Mobilising social science for nature recovery
Free and open to all.
Delivering nature recovery is as much a social, institutional and political challenge as an ecological and technical one. Realising its ambitions therefore requires social science knowledge and expertise to form part of an integrated evidence base, so that policy and practice can understand not only what nature needs, but the people, institutions, relationships and systems through which recovery has to be delivered.
This is the headline finding from a recent report by the Task Force on Nature Recovery within the ACCESS Programme (Advancing Capacity for Climate and Environmental Social Science) funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
This webinar, led by Task Force member (and former Natural England Deputy Chief Scientist) Professor Gary Kass, will set out the full spectrum of the Task Force’s key messages, highlighting the connected priorities for strengthening the contributions of social science to the essential task of nature recovery.
This webinar is free and open to all.
Our speaker
Gary Kass has been a researcher, knowledge broker, educator and consultant since 1986, working with organisations in the private, public and third sectors across the UK, Europe and internationally.
He has concentrated on environmental and sustainability science, strategy and policy; particularly on strengthening underpinning capabilities for transformative change, including systems and futures thinking. He has held senior roles in the UK Public Sector including as Head of the Environment and Energy Programme at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, Head of Public Engagement with Science, Engineering and Technology at the (then) Department of Trade and Industry, Deputy Director for Foresight, Systems and Innovation at Natural England.
Gary is a Visiting Professor at Imperial College and the University of Nottingham and an End-Point Assessor for the Masters-level Systems Thinking Practitioner and Sustainability Business Specialist Apprenticeships. He is Chair of the External Policy Advisory Committee at the Institution of Environmental Sciences - the global professional body for environmental scientists, and is a Certified Member of Systems and Complexity in Organisation, the professional body for systems thinking practitioners.
Gary has served on numerous advisory boards – most recently, the Royal Academy of Engineering National Engineering Policy Centre Climate and Sustainability Community of Interest. He is currently a member of the Task Force on Nature Recovery within the ACCESS Programme.
Header image credit: © shaiith via Adobe Stock
