Publicação
Towards More Nuanced Narratives in Bioeconomy Strategies and Policy Documents to Support Knowledge-Driven Sustainability Transitions
| Resumo: | The bioeconomy has been discussed as a key strategy for addressing sustainability challenges, particularly regarding the transition from fossil-based to bio-based systems, in numerous national and supranational strategies and policy documents related to the bioeconomy. However, public understanding of and engagement with the bioeconomy remains limited. This is partly due to the bias of many bioeconomy strategies and policy documents towards technological solutions that tend to overlook the social, normative, and transformative dimensions of systemic change as well as the necessary knowledge. This opinion paper explores the potential of narratives as a means of communicating bioeconomy research in public policy, with the aim of addressing the communication gap between science, policy, and society. When applied in responsible and nuanced ways that acknowledge their embeddedness and context, bioeconomy (policy) narratives can support sensemaking for science communication, improve public understanding, facilitate stakeholder engagement and behavioural change. We argue that such narrative approaches can help to create narrative ‘boundary objects’ that can support more inclusive and participatory processes, enabling the co-creation of transformative knowledge for bioeconomy transitions with stakeholders as active participants. In summary, we highlight several opportunities, as well as limitations and implications, that could inform future work on bioeconomy narratives. |
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| Autores principais: | Stoye, Juliane |
| Outros Autores: | Schlaile, Michael P.; von Cossel, Moritz; Bertacchi, Stefano; Escórcio, Rita; Winkler, Bastian; Curran, Thomas P.; Ní Chléirigh, Laoise; Nic an Bhaird, Máire; Klakla, Jan Bazyli; Nachtergaele, Pieter; Ciantar, Hailey; Scheurich, Philipp; Lewandowski, Iris; Reinmuth, Evelyn |
| Assunto: | bio-based systems bioeconomy narratives policy science communication societal transition stakeholder engagement transformative knowledge Computer Science (miscellaneous) Geography, Planning and Development Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment Environmental Science (miscellaneous) Energy Engineering and Power Technology Hardware and Architecture Computer Networks and Communications Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy |
| Ano: | 2025 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | artigo |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade Nova de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório Institucional da UNL |
| Resumo: | The bioeconomy has been discussed as a key strategy for addressing sustainability challenges, particularly regarding the transition from fossil-based to bio-based systems, in numerous national and supranational strategies and policy documents related to the bioeconomy. However, public understanding of and engagement with the bioeconomy remains limited. This is partly due to the bias of many bioeconomy strategies and policy documents towards technological solutions that tend to overlook the social, normative, and transformative dimensions of systemic change as well as the necessary knowledge. This opinion paper explores the potential of narratives as a means of communicating bioeconomy research in public policy, with the aim of addressing the communication gap between science, policy, and society. When applied in responsible and nuanced ways that acknowledge their embeddedness and context, bioeconomy (policy) narratives can support sensemaking for science communication, improve public understanding, facilitate stakeholder engagement and behavioural change. We argue that such narrative approaches can help to create narrative ‘boundary objects’ that can support more inclusive and participatory processes, enabling the co-creation of transformative knowledge for bioeconomy transitions with stakeholders as active participants. In summary, we highlight several opportunities, as well as limitations and implications, that could inform future work on bioeconomy narratives. |
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