Academics as activists : exploring and building political knowledge mobilization capacities to influence climate policy
department or school: Science, Faculty of
department or school: Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), Institute for
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Rossa-Roccor, Verena
issued: 2025-05-20T18:37:26Z
issued: 2025
related degree: Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Background: A growing number of academics advocate for political action on climate change. Very little is known about their strategic capacity or how they experience this role. There is also a paucity of training opportunities for academics who want to become more effective activists. This dissertation (i) presents a theory-substantive conceptual framework for change making strategies and tactics, (ii) fills the knowledge gap on strategies and experiences of academic advocates, and (iii) fills the training gap by providing a strategy workshop for academics. Methodology: A conceptual framework of practice-relevant insights on effective change making strategies was developed using a multidisciplinary body of literature. The experiences and skills of academic advocates were assessed in an interview-based narrative study design which included 17 academics from Canada, the US, and the UK. Data was analysed with a thematic coding approach within an interpretive description framework. The workshop focuses on power navigation strategies, integrating findings from the literature and the interviews. Results and discussion: I developed four archetypes based on participants’ knowledge mobilization (KMb) tactics: the advisor, the advocate, the activist, and the insider. These archetypes are fluid categories along two axes: (i) where participants exert their influence - inside vs. outside of the policy community - and (ii) how they approach their KMb activities from “power navigator” to “information provider”. The former engages in the realities of politics inside the policy community (e.g., civil servant, partisan activities, or lobbying) or as an outsider via tactics such as social movements or civil disobedience. The latter aims to maintain the status of an “objective” advisor via tactics such as acting as an expert witness or public intellectual. The choice of strategy for most participants is intuitive, depends largely on one’s concept of what is right or wrong (“identity”),…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/91166
note: ACADEMICS AS ACTIVISTS: EXPLORING AND BUILDING POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION CAPACITIES TO INFLUENCE CLIMATE POLICY by Verena Rossa-Roccor MD, Universität Tübingen, 2012 MSc, The University of British Columbia, 2019 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Resources, Environment and Sustainability) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) May 2025 © Verena Rossa-Roccor, 2025 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: Academics as activists: exploring and building political knowledge mobilization capacities to influence climate policy submitted by Verena Rossa-Roccor in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Resources, Environment and Sustainability Examining Committee: Dr. Paul Kershaw, Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health, UBC Co-Supervisor Dr. David R. Boyd, Associate Professor, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability and School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, UBC Co-Supervisor Dr. Veena Sriram, Assistant Professor, School of Population and Public Health and School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. M. V. Ramana, Professor, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, UBC University Examiner Dr. Terre Satterfield, Professor, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, UBC University Examiner Dr. Paul Cairney, Professor, Division of History, Heritage, and Politics, University of Stirling External Examiner Additional Supervisory Committee Members: Dr. Amanda Giang, Assistant Professor, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability and Department of Mechanical Engineering, UBC Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract Background: A growing number of academics advocate for political…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2025-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0448920
language: eng
degree discipline: Resources, Environment and Sustainability
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Kershaw, Paul W. (Paul William), 1974-
contributor: Boyd, David R. (David Richard), 1964-
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/91166