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD, British Columbia, Canada) as a case study, this research experiments with participatory methods and tools for supporting long-term food systems planning by examining regional food vulnerabilities and opportunities/needs for building resilience to exogenous shocks. The research involved a series of meetings and workshops supported by an online collaboration platform, CoLabS, which engaged different FVRD stakeholders to first, reflect on what COVID-19 has revealed about regional food systems vulnerabilities, and second, discuss how these insights can be used for integrated long-term planning and increasing food resilience in the face of climate change. In addition to examining vulnerabilities and resilience strategies, workshop participants and collaborators identified key research questions, information gaps, and potential improvements to the CoLabS platform; thus, they shared intellectual leadership, helping guide the exploration in food systems resiliency and long-term integrated planning. Insights from this work include the importance of incorporating flexibility in methods and tools for conducting participatory sustainability research. The work also revealed challenges around maintaining stakeholder engagement and including the appropriate diversity of perspectives and voices in participatory research efforts.
Presenters
Robert NewellAssociate Director, Food and Agriculture Institute, University of the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada Colin Dring
Researcher, School of Environment and Sustainability, Royal Roads University, British Columbia, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Integrated planning, Food systems, COVID-19, Climate change, Participatory research
