Ecology, Society, and Self: Toward a Multi-Tiered Framework for Participatory Approaches in Knowledge Generation

• Main Author: Studholme, Ashley
• Other Authors: Lynch, Kathryn
• Language: en_US
• Published: University of Oregon 2018
• Subjects: Interdi
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1794/23815

Participatory approaches in knowledge generation have become increasingly important in understanding our environments and integrating human and natural systems. Such approaches have been used to discover new species, address environmental injustices, and develop land management practices. However, frameworks and models used to explore participatory approaches tend to be oversimplified or focus on a specific component. Here, I present an integrated multi-tiered framework to gain insight into how project context and design interact to create outcomes that shape the socio-ecological system. The framework accounts for the nested scales, i.e. ecological, societal, and individual, of both the context and the outcomes. I then demonstrate the utility of the framework by applying it to two case studies in Ecuador: 1.) a climate change monitoring network and 2.) Andean bear para-biologists. Using this framework, it was evident that in both projects, gendered landscapes and how participants engaged were primary factors in shaping outcomes.