Free Webinar: Tackling Wicked Problems Through ‘Post-Normal’ and ‘Transition’ Science

Thursday 24th February 2011 5pm (London, GMT) / 9:00am PST (San Francisco) / 12:00pm EST (New York)

• Hear about the limits of traditional science in solving ‘wicked’ socio-environmental issues
• Discover different ways of doing science: ‘Post-Normal ’ and ‘Transition’ Science
• Take part in a live online Q&A with experts on the science of change

About the Earthcast:

The normal conduct of science – with its rules of trying to reduce complexity and eliminate uncertainty – has not only failed to resolve ‘wicked’ problems such as climate change and industrial pollution, it has had a hand in causing them. This Earthcast will consider changes in the way we do science that could help us resolve ‘wicked’ problems – so-called because they defy traditional problem-solving methods.

• Jerome Ravetz will explain how he developed Post-Normal Science, which allows for uncertainty and imagination. This is appropriate for policy issues where facts are uncertain, values in dispute, stakes high and decisions urgent.
• Valerie Brown, an SEJ member, will present her work on Transition Science. Through her work with over 300 communities, she has identified ingredients needed to bring about social change: key individuals, members of the affected community, specialised advisors, influential organizations and a holistic focus. Valerie will propose that collective knowledge, the sum of these multiple knowledges, is emerging as the basis for a Transition Science.

Who should register? Scientists tackling wicked problems posed by global social and environmental change. Government and non-government agencies who are hoping a new science can help them with their transitions to a sustainable state. Anyone concerned with the wicked problems we are facing, with an interest in the kinds of knowledge we are relying on to solve them.

Can’t make the date? Don’t worry, simply register for the event and you will be sent the archived version the following day.