Digitalization as communicative means in IA reporting: Digitalization as a way to design IAs as instrument to stimulate knowledge brokering activities?
Translated title
Digitalization as communicative means in IA reporting
Author
Willumsen, Laura
Term
4. Term
Publication year
2019
Submitted on
2019-06-30
Pages
91
Abstract
Impact Assessments (IA) er tekniske værktøjer til at vurdere miljøpåvirkninger og rapportere fund, som skal støtte beslutningstagning. IA foregår i et samspil mellem myndigheder, konsulenter, virksomheder, borgere m.fl., hvor måden miljøværdier og -påvirkninger formidles på, påvirker, hvordan parterne handler. Det er dog svært for IA-producenter at formidle resultaterne kort, ikke-teknisk og afpasset, fordi emnet er komplekst. Da IA foregår på tværs af parter og vidensformer, rummer det potentiale for at stimulere sociale processer, der bygger bro mellem parterne. Sådanne processer kaldes vidensmægling (knowledge brokering). Digitalisering er et område i udvikling i IA-sammenhæng og åbner nye muligheder for kommunikation. Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan digitalisering kan bruges til at designe IA-rapportering, så den fremmer vidensmægling. Specialet kortlægger den nuværende praksis for at bruge digitale løsninger i IA-rapportering og beskriver, hvordan bestemte digitale teknologier kan støtte vidensmægling. At tage digitalisering i brug ændrer producenters muligheder for at "give mening" (sense-giving) og brugeres muligheder for at "skabe mening" (sense-making). Set fra producenternes perspektiv drøftes fordele og udfordringer, der bør overvejes i fremtidigt arbejde med digital IA-rapportering. Afslutningsvis gives generelle anbefalinger til, hvordan IA-producenter kan indføre digitalisering i rapporteringen. Specialets bidrag er todelt: det giver viden om digitalisering i IA-rapportering, underbygget af praktiske eksempler, og det kvalificerer diskussionen af IA's potentiale som instrument til vidensmægling.
Impact Assessments (IA) are technical tools used to evaluate environmental impacts and report findings to support decision-making. IA takes place in an interplay among authorities, consultants, companies, citizens, and others, where the way environmental values and impacts are communicated influences how people act on the results. Yet producers of IA often find it difficult to communicate in a clear, non-technical, and proportionate way because the subject is complex. Because IA operates across different parties and forms of knowledge, it has the potential to stimulate social processes that bridge between them—known as knowledge brokering. Digitalization is developing in the IA field and opens new possibilities for communication. This thesis explores how digitalization can be used to design IA reporting in ways that promote knowledge brokering. It examines current practices in using digital tools in IA reporting and describes how particular digital technologies can support knowledge-brokering activities. Adopting digitalization changes producers’ conditions for sense-giving (helping others understand what the results mean) and users’ conditions for sense-making (interpreting and applying the results). From the producers’ perspective, the thesis reflects on benefits and challenges that should be considered in future work on digital IA reporting. Finally, it offers general recommendations for IA producers on how to adopt digitalization in reporting. The thesis contributes in two ways: it provides knowledge about digitalization in IA reporting, illustrated with practical examples, and it advances the discussion of IA’s potential as an instrument for knowledge brokering.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
Keywords
Documents