Circular Society Innovations for place-based equitable, inclusive & environmentally sustainable living

循环经济的倡导者将其宣传为线性(制造废物)经济的一种更可持续的替代方案。虽然循环举措的经济和环境效益是有针对性的和鼓吹的，但其社会影响仍然知之甚少、定义含糊和微不足道，特别是与社会公平和正义有关的影响。循环倡议的结果取决于许多因素，这些因素在“地方”中显现出来。然而，基于地点的循环倡议直到最近才开始有意突出社会目标。出现了一个新的改革派议程，它指的是“循环社会”--与循环经济相对--其中社会正义和福祉是核心，产出、成果和方法具有包容性和参与性。我们将这些需求转化为循环社会创新(CSI)过程涉及的四个社会维度：1.突出谨慎的社会需求；2.预测意外的社会后果；3.设计明确的社会目标；4.优先考虑创造就业和培训的质量，以及重视非工作活动的价值。CSI可能出现在这样的背景下：通过城市农场关闭当地食品消费和生产的循环；通过社区枢纽修复和重新调整纺织品和电子设备的用途；通过出借图书馆扩大工具和设备共享；通过连接供需来重新利用建筑业的“废物”等等。考虑这四个方面对于评估社会目标在CSI项目中的嵌入性很重要。我们项目的目的是探索通过制定、实施和扩大CSI，使地方变得更加公平、包容和环境可持续的过程。我们的目标是：(1)评估政策、实践者和项目如何通过基于地点的CSI的开发和实施来应对可持续性挑战；(2)评估可以共同创建哪些解决方案来扩大CSI的规模；以及(3)为政策制定者、实践者和公民社会组织制定建议，以刺激以地点为基础的CSI。我们的主要研究“地点”是大曼彻斯特(GM)，在地方当局之间的权力下放和合作方面，它可以说是英国最先进的地区，为学习扩展CSI提供了一个“试验台”。在全球机制内部，出现了促进循环倡议和社区财富建设的新兴政策、实践者和项目。为了确定符合CSI标准的项目，我们将与以下非学术项目合作伙伴密切合作：大曼彻斯特联合管理局；曼彻斯特城斯托克波特的奥德姆地方当局；地方政府循环经济网络ReLondon；以及专注于社区的地方经济国家智库CLES。我们将与英国更广泛的社区、相关机构和决策者接触，并向CSI先锋的国际地方，即芝加哥、图尔库和乌得勒支学习和分享经验。我们将采用多种研究方法，共同创造100个CSI项目的知识，其中50个项目我们将进行深入研究。知识将转化为基于证据的建议，供政策制定者和实践者推广CSI，以实现基于地点的公平、包容和环境可持续的生活。地方以及居住在这些地方的社区将是该项目的主要受益者，但将通过“纵向参与性形成性评估”的过程向政策制定者、实践者和参与CSI项目的人员提供支持。这一进程将通过支持关键利益攸关方实施和扩大以地点为基础的CSI而产生影响。通过我们与利益相关者的深入接触，我们预计将产生多种相互关联的社会成果，以及通常与主流行政长官相关的环境和经济利益。

Advocates of the circular economy promote it as a more sustainable alternative to the linear (take-make-waste) economy. While the economic and environmental benefits of circular initiatives are targeted and trumpeted, the social implications remain poorly understood, vaguely defined and marginal, especially in relation to social equity and justice. The outcomes of circular initiatives are contingent on many factors that manifest themselves in 'places'. And yet, place-based circular initiatives have only recently begun to intentionally foreground social objectives. There is an emerging reformist agenda that refers to 'circular society' -as opposed to circular economy- where social justice and wellbeing are central and where outputs, outcomes and approaches are inclusive and participatory. We translate these imperatives into a set of four social dimensions that circular society innovation (CSI) processes involve: 1. Foregrounding discreet social imperatives; 2. Anticipating unintended social consequences; 3. Designing-in explicit social objectives; and 4. Prioritising the quality of job creation and training, and value non-work activities.CSI could emerge in the context of closing the loop of local food consumption and production through urban farms; repairing and repurposing textiles and electronic appliances through community hubs; extending tools and equipment sharing through lending libraries; reusing construction industry 'waste' by connecting supply and demand; and so on. Consideration of the four dimensions is important for evaluating the embeddedness of societal objectives within CSI projects. The aim of our project is to explore the processes by which places can become more equitable, inclusive and environmentally sustainable by developing, implementing and scaling CSI. Our objectives are to:(1) Assess how policy, practitioners and projects address sustainability challenges through the development and implementation of place-based CSI;(2) Evaluate what solutions can be co-created to scale CSI; and(3) Develop recommendations for policy makers, practitioners and civic society organisations to stimulate place-based CSI. Our main research 'place' is Greater Manchester (GM), arguably the most advanced region of the UK in terms of devolution and cooperative working across local authorities, offering a 'test-bed' for learning about scaling CSI. Within GM there are emerging policies, practitioners and projects that promote circular initiatives and community wealth building. To identify projects that meet our CSI dimensions, we will collaborate closely with our non-academic project partners: Greater Manchester Combined Authority; local authorities in Oldham, Stockport, Manchester City; ReLondon, the local government circular economy network; and,CLES, the community-focused national think-tank for local economies. We will engage the wider community, relevant agencies and decision makers in the UK, and learn from - and share learning with - international places in the vanguard of CSI, namely Chicago, Turku and Utrecht. We will employ a variety of research methods to co-create knowledge on 100 CSI projects, 50 of which we'll study in-depth. Knowledge will be translated into evidence-based recommendations for policymakers and practitioners to scale CSI for place-based equitable, inclusive and environmentally sustainable living. Places, and the communities that inhabit them, will be the main beneficiaries of the project, but support will be directed to policy makers, practitioners and those involved in CSI projects through a process of 'longitudinal participatory formative evaluation'. This process will generate impactful outcomes by supporting key stakeholders to implement and scale place-based CSI. Through our deep engagement with stakeholders, we anticipate multiple, inter-related social outcomes to be delivered alongside the environmental and economic benefits usually associated with mainstream CE.