Knowledge and place-based development – towards networks of deep learning

Abstract

The influential work by Barca on place-based development, which has permeated policy and academic discourses alike in recent years, builds on the premise that localities are expected to utilize their endogenous potential rather than placing their trust in redistributive policies. This endogenous potential involves local knowledge and place-based knowledge, and how these two types can tap into actions. This has barely been explored in a systematic and comparative manner. This paper therefore examines 20 urban and rural development actions across Europe in order to understand how, and the extent to which, local knowledge and place-based knowledge are mobilized (or not). It makes use of empirically informed evidence to identify evolving mechanisms and to analyse how learning loops are triggered. We argue that it is crucial for leading actors in such development actions to pay attention to these different mechanisms of mobilizing these two types of knowledge and how to trigger learning loops. Since this analysis also highlights a number of shortcomings and inhibitors regarding the extent to which these collective knowledge and learning capacities actually inform actions over time, the concept of 'networks of deep learning' is suggested as a knowledge management principle for key actors in local governance.

Implementation Risk Factors of Collaborative Housing in Poland: The Case of ‘Nowe Żerniki’ in Wrocław

“…According to (Barca 2009, p. 4), the place-based policy is 'a long-term strategy aimed at tackling persistent underutilisation of potential and reducing persistent social exclusion in specific places through external interventions and multilevel governance'. This policy is based on the locality enabling the development of its strategic potential with the use of its territorial capital and local knowledge (Weck et al 2021;Piras et al 2021;Borén and Schmitt 2021). The connection to the place (Wrocław as the city and 'Nowe Żerniki' as a district) and the local capital (especially innovative architectural ideas) were crucial factors for all the key actors of the collaborative housing process in 'Nowe Żerniki'.…”

Relying on LEADER? A place-based policy approach to the rural development of Finnish municipalities

“…According to critical realist ontology, reality exists independently of human consciousness, but it is stratified and consists of the empirical, actual, and deep domains (Bhaskar 2008). The empirical domain includes experiences and observations, being the narrowest part of reality.…”

“…This article aims at opening the 'black box' of the municipal rural development in Finland, by exploring what explains the current status of municipalities in place-based rural development, that is, the dominance of LEADER and the small scale of the municipalities' own rural development. The methodology is based on critical realism, turning the analytical focus on the causal explanations of the observed phenomenon (Bhaskar 2008;Buch-Hansen & Nielsen 2020). The aforementioned state of municipal rural development in Finland is adopted as an empirical observation -a demi-regularity in critical realist terms (Lawson 1997) -that forms the point of departure for the deeper analysis.…”

Using Place-Based Outdoor Learning (PBOL) Teaching Model in Promoting Students’ Conceptual Understanding of Ecological Concepts

“…The study of Boren and Schmitt (2022) was a quasi-experiment consisting of control and experimental groups. Each group had 16 children aged 5-6 years.…”