Using A Values-Based Approach
Taking a values-based approach means that Marine CoLAB partners design projects which test the hypothesis that developing a shared appreciation of the value of the ocean, in all its forms, will deliver better outcomes for people and the planet. We particularly focus on making intrinsic and non-monetary values explicit, moving away from a narrative currently dominated by short term economic maximisation of the ocean’s resources.
Listen to Sue Ranger from the Marine Conservation Society talking about the values-based approach and how it can be used in your work.
The Systems Change Approach
Taking a systems change approach means understanding the system which supports the issue you want to change (e.g. reducing plastic pollution into our coastal waters) in order to find the best collaborative way to enable that change. It includes mapping and identifying all the parts of the system and the relevant organisations involved e.g. plastic production, retail, waste management etc to uncover where in the system, if you applied pressure and worked with the relevant stakeholders to identify new solutions, you can ‘flip the system’ into a new one supporting more sustainable behaviour and practice e.g. eliminating single-use plastic and supporting a refill culture.
CPs inherently do this to some extent to enable integrated, cross-sectoral management, but there are tools involved with systems change analysis and delivery that could evolve our practice to become more innovative and impactful, tackling problems from multiple sources collaboratively.
Listen to Corina Angheloiu from Forum for the Future and Alice Chamberlain from the #oneless project talk about systems change and how the approach has been used to decrease single-use plastic water bottle use in London.
CPN WEBINARS
The Marine CoLABoration: Introduction and Opportunities
The Marine CoLABoration was initiated by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in 2015 to increase collaborative action and explore how to communicate the value of the ocean more effectively. The Marine CoLAB community is formed of a wide group of over 100 organisations supported by a Steering Group of nine : Client Earth, Fauna and Flora International, Forum for the Future, Institute for European Environmental Policy, International Programme on the State of the Ocean, Marine Conservation Society, New Economics Foundation, Thames Estuary Partnership (CPN Chair) and the Zoological Society of London.
The CoLAB aims to communicate the role of the ocean in human wellbeing, culture and prosperity and to demonstrate effective collaboration. The vision is for an ocean that is healthier and where the full range of ocean and human values are reflected in individual and collective decision-making. They aim to increase the effectiveness and impact of ocean solutions through a values based approach.
The CoLAB take a collaborative, experimental, values based, and systems change approach and learn about our impact through an action, research, learning cycle. The Marine CoLAB community are excited at the prospect of working with CPs via the CPN to share the tools and skills developed through the work. These webinars are a great opportunity to learn a bit more about the Marine CoLAB approach to understand how it can benefit you and your CP.