Arts, Faculty of
Geography, Department of
DSpace
University of British Columbia. Faculty of Arts
University of British Columbia. Campus and Community Planning
Korbynn, Maya
Crossley, Frank
Serrano, Maria Paula
In 2020, The University of British Columbia (UBC) was ranked by The Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings as the leading university in Climate Action of the world (THE, 2020). The attainment of this status stems from the actions the university has taken with regards to climate change, in particular, its 2019 Climate Emergency Declaration which was a result of years of student activism that demanded that the institution commit to becoming one of Canada’s leading voices in the fight against climate change (UBC, 2019). This declaration laid the foundation for a partnership to be made with the UBC community in order to develop a comprehensive emergency response (Climate Emergency Task Force, 2020). The development of UBC’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) 2030 is a part of this response. UBC’s CAP 2030 will determine the path UBC takes over the next decade to reach their “net zero by 2050” emissions target (UBC, 2021). Given past challenges in engaging with students (ibid) and the fact that climate plans impact future students the most, The CAP 2030 development team is focusing on improving student involvement in its co-creation process. This research project is a response to that renewed focus. This research has an even narrower scope due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed the landscape of public engagement and prioritized virtual engagement methods for the foreseeable future - therefore this research has a specific emphasis on virtual engagement measures. To investigate increasing student engagement by virtual means, a three part research strategy was implemented that involved three types of data collection methods: a literature review of academic and institutional literature related to student engagement and climate action plans, an online survey for UBC students on climate action engagement, and semi-structured interviews with key contacts who work directly with students in climate engagement organizations. Research participants were secured using a network sampling method, which allowed us to access a larger sample size than we would have using random sampling methods. The survey asked UBC students about several topics - including their climate interests, how they perceived UBC’s role in sustainability initiatives as well as about what incentives would encourage them to get involved. It received 33 unique responses. The interviews focused on gaining information on effective student engagement strategies, the challenges to transitioning to digital engagement, and what virtual technologies have been effective for student engagement. Researchers interviewed 4 people in three interview sessions (one group interview, two individual interviews) via phone and Zoom. Our analysis found that while students generally perceived UBC’s role in providing sustainability initiatives in a positive light, there were several barriers that prevented them from participating fully, including a lack of time and the feeling of having no effect on policy . In particular, our surveys found that incentives (be it financial or academic) show significant potential in drawing students into engaging. Our interviews provided richer information due to their semi-structured format. One takeaway is that students may have partially lost interest in engaging due to “tokenism by engagement” - where students are engaged at the end of the process purely as a means of checking a box. The interviewees emphasized that universities must embed students earlier in the policy-formation process for them to truly want to be involved. One interview also revealed that the common perception of students as being “hard-to-reach” may be misguided; successful engagement with students relies on working around student deadlines, using multiple methods to attract different styles of engagement, and most crucially, having tailored and relevant messaging on the engagement process. Missing one or more of these aspects, particularly not taking into account student schedules, can easily give the perception of being “hard-to-reach”. Overall, there is both a desire for and an effective need for more participatory methods of student engagement - including power-sharing, collaborative, and co-design processes. Virtual engagement methods can be effective, but their effectiveness very much depends on the ability to implement reciprocal engagement processes, the platforms on which they are used (the more the better), the engagement timeline, and the quality and relevance of the messaging. There is also significant academic and practical evidence that indicates that having longer engagement strategies that start earlier on in the project definition process, and that involve multiple “meetings” with opportunities for feedback and revision, will increase Based on our research, we hope that future studies will be conducted that will build off our work, and focus on the specific questions: (1) which incentives best encourage participation?, (2) how can students fit into the climate policy formation process at an earlier stage?, and (3) how can the engagement process be adapted to fit the needs of the students? Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”
Stimulating University Student Engagement in Climate Action An Analysis for UBC’s Climate Action Plan 2030 (CAP 2030) Prepared by: Maya Korbynn, Frank Crossley, Maria Paula Serrano Prepared for: Course Code: GEOG 371 University of British Columbia Date: 19 April 2021 Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS Sustainability Program provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student research project and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore, readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Sustainability Program representative about the current status of the subject matter of a report”. University of British Columbia Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Sustainability Program Student Research Report UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Sustainability ProgramStudent Research ReportStimulating University Student Engagement in Climate Action:An Analysis for UBC’s Climate Action Plan 2030 (CAP 2030)Maya Korbynn, Frank Crossley, Maria Paula SerranoDepartment of Geography, The University of British ColumbiaGEOG 371: Research Strategies in Human GeographyInstructor: Bonnie KasermanApril 19, 2021Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS Sustainability Program provides students with theopportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions andrecommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a studentresearch project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore, readers shouldbear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urgeyou to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Sustainability Programrepresentative about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report”.Table of ContentsExecutive Summary 1Introduction 3Problem Statement 4Background / Literature Review 5Methodology 9Online Surveys 10Interviews 12Coding 13Ethics 13Results and Analysis 13Online Survey 13Interviews 17Research Significance 20Future Research Directions 21References 23Appendices 28Appendix A: Qualtrics Survey 28Appendix B: Semi-Structured Interview Questions 32Appendix C: Interview Code Book 34Executive SummaryIn 2020, The University of British Columbia (UBC) was ranked by The Times HigherEducation (THE) Impact Rankings as the leading university in Climate Action of the world(THE, 2020). The attainment of this status stems from the actions the university has taken withregards to climate change, in particular, its 2019 Climate Emergency Declaration which was aresult of years of student activism that demanded that the institution commit to becoming one ofCanada’s leading voices in the fight against climate change (UBC, 2019). This declaration laidthe foundation for a partnership to be made with the UBC community in order to develop acomprehensive emergency response (Climate Emergency Task Force, 2020).The development of UBC’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) 2030 is a part of this response.UBC’s CAP 2030 will determine the path UBC takes over the next decade to reach their “netzero by 2050” emissions target (UBC, 2021). Given past challenges in engaging with students(ibid) and the fact that climate plans impact future students the most, The CAP 2030development team is focusing on improving student involvement in its co-creation process. Thisresearch project is a response to that renewed focus. This research has an even narrower scopedue to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has changed the landscape of public engagement andprioritized virtual engagement methods for the foreseeable future - therefore this research has aspecific emphasis on virtual engagement measures.To investigate increasing student engagement by virtual means, a three part researchstrategy was implemented that involved three types of data collection methods: a literaturereview of academic and institutional literature related to student engagement and climate actionplans, an online survey for UBC students on climate action engagement, and semi-structuredinterviews with key contacts who work directly with students in climate engagementorganizations. Research participants were secured using a network sampling method, whichallowed us to access a larger sample size than we would have using random sampling methods.The survey asked UBC students about several topics - including their climate interests,how they perceived UBC’s role in sustainability initiatives as well as about what incentiveswould encourage them to get involved. It received 33 unique responses. The interviews focusedon gaining information on effective student engagement strategies, the challenges to transitioningto digital engagement, and what virtual technologies have been effective for student engagement.1Researchers interviewed 4 people in three interview sessions (one group interview, twoindividual interviews) via phone and Zoom.Our analysis found that while students generally perceived UBC’s role in providingsustainability initiatives in a positive light, there were several barriers that prevented them fromparticipating fully, including a lack of time and the feeling of having no effect on policy . Inparticular, our surveys found that incentives (be it financial or academic) show significantpotential in drawing students into engaging.Our interviews provided richer information due to their semi-structured format. Onetakeaway is that students may have partially lost interest in engaging due to “tokenism byengagement” - where students are engaged at the end of the process purely as a means ofchecking a box. The interviewees emphasized that universities must embed students earlier in thepolicy-formation process for them to truly want to be involved. One interview also revealed thatthe common perception of students as being “hard-to-reach” may be misguided; successfulengagement with students relies on working around student deadlines, using multiple methods toattract different styles of engagement, and most crucially, having tailored and relevant messagingon the engagement process. Missing one or more of these aspects, particularly not taking intoaccount student schedules, can easily give the perception of being “hard-to-reach”.Overall, there is both a desire for and an effective need for more participatory methods ofstudent engagement - including power-sharing, collaborative, and co-design processes. Virtualengagement methods can be effective, but their effectiveness very much depends on the ability toimplement reciprocal engagement processes, the platforms on which they are used (the more thebetter), the engagement timeline, and the quality and relevance of the messaging. There is alsosignificant academic and practical evidence that indicates that having longer engagementstrategies that start earlier on in the project definition process, and that involve multiple“meetings” with opportunities for feedback and revision, will increaseBased on our research, we hope that future studies will be conducted that will build offour work, and focus on the specific questions: (1) which incentives best encourageparticipation?, (2) how can students fit into the climate policy formation process at an earlierstage?, and (3) how can the engagement process be adapted to fit the needs of the students?2IntroductionThe 2019 University of British Columbia (UBC) Climate Emergency Declaration was aresult of years of student activism, campaigning, and a climate strike, which demanded that theinstitution commit to becoming one of Canada’s leading voices in the fight against climatechange (UBC, 2019). The declaration pledged immediate action regarding both the direct andindirect consumption of fossil fuels, while incorporating other key themes such as emissions,long-term sustainability, and the need to advance Indigenous rights. It also mandated partnershipwith the UBC community to develop a comprehensive emergency response (Climate EmergencyTask Force, 2020) and established a Climate Emergency Community Engagement process, thataimed to consult with the UBC Community to gain a more holistic insight into the scope andimpact of future climate actions (UBC, 2019). This process has set preliminary goals for climateaction, but also identified challenges in engaging with students (ibid).The 2019 declaration also prompted the university to update its Climate Action Plan(CAP) (University of British Columbia, 2021). CAPs are documented mandates that act asguidelines for all future climate-related policy created by an institution. UBC’s CAP 2030 will bean updated version of the original plan created in 2010, and will determine the path UBC takesover the next decade to reach their “net zero by 2050” emissions target (UBC, 2021). The CAP2030 team wanted guidance on improving student involvement in its co-creation process, and inresponse, the UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) SustainabilityProgram created a research opportunity on Developing Strategies to Promote StudentParticipation in the Emerging Climate Action Plan 2030 (CAP 2030). This opportunity is whatmade this research project possible.The research outlined in this report was conducted to help identify the best practices forengaging student participation in climate action. Due to the impact of the current pandemic onthe Climate Emergency Community Engagement process, this research focused on virtualengagement.3Problem StatementClimate Change will impact younger generations the most, however, earlier UBC CAPversions haven’t effectively targeted student engagement (ibid). This is partly due to theaforementioned challenges related to student engagement, many of which stem from themisconception of students as being hard to reach. However, it is also because of systemicapproaches to policy-making in universities, which have for long followed a more typicalinstitutional pattern of governance. One of such patterns is a top-down approach topolicy-making where board members and knowledgeable professionals act as executive decisionmakers, who at most engage in one-way extractive consultation efforts after plans are mostlycomplete (León-Fernández et al., 2018). This reduces students’ ability to meaningfully impactplans that affect their future. Implementing a bottom up approach - a democratic and consultativestyle of decision-making - in higher education institutions could help remove barriers to studentengagement in climate-related initiatives. These obstacles mainly stem from inter-stakeholderconflicts of interest and an unwillingness of the student body to get involved (Wodika &Middleton, 2020), often due to the fear of not being heard.Academic research on student engagement has largely centred around identifying thecauses for limited student engagement, with little identification of potential solutions. The UBCClimate Emergency Engagement process has identified some potential solutions, however, thefollowing work was conducted to reveal a strategic direction, as opposed to examine the specificengagement needs and wants of students (Climate Emergency Task Force, 2021). Additionally,the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic have shifted engagement towards OnlineParticipatory Tools (OTPs). Therefore, our research aims to contribute to the identification ofpathways for student engagement, and to determine the role of virtual technology in facilitatingthem. To that end, we framed the following research question:What are the most effective digital engagement strategies to increase studentparticipation in climate action initiatives?4Background / Literature ReviewUBC’s Climate Action Plan 2030 is being designed to provide directions and targets thatalign with higher-level climate policies such as those laid out in the Paris Agreement, butapplying these within the context of the university’s actions and campus operations (UBC, 2021).Policy-formation at academic institutions has traditionally been dominated by processes oftop-down governance, in which boards of directors place themselves as executive decisionmakers (León-Fernández et al., 2018). Calls for a bottom-up approach to policy formation atuniversities are not new phenomena, yet the emergence of Climate Action Plans across highereducation campuses globally has presented an opportunity for campuses to act as global leaderswhen it comes to climate action (Perdue & Stoker, 2013; Gomera et al., 2020). In practicehowever, there have been numerous issues that have created friction in the movement towardsstudent led climate initiatives in universities. The two main sources of tension come from (1)inter-stakeholder conflict of interests and (2) the unwillingness of the student-body to getinvolved (Wodika & Middleton, 2020).UBC aims to partner with the UBC Community, including students, in creation ofClimate Emergency response strategies (UBC, 2019). Differences between the interests of theuniversity and the student body, as well as various other stakeholders, have widely beenrecognised as a barrier preventing universities moving forward towards shared powerrelationships (Helferty & Clarke, 2009; Brinkhurst et al., 2011; Wodika & Middleton, 2020).Existing research indicates that the majority of student bodies across North America are largelyin favour of future climate action by their institutions (Harmoinen et al., 2010; Wodika &Middleton, 2020). However, universities often have interests that prevent them from acting onbehalf of the student’s interests; much of which comes from their endowment funds which areoften deeply tied to fossil fuel corporations. This has caused strain on university-student bodyrelationships across North America, with Dalhousie University students going as far to suggestthat oil firms have “co-opted influence” over universities across Canada (McGray, 2017).A second source of tension regarding low student engagement is the lack of will for thestudent body to get involved. The existing body of research shows that as a social group, studentsare involved in large amounts of promotion of issue awareness, yet they are unwilling toparticipate much further than simply spreading awareness (Helferty & Clarke, 2009; Wodika and5Middleton, 2010). Much of this appears to be due to the fact that students believe that theirvoices will never be reflected by the university, and therefore they simply refuse to participate(Menon, 2005). Wodika and Middleton argue that until universities begin to open up moreavenues of involvement in the decision-making process, students will continue to onlyparticipate in low numbers (Wodika and Middleton, 2010).UBC’s Climate Emergency Task Force ran a Climate Emergency Engagement processfrom March-June 2020, to engage with the UBC Community that will help inform the universityon how to enact the actions set out in the 2019 Declaration on the Climate Emergency (ClimateEmergency Task Force, 2021). In their interim report to the UBC Board of Governors, theClimate Emergency Task Force noted that the initial short engagement period (one month:March) posed a barrier to student participation, citing that students “were already at capacitygiven other events already planned during the engagement period” in addition to being a barrierto meaningfully engaging with Indigenous and marginalized communities (2020). The ClimateEmergency Task Force’s final report on Climate Emergency engagement included studentengagement recommendations such as starting a Climate Emergency Fellowes program for PhDstudents; hiring and fairly compensating Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour (IBPOC)students to do research and work on climate and racial justice; increasing capacity and resourcesfor engagement (including investing in student-led climate initiatives); encouraging student civicengagement; expanding climate-related professional development opportunities for students;advancing climate education opportunities across disciplines; and embedding external advisoryCommunity Councils (which include students) in the President’s Roundtables (2021). However,though this engagement process had student response, overall the engagement was characterizedas having “significant response in particular from faculty and university staff” (ibid, p.2) -indicating that more targeted research is perhaps required to gain a more complete view ofstudent solutions for engagement with Climate Emergency actions.In order to better contextualize possible solutions for increasing student engagement inspecific initiatives such as UBC’s CAP 2030, it is necessary to contrast how universitiescurrently engage students regarding climate change with what motivated students to strike andprotest for the climate; bridging the gap between the two will help universities formulatemeaningful participatory opportunities for students to engage with climate change planning.6Universities predominantly engage students on climate change through learning-basedactivities – classes, projects, and through job skills-based experiences like internship placements(Kluver at al., 2018; Hahn et al., 2020; Iwaniec et al., 2020). Most of these activities focus on aone-way flow of information from teacher (or employer) to students with little concretedecision-making powers, or what would be characterized by Sherry Arnstein as participatorytokenism (1969). Even with climate change education gamification through role-playing, whichincreases engagement and content retention (Wu et al., 2015; Kluver et al., 2018), theseinforming, consulting, and exploratory participatory experiences tend to be short-term andwithout evidence of long-term impacts other than transfer of information.In contrast, there have been two kinds of influential, student-led environmentalmovements that shed light on motivations for student engagement with climate change:university fossil fuel divestment campaigns and the School Strike 4 Climate campaign. Researchinto these movements have identified that the feeling of belonging to a social group/cohort was amajor motivator for participation (Bratman et al, 2016; Social Identity, 2020), even more so thaneducation level (Social Identity, 2020). The literature also shows that centring environmentaljustice and the socio-economic impacts (rather than solely environmental impacts) were key tothese movements (Bratman et al, 2016; Boulianne et al., 2020), and that storytelling andrecounting of climate tragedies and experiences on a local and international level were crucial togalvanizing these movements (ibid). These movements persist through concerted rallies foraction on social media, and because of the changes that followed the protests. They are also aphysical manifestation of the upending of Arnstein’s ladder of participation, which is ahierarchical system that centres experts as the controller of knowledge and solutions that is notsuited to help solve a wicked problem like Climate Change, a problem that has no set solution(Collins & Ison, 2009). There is evidence of the benefits of student inclusion in climateadaptation planning/activities, which include providing more resources, facilitating thecontraction of timelines, increased public engagement, and longer-lasting solutions (Stobbelaaret al., 2020), but little research into the best ways to approach students and maintain theirinvolvement in the long term.The protracted nature of climate change and the long term, consistent action required toaddress it poses a dilemma - how can universities most effectively engage a variety of students(who are at the institution for 4-10 years) to care about creating a plan that they will not7experience the benefits of? This not only involves knowing which groups of students are activelyinvolved in climate action (and how to engage them), but also identifying which students couldbe engaged better. This could be done by characterizing groups of students based on KarenKirk’s Spectrum of Persuadability; identifying and activating the “informed but idle” groups ofstudents is the most effective way to increase support for climate change initiatives (Kirk, 2018).Strategizing long term engagement also involves understanding what types of studentshave the most capacity to be involved, and involves some understanding of why people involvethemselves in social issues in the first place. Klandermans & Oegema outline three differentmotivations for involvement in social movements: collective motivation (which involves acost-benefit analysis for impact of collective action and likelihood of beneficial results), socialmotivation (which hinge on reactions of close members to social movement involvement), andreward motivation (which hinge on a more personal cost-benefit analysis relating to lost money,lost time, and social gain) (1987). Stürmer & Simon discuss how anger about a social issues canbe a strong, but not enduring motivation for involvement in social action (2009), while Scott &Šerek note how youth (18-26) participation in civic movements is impacted by parentalattitudes/involvement towards social movements and are positively correlated with identifying aspart of the in-group of the movement (2015). Understanding motivations for involvement insocial movements, especially youth involvement, will enable the creation of more effectivemessaging and engagement strategies that encourage the participation of less-engaged students inUBC’s CAP 2030.COVID-19 and innovations in digital technology have re-shaped the nature ofcommunication, research, and public engagement to be more virtually focused. However, whilevirtual platforms like social media seem to be the perfect medium for engagement, Williamson &Ruming’s analysis of Sydney’s #MySydney digital engagement strategy shows that social medianeeds to be wielded purposefully, and with adequately trained and available resources to ensurethat engagement is productive and meaningful (2020). Locally centred visualizations of climatechange are very effective, as are visioning strategies that position people in a situation to rank orpitch courses of action (Sheppard et al., 2011; Hjerpe et al., 2018). Gamification combined withlocal visualizations (especially scenario based graphics) are helpful to not only educate, but keepparticipants engaged in content (Wu et al, 2015; Kluver et al., 2018); however, there has beenlimited research on how these systems affect university students’ continued engagement in8climate change initiatives. More research needs to be conducted to understand whichengagement methods will keep students engaged in climate initiatives, and what students’themselves identify as the best methods of ensuring continual engagement; this is what thisresearch project aims to explore.Our target audience for this study is not only the UBC student population, but also somespecific key contacts that have experience with student engagement (such as UBC Campus andCommunity Planning). UBC has continually sought to solidify a culture of sustainability oncampus grounds and amongst all members of the university community, which has encouragedthe growth of UBC specific climate action organizations such as The Centre for InteractiveResearch on Sustainability (CIRS), UBC Climate Hub, and UBC Climate Justice - initiatives thatare led by both staff and students. The hope is that by connecting with these knowledgeablestudent groups and institutional departments, the nature of the current landscape of studentengagement strategies used at UBC can be quantified, and be used as additional backgroundknowledge that can help find pathways that can boost student engagement in the creation of theuniversity’s Climate Action Plan (CAP 2030).MethodologyResearch was conducted over a 10 week period (February 6, 2021 to April 19, 2021) inthree distinct phases: the Preparatory Phase, Data Collection Phase, and Analysis Phase.The Preparatory phase (February 6 - March 24) involved solidifying scope, completing aresearch proposal, conducting a literature review, interviews with research project stakeholders,creating a semi-structured interview question bank and contacting potential interview subjects.The literature review involved on academic papers relating to governance and participation,student/youth interest in Climate Activism, virtual communication and public engagement, andalso referred to existing work that focuses on engaging the general public in modern socialissues, including communication industry guides and papers, information on UBC engagementprocesses, and guides from Climate Change communication specialists. Potential interviewsubjects (including students, UBC staff members, and external organizations) were chosen basedon their practical expertise with student climate activism at UBC, youth engagement, and planformation processes.This phase ended up being longer than anticipated because of course-based timeline9constraints, challenges with interviewee acquisition, and UBC ethics requirements. Informationon interview challenges are discussed in the Interviews subsection, and information on ethicsrequirements are outlined in the Ethics subsection.The Data Collection Phase (March 29-April 16) incorporated a mixed methodologicalapproach, integrating both qualitative and quantitative data analysis into our research. Twodifferent methods of data collection were used - an online survey (Appendix A), andsemi-structured interviews (Appendix B). Details on these methods are in the sections below.The Analysis Phase (April 9-19) involved coding the data, giving an interim presentationon results, and formulating conclusions and recommendations. Details on coding andrecommendations are in subsequent sections.Online SurveysA 3-minute long Qualtrics survey regarding student perspectives on climate action atUBC was distributed among the target population for this study – students at the University ofBritish Columbia – via social media, word of mouth, and mass email distribution byuniversity-level climate organizations. Due to the study’s underlying premise (supported byacademic literature) that students are a hard-to-reach population, sampling methods that assumedrelatively high levels of participation were not chosen. Consequently, a “network” samplingmethod was used for distributing our survey, which allowed for an (albeit limited) snowballeffect – where original participants would grant us access to other potential participants, grantingus a larger sample size. As this study does not make use of inferential statistics in order tosupport a hypothesis, there were no issues with a non-random approach being taken in thesampling process. The validity of this data may not be accurate for the general UBC studentpopulation, as researcher personal networks may have an overrepresentation of students engagedin climate action, and opt-in surveys tend to attract those who are already passionate about thesurvey topic.The survey consisted of 4 sections (Figure 1), and efforts were made to keep the surveyas short as possible; as research suggests the longer the survey, the lower the response rate (Kost& Correa da Rosa, 2018).10Figure 1: Survey SectionsThe survey had a mixture of open and close-ended questions. The options for closedquestion responses were informed by ideas identified in the literature review. A multipleresponse approach to questions was used when appropriate. Where the list of choices for aclose-ended question were not exhaustive, an open-ended option labelled “Other, please specifybelow” was used. However, we did not receive many responses to the open-ended questions andtherefore received very little in terms of useful data from them. While an attempt at coding theresponses was made, it was determined that such a small sample would not be useful for ouranalysis.The survey also included an incentive, in the form of a draw for one of three gift cards, asthis has been cited as a particularly effective method to increase student participation in onlinesurveys (Smith et al., 2019). However, as our literature review suggested, response rates amongthe student population were not the highest, resulting in a sample size of 33. While this preventedus from making inferential statements about the student population, in reality this was of littleeffect to our study, as our aim was not to infer, but to identify new ways in which students couldbecome engaged in climate action.11InterviewsSemi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom and a telephone call with fourpersonnel from organizations that had worked with student engagement in climate actioninitiatives and other topics. These personnel were pre-identified by the researchers of this studyas key people with practical expertise in the field of student climate activism, and providedinformation that added to the body of knowledge acquired in the literature review. The process ofsecuring interviewees happened in two stages: cold-emailing organizations, and requests throughpersonal networks. Initially, researchers cold-emailed pre-identified UBC and externalorganizations through their general email inboxes or email forms on websites to requestinterviews; however, this method had limited success, generating two positive responses andsecuring one interview. Subsequently, researchers tapped into their personal networks via emailand social media in efforts to reach these same organizations, and this method generated 5positive responses and 2 interviews. Unfortunately due to the timing of the Data CollectionPhase, which concurred with the final weeks of university classes, student contacts in particularwere unable to grant us an interview because of competing priorities.Three interviews were conducted on April 1, 2021 (two individual interviews, and onegroup interview). Interview questions were taken from a question bank developed during thePreparatory Phase (Appendix B) and the flexibility of the interviews meant that questions weretailored towards the particular topics that the interviewee specialized in. This meant thatquestions were not necessarily asked in order, nor were they all explicitly asked, as many of thequestions prompted long story-based answers that answered many questions simultaneously. Thesemi-structured interview format was chosen over a structured or survey style data collectionmethod in order to allow for this flexibility, which generated richer and more detailed data thatgave additional context that had not before been considered by the researchers.Two interviews were recorded with permission from the interviewees, while thetelephone interview was not recorded due to a last-minute change in interview medium. Thismade transcription creation for the latter particularly difficult, however, the main and mostimportant points were captured in note form by the interviewer. The coding process is covered inmore detail in the next section.12CodingInitially, the coding process started by tracking which interview questions were answeredby whom. The rest of the coding process was conducted by hand. The coding process, whichbegan with a loosely-defined codebook generated from the question bank and hypothesizedtrends and later involved constantly developing new code, represents a mixture of both deductiveand inductive coding that roughly follows a workflow described by DeCuir-Gunby et al. (2011).The interview codebook can be found in Appendix C.EthicsThough this study fell into the lowest risk category of academic research, several ethicalfactors were considered which ultimately delayed the Data Collection Phase. Survey andinterview consent forms had to comply with British Columbia’s Freedom of Information andData Privacy Act, which involved multiple drafts of forms and setting up of data storageprocedures and containers. All raw data collected was stored on Canadian servers (the UBCOneDrive folder), which will be deleted a few months after survey completion. All participantswere made aware of how their data will be used and stored, and were informed that they couldcease their participation at any time. Any identifying information has been anonymized andgeneralized.The survey incentive posed some ethical issues. While an incentive is an effective tool toincrease response rates, it is essential that the incentive is not considered a considerable amountof money by the participants, as this could potentially be a source of bias in our data collection(Smith et al., 2019). Consequently, low value gift cards were chosen as the incentive for thisstudy, and the survey was redesigned so that any participant, whether or not they completed thesurvey, could put their name into the gift card draw so as to not appear biased.Results and AnalysisOnline SurveyOur survey received a total of 33 responses, from a diverse range of backgrounds. Everyyear level (first year through to doctoral students) had at least two respondents, and a wide range13of faculties were represented. Most of the respondents (48%) were upper year undergraduatestudents, while Science was the most represented faculty (35%), although Arts students alsomade up a significant proportion (28%). The demographics can be seen in Figures 2 & 3. Only6% of our responses came from first year students, which actually benefited our analysis. Giventhe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is unlikely first year students have had the chance to beinvolved in the range of climate action at university that upper year students have had access to,and therefore they may have been unable to respond to some of the questions in the survey, dueto their lack of first person experience on what was being asked.Figure 2: Faculty Demographics Figure 3: Year Level DemographicsOur results suggested that students were generally quite engaged with climate initiativeswith 75% of respondents stating that they have been directly involved in climate action at leastonce during their time at UBC. Of those who didn't participate in any initiatives, time and lack ofinterest were the two most common themes for their lack of participation. Written comments bythis group also suggested that some respondents did not believe protests were productive, andthat they don’t believe climate initiatives are “properly focussed.” Interestingly, this suggests thatclimate action is perceived by some as simply protesting, rather than by the diverse array of14activities that it actually consists of. When the data of those who have participated in climateinitiatives is analyzed, some interesting trends are evident.Students Perceptions of UBC’s Sustainability Initiatives are Largely PositiveDespite the fact that our literature review suggested that there was often friction betweenthe interests of the student body and the interests of the university, our data suggested that theway students view UBC’s climate policy so far is overwhelmingly positive. Out of our 33respondents, 23 believed that UBC was either “somewhat committed” or “strongly committed”to sustainability, with only 4 believing they are not committed. Furthermore, 22 agreed orstrongly agreed that they have learned more about both the climate crisis, and climate initiativessince enrolling at UBC (Figure 4).Figure 4: Student perspectives regarding UBC’s position on several sustainabilityissues.The data collected in the survey also suggested that UBC was already perceived as anaccessible place for students to engage in climate actions. 25 of the 32 respondents agreed thatUBC provides multiple opportunities to engage in sustainability and/or climate action initiatives.15Likewise, 24 respondents stated that they also agree that UBC provides space for student voicesto be heard in the shaping of UBC climate policy.Students Want Incentives in Exchange for their ParticipationWhen asked the question “What would increase your willingness to participate in climateaction?”, the two most frequent responses were graded academic activities and financialincentives (Figure 5). This suggests that it is unrealistic to expect that large proportions ofstudents will get involved in the climate action process merely because of their interest. Toincrease student engagement going forward, incentives are likely to be needed.Figure 5: Students responses to the question - What would increase your willingnessto participate in climate action?Social Media Appears to be Key in the Spread of Climate InformationThe data collected through the survey also suggests that digital media should continue tobe one of the primary means of engagement in the post-COVID world. Social media platformssuch as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter made up half of the responses to our question -“Through what medium do you usually come across climate-related information?” Likewise, 22out of 28 responses to the question “What is your primary source of information related to local16climate initiatives?”, identified social media or mass distribution emails as their primary sourceof information regarding local engagement opportunities. Evidently, digital engagement isessential to capturing the attention of the student body.InterviewsResearchers conducted three interviews (two individual interviews and one groupinterview) and questioned a total of four people. Each semi-structured interview lastedapproximately 45 minutes long. Interviewees were generally very enthusiastic about the studycontent, and did not appear (or sound) hesitant about answering any questions asked of them. Allinterviewees were part of organizations that engaged UBC university students in sustainability orclimate action related activities; one organization was associated with UBC, while the other twowere external organizations. Three of the four interviewees were staff, and one interviewee was aformer staff member.There were 4 common themes throughout the interviews: engage students where they areat, use more participatory engagement methods, be clear about what students can meaningfullyinfluence, and digital-only engagement has significant benefits and some drawbacks.Engage students where they are atThe interviewees unanimously voiced that the most effective way to engage students wasto embed engagement within existing networks and student requirements to lower the barrier toparticipation. Two interviewers worked primarily with students through course connectedprojects, and said that this method of engagement was effective because it is an activity thatstudents are already doing; by making it a part of a course requirement it makes it easier toparticipate and it tends to have a ripple effect beyond the students themselves as they reach out totheir networks and peers. Another interviewee stated that engaging students through existinggroups on campus (such as campus clubs, the UBC Sustainability Initiative, or Centre forCommunity Engaged Learning) is effective, and a different interviewee emphasized “bringingtogether where your audience gets their news, where they physically are, and figure out where inthat space you can embed the engagement tools”. This person suggested making TAs andprofessors ambassadors for the cause, using as many social media channels as possible (Discord,TikTok, and Reddit in addition to the usual Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), embedding the17engagement in Canvas, and building mutual networks with campus groups that have similargoals.Use more participatory engagement methodsThe concept of reciprocity in engagement was mentioned in all three interviews; theymentioned that surveys and focus groups are one way extractive processes, and that a two waydialogue provides much richer engagement. All interviewees put an emphasis on the necessity ofintegrating a feedback mechanism to report back results to make students feel like their effortsare having an impact. One interviewee put it succinctly; people are more familiar with the lowerrungs on Arnstein’s Ladder of participation (Figure 6), however meaningful and deeperengagement occur at higher rungs, “which are time intensive, and about building relationshipsand sharing power, and have that equity piece”.Figure 6: Arnstein’s ladder of participation (1969)The interviewee also noted that these more participatory engagement methods includedco-designing the engagement process with the targeted groups, and usually involved earlier andrepeat engagement sessions. They also noted that Two interviewees specifically mentioned a18need for students to be involved in every level of the administration, and from project ideationand initiation, rather than consulting students at the end of the design process.Be clear about what can be meaningfully influencedAll interviewees discussed the importance of having clear deliverables and expectationsof impact with student engagement. One interviewee stated that having student participationshould be not only for representation’s sake, having enough students (at least three) in positionswhere their decisions have impact is crucial to avoiding tokenism as engagement, whichultimately alienates students and can discourage them from future participation.Digital-only engagement has significant benefits and some drawbacksAll interviewees emphasized that the switch to digital-only engagement has led to somesignificant benefits, including increased participation from people who normally would not beable to participate, creating a tight online community, having international perspectives.Digital-only drawbacks mentioned centred around accessibility of digital technology, andaccessibility of space to participate in a work from home environment. All interviewees alsoemphasized that future engagement will likely be a hybrid of in-person and digital systems.In addition to these common themes, individual interviews yielded some enlighteningdata. While common tools used for student engagement included Zoom (most often used in afocus-group or charette based activity), three respondents mentioned additional virtual tools thatwere helpful. Kumu Maps was cited as being useful for system mapping, while MURAL wascited as being a great collaboration and brainstorming tool. Ethelo, Thought Exchange, andPlaceSpeak were mentioned by another interviewee as online participatory tools that were useful.One interviewee stated that they did not agree with the assertion that students arehard-to-reach, citing that their student engagement efforts were quite successful. They outlinedthat what matters is timing, how students are engaged, and the messaging. This intervieweestated that engagement has to reach out to students at the right time of the year, when they havetime to engage, and that now [our Data Collection Phase timeline] was not a good time to beengaging with students because they are “busy with their exams, busy with their final papers…and they’re done with virtual platforms”. This interviewee also outlined that a variety ofmethods, including short surveys, should be used to capture different levels of participation.19They noted that some students who are introverts may prefer something like a survey, whileother students prefer talking rather than writing. The interviewee also pointed out that the key togetting more engagement is that “the messaging has to be really clear and concise and relevant tothe students who you are wanting to engage”, and phrasing it in terms of “how does this processimpact them as a student at UBC?”Another interviewee stated that there were two parts to successful engagement: reciprocalengagement, and providing a way to get involved with the cause (reciprocity, mentorship,honoraria) - done not just for altruistic reasons, but also to increase accessibility. This involvesengaging “the earlier the better, and more often”, and providing reimbursement to people fortheir time.Overall, this interview data was very helpful to place current engagement strategieswithin a UBC context, to find out what methods do and do not work, and to act as groundworkfor final recommendations on UBC student engagement strategies.Research SignificanceOur literature review revealed that while there was a significant body of existing researchon the need for student engagement in university environmental policy creation, there was verylittle material that focussed on how to get students involved. Previous work suggested studentscould not be engaged in an identical manner to the population as a whole, and that specialapproaches needed to be implemented in order to get them involved. Our study revealed somefoundations on which future research can be built upon. Through our research methods, we hearddirectly that a new approach is needed - an approach that is inherently more strategic in nature.For example, the cyclical schedules that universities follow must be integrated into engagementstrategies, as must the specific timings at which engagement activities take place - students andstaff have very different daily schedules. Likewise, our study suggested that engagementstrategies work better with students if conducted over longer time periods, with one-time eventsoften seeing low turnouts and being a shallower engagement method. Events that are conductedin exam periods were also suggested to suffer from low turnouts, and consequently it is essentialthat any engagement strategies take into account the need to know one’s audience, as Karen Kirkstates (Kirk, 2018).20Therefore, it is essential that future engagement strategies attempt to meet students attheir level, rather than expecting students to get involved at the level of the planning departmentsor take on a lot of extracurricular engagement work. This means that engagement strategies needto be embedded where students are most often both physically and online, and should target notonly physical places like dorms, but also online spaces such as the UBC Reddit channel, Discord,and Canvas in addition to social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Students alsoappear to want “two-way” engagement strategies, rather than the traditional one-way flows ofinformation from professor to students, with some of our survey participants stating that they didnot feel their participation would do anything. These engagement strategies are usually longerand more involved, but also lead to deeper and more meaningful engagement.Finally, our research suggests that a significant amount of research is needed into the useof incentives alongside any future engagement strategies. Our surveys suggested that studentswould be most inclined to be engaged in exchange for financial rewards and/or graded academicwork. While such methods may go against traditional avenues of engagement, further research isneeded on the topic if universities are serious about getting students involved in the climatepolicy process.LimitationsAlthough we still believe that the survey/interview approach was the most effectivestrategy given the goals of our research, we acknowledge that this approach was hampered by thetime constraints of the course. This especially impacted our sample sizes, as we only obtained 33survey responses and 3 interviews - far less than we expected. Moreover, our network samplingmethods likely had an impact on the responses that we received. As we began sampling throughour own networks, we may have unintentionally influenced the type of respondents involved -namely, we were likely peers with people also interested in climate issues, which could make itmisrepresentative of the greater UBC student population.Future Research DirectionsWhile our study provided key insights into the best practices when engaging students inthe climate action process, we were limited by resource shortages, particularly time. It isessential that future research builds upon our study in order to implement new strategies that will21truly increase student participation. In particular, this research could center itself around the useof incentives to encourage climate action. While we did briefly mention incentives in our surveyand interviews, we did not explore the topic in depth. More research is needed to identify theform that these incentives should take - with our early work suggesting financial rewards and/oracademic activities could be key for this approach.Likewise, while our study identified that digital engagement strategies were key tocapturing the attention of the student body, our lack of resources (predominantly sample size andtime) meant that we could not explore the best specific strategies that should be utilized. Socialmedia was often referenced by our participants as their main source of climate relatedinformation, yet social media itself is a rapidly evolving medium. Research into the best methodsof digital engagement is likely to need a more in depth research method than the surveys weutilized in our study, and for that reason it is suggested interviews or focus groups be used.Furthermore, this research did discuss the lack of student involvement in the structure ofuniversity policy making bodies, but did not delve deeply into the mechanisms that wouldresolve this issue. However, our literature review and qualitative data suggest that a main causefor student apathy is feeling disempowered because they think they cannot truly affect universitypolicy. Investigating specific mechanisms that could embed student participation in UBCstructures is a promising future research project that will help students be meaningfully involvedin the Climate Emergency Response decision making process.We believe that there is opportunity for future SEEDS researchers to build on our study.As the student community returns to campus following the COVID-19 pandemic, there is anopportunity to use more in depth research techniques with longer time scales such as repeatedfocus groups to identify specific digital engagement strategies that work best with students. Thiswas near impossible for us to conduct remotely and it is hoped that a return to on-campusactivity allows for the opportunity to work with students face-to-face.Finally, as climate policy at universities continues to evolve, it is hoped that researchcould be carried out that differentiates UBC’s climate policies with those from other universitiesin Canada. 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Are you currently in the Greater Vancouver area or in close proximity to the UBCcampus?❏ Yes❏ No28Question Block #2: Knowledge & Participation1. Have you heard of a ‘Climate Action Plan’ before?❏ Yes, I’m aware of what it entails❏ Yes, but I’m not sure what it entails❏ No, I’ve never heard of that2. Have you ever participated in a climate action initiative?❏ Yes, multiple times!❏ Yes, only once❏ No3. If you answered “no” in the previous question, what would you say is the mainreason why you haven’t participated in such an initiative?❏ Lack of time❏ Lack of interest❏ Lack of opportunities❏ Other [please specify below][text entry]Question Block #3: UBC & Sustainability (student perceptions)For the following section, please rate how strongly you agree with the followingstatements on a scale from 1 to 5:1. As an academic institution, UBC is strongly committed to sustainability:1. Not in my experience / Neutral2. Completely disagree3. Somewhat agree4. Agree5. Strongly agree2. I have learned more about the climate crisis and climate action initiatives since Ienrolled at UBC:1. Not in my experience / Neutral2. Completely disagree3. Somewhat agree4. Agree5. Strongly agree3. UBC provides multiple pathways/opportunities for students to learn more about andengage in sustainability and climate action initiatives:1. Not in my experience / Neutral292. Completely disagree3. Somewhat agree4. Agree5. Strongly agree4. UBC provides space for students to express their environmental concerns and to beactive voices in the shaping of institutional policymaking:1. Not in my experience / Neutral2. Completely disagree3. Somewhat agree4. Agree5. Strongly agree5. If you have attended a UBC-led sustainability and/or climate action initiative(including panel talks, strikes, workshops, etc. ), please describe the event andyour experience below:[text entry]Question Block #4: Engagement pathways / tools1. Who/ what is your primary source of information related to local climate actioninitiatives?❏ UBC campus-wide emails and notices❏ UBC student-led groups (i.e UBC 350)❏ The Ubyssey❏ Other [please specify below][text entry]2. What platform are you most likely to encounter climate change relatedinformation in?❏ Word of Mouth (through my social circle)❏ Social media❏ Emails❏ Newspapers, magazines, and/or advertisements3. Who / what draws you the most to participate in climate action initiatives?❏ My friends❏ My career goals / personal beliefs❏ My family❏ My faculty and/or university in general❏ No one / nothing encourages me to participate304. What do you believe would increase your willingness to participate in climateaction initiatives?❏ Mandatory (graded) academic projects / activities❏ More space to participate in policy-making at UBC❏ More digital resources like Zoom workshops & Instagram/Facebook lives❏ Financial incentives / Rewards (i.e: bookstore or on-campus restaurant discounts)Suggestions / CommentsPlease leave any additional questions, suggestions, or comments regarding UBC’supcoming Climate Action Plan 2030 and / or UBC’s commitment to Sustainabilityin the following box:[TEXT ENTRY]Thank you for participating in our survey! We appreciate your support.31Appendix B: Semi-Structured Interview QuestionsInterview Question BankThank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed. This interview should take around 45minutes long. Just to remind you, we will be talking about student/youth engagement in climateaction. You can decline to answer questions or exit the interview at any time.May I record this conversation?Introduction Questions:1. What organization do you work for and how long have you worked there?2. What kind of issues does your organization work with in relation to youth/students?*Youth/students are defined as people between the ages of 16-30.● Will inform what to talk about with (TOPIC) later - could be multiple subjects thatincludes or does not include Climate Change● E.g. providing programs for youth, providing information, providingscholarships/internships, involving them in international organizations, facilitatingthem to change policy, employing youth, etc.3. How are students/youth involved in your organization’s mandate?● E.g. helping create mandate, benefiting from mandate via programs, not involvedat all, etc.General Student Engagement Questions:We are going to discuss your experience with student engagement, under pre-pandemiccircumstances.Priority questions:4. Generally, what methods have been the most successful in attracting student/youthinvolvement in (TOPIC)?5. What engagement methods/tools do you most frequently use to attract student/youthparticipation/insight on (TOPIC)?● Do you have an engagement strategy/mission/goals that you would be willing toshare with us?326. In your opinion, what methods are missing or not used enough to attract youth/studentinvolvement?Other questions:Who is generally involved in (TOPIC)?What demographics are harder to reach?Are there any strategies that your organization is investigating to reach the audiences?● If so, have these methods been successful?What barriers do you face when trying to engage with students on (TOPIC)?Impact of Pandemic and move to digital engagement questions:Now, we’re going to talk about how the pandemic has impacted and changes your engagementprocess.Priority questions:7. How has the pandemic impacted your organization’s engagement processes?8. What has worked best for you to get people engaged in surveys/participation via digitalmeans?9. What has worked best to get youth/students to participate beyond providing information?10. Are there any digital engagement methods that have not worked?● Can you give me more details on why these methods were not as effective asother methods?Closing Questions11. Is there anything else on the topic of student/youth engagement that you would like toshare with us?12. Is there anyone else that you recommend we speak to about this topic?Thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed! Just to reiterate, your information will bestored in Canada on the secure UBC server and will be deleted after this research is over in thefall of 2021.33Appendix C: Interview Code BookTable 1: Initial Thematic Codes Inspired by Semi-Structured Interview QuestionsCode Description Example from TranscriptsEngagementChallengesInterviewee refers tochallenges with engagementwith student populations.Specific examples from the transcriptsinclude too much identifiableinformation.EngagementSuccessesInterviewee refers to successeswith engagement with studentpopulations.Specific examples from the transcriptsinclude too much identifiableinformation.DemographicChallengesInterviewee refers directly orindirectly to specificaudiences that are hard toreach.“Not everybody has access to reliableconnectivity, and who, again, who arewe leaving behind? Who doesn't havea safe place, a connective place, a quietplace to be able to participate? And Idon't think we've resolved seriously,some of these issues”DigitalEngagementInterviewee refers to types ofdigital tools or processes usedin engagement practices.“We've been using Zoom…we've alsoused MURAL, we used... Kumu Mapto try to kind of visually make arepresentation in connection of howeverything is connected in our work.”Pandemic Impacts Interviewee refers to changesthat the COVID-19 pandemichas made to engagementstrategies.“It has changed everything, but alsowe're still doing the work. So I meanobviously it was a steep learning curveto figure out how to do all of thisonline. ”Table 2: Codes Developed During Transcript AnalysisCode Description Example from TranscriptsSustainability Interviewee definessustainability.“We define sustainability as a verybroad topic. So we include of course,climate justice, climate anxiety,climate change, kind of topics but alsosocial justice, environmental andeconomic issues. So it is very broad. ”34ReciprocalEngagementInterviewee refers toengagement using the wordsdialogue, two-way, orreciprocal.“...like maybe once I've gotten myfeedback as a student, I want to seewhat happened with that feedback.Maybe, maybe I have other thoughtson it a little bit later on after hearingsome updates. So I think there has tobe more of a conversation and adiscussion, like back and forth.”Best Practices forEngagementInterviewee outlines multiplecomponents of effectiveengagement strategy.“So I think that's the third bit that Iwould say that, you know, themessaging has to be really clear andconcise and relevant to the studentswho you are wanting to engage.”Student Locationsand NetworksInterviewee refers to places(physical or virtual) andnetworks that students inhabit.“ For a university audience, I wouldsuggest looking at using Reddit,Tiktok, Youtube, Discord as well asthe usual Instagram, Twitter, andFacebook. In person dorms are a hubof sorts on campus. Another thing tolook at would be to embed theengagement in Canvas, so it’s just notanother link. ”Influence andImpactInterviewee refers to studentinfluence or impact withengagement, governance, orclimate impact activities.“I find that when asking for youthparticipation at a conference, thereneed to be a big enough group so thatpeople would not just be there, butalso be on panels and be meaningfullyinvolved. Because otherwise it’s justtokenism as engagement”MoreParticipatoryEngagementInterviewee refers toengagement methods that arein the “Citizen Power” sectionof Arnstein’s Ladder ofParticipation“for us it’s very important to movetowards the collaboration and theco-creation and the meeting of theminds. Because there is, you know, avery little possibility of changingsomething or somebody by pointingjust a finger”35
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eng
Unreviewed
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Undergraduate
UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report
University of British Columbia. GEOG 371
Biodiversity
Climate
Stimulating University Student Engagement in Climate Action : An Analysis for UBC’s Climate Action Plan 2030 (CAP 2030)
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