The maps are designed for environmental social scientists and people working in similar fields. This includes knowledge creators, brokers, policy makers and practitioners engaging with Environmental Social Science (ESS) in academia, civil society, commercial entities, political organisations, intergovernmental organisations, the UK Government, devolved administrations, and local government.
Our Environmental Social Science kNowledge Exchange Map of Opportunities (ESS NEMO) presents systems maps that show groups, organisations and individuals that could be engaged for research, development and innovation.
A webinar on using ESS NEMO to promote research impact, collaboration and understanding will be held on Thursday 17 October, 1pm – 2pm, led by Dr George Warren.
Click the ESS NEMO Landscape Map for an overview of the range of groups and organisations in the UK
Click the ESS NEMO Westminster Map for ministerial departments, arm’s-length bodies, groups and individual roles in the UK government.
The maps have been created using the Participatory System Mapper (PRSM) software developed at the University of Surrey. Information was collected from official sources, including gov.uk, and co-produced by ESS researchers. The information is correct as of 10 July 2024.
To find out more about how ESS NEMO was created, please read on or click here for the in-depth explanatory guide
The maps are designed to support effective knowledge creation and exchange in research, development and innovation. They aim to promote greater collaboration across sectors and disciplines, help overcome barriers in driving impact and foster greater science-policy engagement. The maps can be used for a range of purposes, including those listed below:
A searchable ESS NEMO List of the organisations and groups is provided to complement the visual nature of the maps. The list includes names of specific organisations and groups, as well as non-exhaustive information about groups’ purpose, responsibilities and activities. If you are interested in a making a copy of either map to develop them from your perspective, please contact info@accessnetwork.uk.
To find out more, you can also click here for the explanatory guide or read the PRSM user manual.
To illustrate potential ways the ESS NEMO Landscape Map could be used, we created case study systems maps of organisations and groups involved in two different projects.
They visualise who has, and has not, been involved in the project, based on official reports, and offer learnings related to the kind of entities to include in future projects.
ESS NEMO was co-produced by 32 environmental social scientists and researchers. Many thanks to those named as co-authors, those who wished to remain anonymous, and additional thanks to: Professor Harriet Bulkeley (University of Durham), Dr Jo Hamilton (University of Exeter), Dr Ruth Lamont (Natural England), and Helen Roberts (Met Office).
With special thanks to Professor Nigel Gilbert at the Institute for Sustainability at the University of Surrey responsible for PRSM and help in creating these maps.
The ESS NEMO is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). For more information about the CC BY 4.0 license, please visit the Creative Commons website.
To cite this resource: Warren, G. W., Marshall, H., Seymour, V., Brockett, B. F. T., Christie, I., Exadaktylos, T., Gilbert, N., Hadfield, A., Hartley., S., Jones, C. R., Kass, G., Marselle, M. R., Padda, G., Walshe, R. A., & Gatersleben., B. (2024). Environmental Social Science kNowledge Exchange Map of Opportunities (ESS NEMO). Guildford, Surrey: ACCESS.
References:
Government Office for Science (2023). Net zero society: scenarios and pathways. Government Office for Science, HM Government.
Available: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/642d85fcfbe620000c17dd71/Net_Zero_Society_Report_2023.pdf.
UK NEA (2012). Who was involved? UK National Ecosystem Assessment.
Available: http://uknea.unep-wcmc.org/About/WhosInvolved/tabid/63/Default.aspx.
“The civil service can be a bewilderingly complex organisation, particularly to those people who are new to the system, and the interactions and connections of its many moving parts can be overwhelming. The ESS NEMO maps are an incredibly helpful resource to understand the landscape of stakeholders across government and beyond and to reduce the time needed to get up to speed.”
(Anonymous Civil Servant)
“Even academics and policymakers of long standing can find it hard to navigate the ever-changing landscape of UK policy systems and institutions. It’s that much harder for younger researchers and officials to see the wood for the trees. At a time when we need ever closer liaison and exchange of knowledge and skills between academe and policymaking, ESS NEMO is a brilliant resource, enabling researchers and policy experts to locate each other in the complex landscape of UK institutions.”
(Ian Christie, University of Surrey)