In 2021, the fairSTREAM project was selected as one of the first high impact Strategic Initiatives at IIASA. Below is an update on what the project has achieved to date.
One of the fairSTREAM project’s main objectives is to create visibility for the importance of co-production processes in applied systems analysis. Co-production refers to a specific subset of stakeholder engagement where scientists and heterogeneous groups of stakeholders equally contribute to knowledge creation. Therefore, in its first months, Jenan Irshaid and colleagues conducted IIASA internal focus groups to explore the diverse range of experiences with stakeholder work at IIASA and initiated a systematic review to explore essential elements of co-production processes.
Addressing another fairSTREAM objective – considering justice beyond efficiency considerations in systems analysis – researchers started work on an inventory of co-production methods in use at IIASA, exploring their capacity as systems analytical tools and instruments to assess justice. As a reference for the latter, Susanne Hanger-Kopp, recently joined guest researcher Helena Zhemchugova, and Paul Johannesson from Stockholm University, developed an ontology of justice, which has been accepted for publication and presentation at the 34th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering (CAiSE 2022) set to take place in Leuven, Belgium from 6 to 10 June 2022.
fairSTREAM’s main case application is set in India. For this purpose, researchers from two Indian institutions, the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune and the Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM), have joined the team. They will lead the work on the ground on the Indian case study together with Barbara Willaarts and design a co-production process on decision making at the water-food-biodiversity nexus in the Bhima basin.
Also, in India, the fairSTREAM team explores higher-level research opportunities to address regional mitigation and adaptation strategies for biodiversity, together with the Technology Information, Forecasting, and Assessment Council (TIFAC), the IIASA National Member Organization for India.
In parallel, Jens de Bruijn is leading efforts to couple the IIASA Community Water Model (CWatM) and an agent-based model that allows simulation of individual farming households and their decision-making, as well as integrating a better representation of diverse and growing forests in CWatM. A graphical user interface was developed for the model to facilitate interaction between modelers and stakeholders.
News
27 February 2024
Second stakeholder workshop of the fairSTREAM project
On the 6-7th February 2024, the second workshop of fairSTREAM project was hosted at IISER in Pune, India, bringing together food, water and biodiversity stakeholders from the Upper Bhima Basin.
29 November 2023
Embracing Ecological Perspectives, Tools, and Models to Navigate the Digital Economy
Digitalization has ushered in new markets worldwide and in BRICS countries. However, the concentration of market power and digital resources by only a handful of digital platform ecosystems (DPEs) has also triggered new governance challenges, particularly, for BRICS countries. As part of the dissemination process of the ECOANTITRUST initiative, Elena Rovenskaya delivered a presentation on the adoption of ecological insights and tools to improve understanding of the complex nature of digital platforms, their ecosystems, and their interactions with the wider economy.
29 November 2023
Integrating Sustainability as a New Dimension for Competition Policy
In the age of digitalization, the dominance of digital platform ecosystems (DPEs) extends beyond concentration of product markets, impacting not only economic dynamics but also exerting influence on the broader well-being of individuals including its social and environmental dimensions. As private incentives often supersede social responsibilities even for the most powerful DPEs, competition regulators face the challenge to incorporate a broader concept of wellbeing and sustainability into their activities.