Stakeholder Engagement in the Environmental Justice Commission

Dr Katy Roelich, School of Civil Engineering/School of Earth and Environment, Faculty of Environment

Responsive Mode Impact Fund

There is increasing acceptance that a rapid transition of infrastructure and social systems is required to avoid environmental breakdown. IPPR has produced pioneering work to articulate the drivers for this transition and the need for transition to be fair. Under the banner of its cross-party Environmental Justice Commission, IPPR is developing specific policies to bring about this just transition. A crucial part of defining these policies will be engaging those who may initiate or be affected by policies.

Engaging stakeholders and the public on such complex issues can be challenging and is rarely done well. This project will use the applicant’s research on participatory processes and justice to shape the design, delivery and analysis of a series of engagement events with sector stakeholders (roundtables) and with the public (citizens’ juries). This will improve the effectiveness of engagement events and increase the traction of potential policy proposals. The outputs of events will shape interim reports and the final report of the Environmental Justice Commission, which aims to influence policy makers, politicians and opinion formers. Participants at events will benefit from the project by having an opportunity to articulate their needs and increasing the impact of their voice on policy.

Dr Katy Roelich can be contacted by email: K.E.Roelich@leeds.ac.uk