Об исследовании

Governance, Community and Ecology: Responding to Challenges of Resource Development in the Circumpolar North (Macarthur Foundation Grant to NRU HSE)

This joint research project, hosted by the National Research University-Higher School of Economics will produce learning instruments for regional governments and communities to meet the environmental and economic challenges posed by intensive resource development in the circumpolar North. Often addressing these two sets of challenges requires decision-making about trade-offs and community benefits, therefore we focus our research on governance and the demands involved in making complex decisions with multiple stakeholder interests.

Carried out by a global team of experts, including specialists in business management, governance, environmental geography, and in cognitive cultures and e-learning, the project will consist of three phases. The duration of the project will be one year, with the first three months dedicated to preparation and background study, six months of field work and filming, and three months to dissemination of the project outputs.

In the first phase of three months, the core team of researchers will work with experts to develop a framework for comparative analysis that evaluates keys elements of effective regional strategies for sustainable development under federal constraints in Canada, Greenland and Russia. Researchers will also explore conditions for Arctic Development in Russia during this phase with a fact-finding mission to Yamalo-Nenetsk. A collaborative conference in Moscow will take place at the end of phase one in order to determine the guidelines and approach to phase two.

The second phase of the project, which is six months in duration, will be dedicated to documentation of the conditions and key actors in Greenland and Khanty-Mansiysk, the two target regions of our research. This will be accomplished through systematic engagement of stakeholders in these regions and exploration of the relevance of comparative regional strategies. This phase will require field research and filming in Greenland and Khanty-Mansiysk. During the time of field research, the team of researchers will create a documentary-style film that includes knowledge collected in phase 1 and 2 research, and live interviews with key stakeholders. 

Phase three, taking place during the final three months of the project, will involve the dissemination of the film, to be shared with regional actors in Khanty-Mansiysk, Greenland and other arctic regions. The purpose of the film is to serve as a means of knowledge transfer and stakeholder engagement. Initial presentations of the film will be facilitated by members of the research team, after which it will be disseminated more widely. Electronic dissemination will be supported by the Higher School of Economics, Department of Regional Studies.