Multi-Stakeholder Business Models： Designing Out Wicked Problems

The paper is a part of an ongoing study, labelled as ＂Designing out wicked problems＂ - a design science research （DSR） study with the purpose of developing, implementing, and evaluating a methodology framework for designing multi-stakeholder business models. The objective of the current paper is to evaluate the business model design framework within a DSR framework. The research is conducted as three-year case study at three sites： The Danish police, with a key player in the Danish energy sector, and the municipality of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. The research method is action research, with a structure of planning-action-evaluation process conducted with the case owners - as well as design science methodology, where an artifact （the multi-stakeholder business model design concept） is created, evaluated and altered to improve its functionality. The finding of this study is that the maturity of the application domain - the type of problem the concept is trying to solve - as well as of the concept itself, is low. The conclusion is thus that the knowledge contribution of the study is of a unique invention character which will lay the foundation for further evaluation and research.

Inherent Complexities of a Multi-stakeholder Approach to Building Community Resilience

Enhancing community resilience has increasingly involved national and regional governments adopting a multi-stakeholder approach because of the potential interagency benefits. This has led to questions about how best to involve stakeholder groups in translating community resilience policies into practice. This exploratory study contributes to this discussion by addressing two key areas that are fundamental in the concerted effort to build community resilience to natural hazards:(1) stakeholder understanding of community resilience as a concept;and(2) the difficulties associated with the processes of risk assessment and preparedness that stakeholders face locally in building community resilience. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 25 practitioners and experts within Scotland’s resilience community, and were analyzed through an inductive approach to thematic analysis. These data show how the interpretation of community resilience differs across stakeholder groups. Analysis of the data reveals challenges around the nature of the risk assessment and its role in shaping risk perception and communication. Significant complications occur in communicating about low probability-high consequence events, perceived territoriality, competing risk prioritizations, and the challenges of managing hazards within a context of limited resources. The implications of these issues for policy and practice are also discussed.

Sustainable school projects as the education tool for delivering sustainability

In the past ten years,many exemplar projects are completed in China to encourage the sharing of knowledge and experience of sustainability.Many of these projects are landmark buildings,and because they can attract more public attentions,they raise more awareness of sustainable development.However,school projects are rarely mentioned in the news and annual inspirational project lists.The fundamental point of this paper is to challenge the common concept in China that school buildings are only used exclusively by children in formal education.According to the paper's review of the school schemes in England and Wales,not only the inspirational sustainable schools created the opportunities and responsibilities to accelerate positive changes,but also they developed a vision of an asset that supports lifelong learning and sustainable lifestyles for the whole community.In this paper,the definition of a 'sustainable school' is summarised by comparing the statements and concepts in England and Wales.Moreover,a wide range of benefits gained by project stakeholders and communities are also demonstrated through case studies.In the end,lessons and innovations which can be learnt by Chinese school projects are concluded.The illustrations provided by this paper do not aim to solve all issues of promoting a sustainable school in China,but to open people's minds to the impacts of their actions,and to build the knowledge and cooperative framework to promote public sustainable projects.

网络主权与全球互联网治理

全球互联网治理中的网络主权论和多利益攸关论的差异反映的不仅是简单的科技管理政策偏好,其差别既是国家利益之争在全球技术治理中的复杂呈现,也反映出不同国家的工程人文主义传统对互联网本质的理解有观念性差别。目前学界对多利益攸关和国家网络主权模式均未有深刻系统的研究。这两种思路也未必不能兼容。而从操作层面看,美国主导的多利益攸关模式已完全沦为实现其霸权主义的意识形态工具。相比之下,互联网主权模式则收到越来越多的关注认可。

Payments for watershed ecosystem services:mechanism,progress and challenges

Introduction:Payment for watershed ecosystem services(PWES),a policy instrument for compensating for the externality of watershed ecosystem/environmental services,has gained in policy importance in China over the past two decades.Many scholars and researchers have contributed to the conceptualization of this policy framework by developing operational mechanisms as well as compensation standards for PWES.Outcomes:This article reviews 27 PWES schemes piloted in China and in 10 other countries,with a particular emphasis on successful cases of land-use conversion programs,such as the Paddy Land to Dry Land Program and Sloping Land Conversion Program that have been implemented in China.Discussion:By comparing different cases,the authors attempt to answer the following questions:what were the ecological and institutional contexts in which these schemes were established and how did they work?What were the actual efficiencies and impacts of these piloted schemes?Which scheme worked better in certain ecological,socio-economic,and institutional contexts?Conclusion:Based on case studies,the authors draw the following conclusions about Chinese PWES:(1)to establish an acceptable standard for a PWES program,it is necessary to estimate the economic and social costs regarding the livelihoods of households;(2)multistakeholder negotiation mechanism for PWES,including intermediaries,such as the local government,NGO/NPOs,village committees,and user associations,should be used;(3)ES,non-market services,should acquire positive externalities to accomplish an optimal win–win pattern concerning both environmental goals and the livelihoods of local resource users.

Selecting the Appropriate Urban Biodiversity Restoration Indices based on the Pressure-State-Response Model and a Multi-scale Management Problem Investigation in Zhuhai City

Urban biodiversity is now recognized as playing a critical role in supporting global biodiversity.However,it is important to note that biodiversity is a systematic and holistic concept and prior studies have not generally focused on cross-border or multi-scale management problems.On one hand,the ecosystems of cities are interconnected with adjacent cities by natural landscapes,so they are like mosaics instead of being isolated.Urban biodiversity research demands the consideration of the continuity within an ecosystem.On the other hand,both active protection and passive restoration strategies for urban biodiversity should not only be developed by researchers or municipal government agencies,but more importantly,they should consider the real ecosystem management problems faced by multi-scale departments in order to build a practicable Pressure-State-Response(PSR)model.The solutions for these issues should be included in the analysis to form a complete and more effective urban biodiversity strategy.The study in this paper offers an answer to whether different scales of cities or districts should adopt the same biodiversity strategy;and therefore,the decision depends on whether the places are of the same importance to the global or regional ecosystem,or whether the ecological elements are connected to the adjacent cities/districts and the problems that multiple stakeholders care about.