Uncovering engagement networks for adaptation in three regional communities: Empirical examples from New South Wales, Australia

Cunningham, R; Jacobs, B; Measham, TG

Uncovering engagement networks for adaptation in three regional communities: Empirical examples from New South Wales, Australia

Cunningham, R

Jacobs, B

Measham, TG

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Publisher:: MDPI AG
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Climate, 2021, 9, (2), pp. 1-16
Issue Date:: 2021-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Cunningham, R https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8066-9019
dc.contributor.author	Jacobs, B https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3147-341X
dc.contributor.author	Measham, TG
dc.date.accessioned	2021-03-31T06:40:11Z
dc.date.available	2021-03-31T06:40:11Z
dc.date.issued	2021-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	Climate, 2021, 9, (2), pp. 1-16
dc.identifier.issn	2225-1154
dc.identifier.issn	2225-1154
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/147725
dc.description.abstract	© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Climate change is a significant challenge for policy makers, planners and communities. While adaptation responses are generally recognised to be place-based, policy processes on adaptation often reside with central (state or national) governments that may be remote from regional communities. In this paper, we contribute to the literature regarding how diverse regional communities engage with planning and policy for climate adaptation, which is important for successful implementation. We adopt a social network analysis (SNA) approach that enables an exploration of the interaction of community networks with policy information. There are limited empirical studies of information sharing about climate adaptation policy through community knowledge networks. One previous study, located in coastal New South Wales, Australia, mapped the community’s knowledge acquisition and diffusion to reveal the underlying network structures that influenced policy engagement pathways. However, further studies are needed to determine how the features of community networks may change with local context (e.g., coastal versus inland). This paper extends previous studies to compare and contrast adaptation knowledge networks in three NSW communities: Shoalhaven (the original coastal study site), Bega (coastal) and Orange (inland). Findings suggest that the presence of a natural resource-dependent industry, local geographies and boundary spanners acting as network knowledge brokers are factors influencing community knowledge flows. The work further demonstrates the utility of SNA to measure knowledge networks that can inform government engagement and communication with communities on climate adaptation policy.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	MDPI AG
dc.relation.ispartof	Climate
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3390/cli9020021
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.title	Uncovering engagement networks for adaptation in three regional communities: Empirical examples from New South Wales, Australia
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	9
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)/Institute For Sustainable Futures
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - ISF - Institute for Sustainable Futures
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2021-03-31T06:40:10Z
pubs.issue	2
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	9
utslib.citation.issue	2

Abstract:

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Climate change is a significant challenge for policy makers, planners and communities. While adaptation responses are generally recognised to be place-based, policy processes on adaptation often reside with central (state or national) governments that may be remote from regional communities. In this paper, we contribute to the literature regarding how diverse regional communities engage with planning and policy for climate adaptation, which is important for successful implementation. We adopt a social network analysis (SNA) approach that enables an exploration of the interaction of community networks with policy information. There are limited empirical studies of information sharing about climate adaptation policy through community knowledge networks. One previous study, located in coastal New South Wales, Australia, mapped the community’s knowledge acquisition and diffusion to reveal the underlying network structures that influenced policy engagement pathways. However, further studies are needed to determine how the features of community networks may change with local context (e.g., coastal versus inland). This paper extends previous studies to compare and contrast adaptation knowledge networks in three NSW communities: Shoalhaven (the original coastal study site), Bega (coastal) and Orange (inland). Findings suggest that the presence of a natural resource-dependent industry, local geographies and boundary spanners acting as network knowledge brokers are factors influencing community knowledge flows. The work further demonstrates the utility of SNA to measure knowledge networks that can inform government engagement and communication with communities on climate adaptation policy.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/147725