PACHELBEL

At the heart of this project lies the development, trialling and operationalisation of a tool (STAVE, short for “Systematic Tool for Behavioral Assumption Validation and Exploration”), designed to support the work of policy-making for sustainability in real-world settings. The tool will support processes of knowledge brokerage, promoting the appropriate application of existing research findings, and the generation of new knowledge which is focused on specific policy objectives. In substantive terms, the project responds to recent work on sustainable consumption, which has provided compelling arguments about the difficulties entailed in seeking to address anthropogenic climate change by attempting to shift patterns of consumer behaviour. The project will take the form of a series of collaborative problem-focused interventions with policy-makers which will engage with their current work in these areas. STAVE will allow these policy-makers to examine the nature and validity of assumptions about human sensibilities, reasoning and action that are incorporated into the development of policy. The project will yield detailed guidance on how best to utilise STAVE across a variety of organisational and policy-specific environments. It will also generate important insights into the mechanisms by which different sources of knowledge are utilised in the practical activity of policymaking; and into the nature of lay citizens’ practical reasoning and everyday activities, as they relate to the sustainability of their patterns of consumption.