Webinar Series Multilevel Governance

“There will always remain blind spots...”

Learning to act under uncertainty

Yale

# 5

Yale

2 1 1 Your Webinar in 2013

2 1 1 What we have covered

Yale

November 2012

Professor Environmental Governance & Political Science, Yale University

Prof. Ben Cashore

2 1 1 What we have covered

Yale

December 2012

Dr. Chris Elliott

Member Advisory Board GEM Initiative, Yale University Executive Director – Climate and Land Use Alliance

February 2013

Alexander Buck

Executive Director International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) Member Advisory Board GEM Initiative, Yale University

2 1 1 What we have covered

Yale

April 2013

Dr. Patrick Verkooijen

Special Representative for Climate Change Office of the Vice President, SDN The World Bank Member Advisory Board GEM Initiative, Yale University

2 1 1 What we have covered

Yale

The big topics in Wind Energy

2 1 1 Blind-spotting / Uncertainty in Decision-Making

Yale

- Relevant knowledge for decisions

- Not taken into account in practical

management

- Sources of blind spots

- How to act with uncertainty

- Social Learning and

organisational approaches

Your scholars today:

DR. JAN SCHWAAB

Chief Knowledge Manager Global Knowledge Cooperation / Alumni Coordination, GIZ Knowledge Manager 2005 Award GEM Advisory Board, Yale University

Yale

Your scholars today:

DANIELA GÖHLER

GIZ, Advisor in the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) GEM Member, Yale University

Yale

− Our actions are guided by sustainability

− We manage change (advisory and practical services, wide range of

sectors, on behalf of clients inside Germany and around the world

− Owned by the Federal Republic of Germany, organised as a private-

sector entity

− Operations in Germany and in over 130 countries around the world,

around 17,000 employees, business volume of some 2 billion

euros in 2011

− We work innovatively (learning organisation, knowledge sharing,

mobilize networks)

211 About GIZ

Yale

− The webinar – again – highlighted that sustainable low-carbon

societies (/economies) require “multi sectoral”, “multi stakeholder”

“integrated”, “multi dimensional” approaches 0

− Each webinar showed a specific approach, but each time new

questions emerged (as usual0) – most of them raised by the critical

online community/participants

− Technical perspectives alone rarely suffice – strong institutional,

methodological and human capacities are indispensable

− Throughout the webinar series we have learned that relevant

solutions are to be found “in-between” different perspectives,

approaches, disciplines, institutions00.

212

Yale

Some observations

Apparently,

we have some “blind spots”2

212

Yale

Some observations

But how to address the super-wicked problems?

How do we avoid mis-management?

Solving

deforestation

through

multilevel

learning

But how to address the super-wicked problems?

How do we avoid mis-management?

What can we learn from practice?

Solving

deforestation

through

multilevel

learning

Improving

land use

manageme

nt through

learning

from

evaluations

But do we ask the relevant questions?

What about the unintended positive and

negatve impacts?

But how to address the super-wicked problems?

How do we avoid mis-management?

What can we learn from practice?

But do we ask the relevant questions?

What about the unintended positive and

negatve impacts?

What do we need to know for policy learning?

Solving

deforestation

through

multilevel

learning

Improving

land use

manageme

nt through

learning

from

evaluations

Learning in

Forest Governance…

through linking forest

research institutions

But how to address the super-wicked problems?

How do we avoid mis-management?

What can we learn from practice?

Is the mainstream right?

What about the selfishness of institutions?

Who transforms knowledge into action?

Is it okay to reduce the issues to a cost-benefit decision?

Solving

deforestation

through

multilevel

learning

Improving

land use

manageme

nt through

learning

from

evaluations

Learning in

Forest Governance…

through linking forest

research institutions

Ending Poverty

and Building

Shared Prosperity

by Tackling

Climate Change

But do we ask the relevant questions?

What about the unintended positive and

negatve impacts?

What do we need to know for policy learning?

But how to address the super-wicked problems?

How do we avoid mis-management?

What can we learn from practice?

Is the mainstream right?

What about the selfishness of institutions?

Who transforms knowledge into action?

Is it okay to reduce the issues to a cost-benefit decision?

Solving

deforestation

through

multilevel

learning

Improving

land use

manageme

nt through

learning

from

evaluations

Learning in

Forest Governance…

through linking forest

research institutions

Ending Poverty

and Building

Shared Prosperity

by Tackling

Climate Change

But do we ask the relevant questions?

What about the unintended positive and

negatve impacts?

What do we need to know for policy learning?

How do we cope with

blind spots?

Solving

deforestation

through

multilevel

learning

Improving

land use

manageme

nt through

learning

from

evaluations

Learning in

Forest Governance…

through linking forest

research institutions

Ending Poverty

and Building

Shared Prosperity

by Tackling

Climate Change

Another

issue

with

another

approach

Another

issue

with

another

approach

213 A vicious cycle

Yale

The curious case of

legality verification

No REDD+

without FLEG

„deforestation

free“ products?

System complexity

Uncertainty

„Archaic“

decision

patterns

Acceleration

Inter-dependency

213 Blind spotting by2

Yale

System complexity

Uncertainty

„Archaic“

decision

patterns

Acceleration

Inter-dependency

... policy learning

... network-basedinnovation processes

... robust leadership skills

... institutional intersection

Focus on...

Focus on policy learning

− Cashore: causal knowledge about policy instruments

− Review hypotheses, unlike consensus dialogues

− Multitude of perspectives necessary

• Elliot: cross-sectoral perspective � landscapes

• Verkooijen: look through “climate lens” � forests as

part of low carbon pathways

− Example: the curious case of legality verification, triple win

of climate smart agriculture

− Policy learning can reduce the number of blind spots

if inter-dependencies are successfully addressed

214

Yale

− Challenge: sectoral set-up of institutions does not respond to

cross-sectoral problems

− Cashore: promote “policy baskets” (Gunningham)

− Buck: policy assessments important, e.g. GFEP

− Elliot: engage the private sector

− Joint agenda � “climate lens”?

− Examples: legality verification / forest certification, REDD+ /

FLEG(T)

− Institutional intersection mitigates risks from blind spots

if robust leadership copes with acceleration

215 Focus on institutional intersection

Yale

− 3 Competence clusters (cooperative

transformational, innovative action)

− Management principles based on peer-

learning, reflection (theory “U”), rapid proto-

typing, process orientation and openness

− Elliot: evaluate your own work using your

networks

− Robust Leadership skills enable rapid coping

with blind spots

216 Focus on robust leadership skills

Yale

− Buck: from knowledge transfer model to network model of

knowledge diffusion

− Fast access to knowledge and ideas

− Make use of social networks

− Management challenge: organisational integration of networks

(governance issue)

− Example: GEM as a global learning initiative = “connecting the

dots” (e.g. link networks through advisory board)

− Networks can reduce size of blind spots

217 Focus on network-based innovation processes

Yale

218 Managing the unmanageable?

Yale