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Janet Stephenson imageResearch Professor
Postgraduate Co-ordinator

Tel +64 3 479 8779
Email janet.stephenson@otago.ac.nz

View Professor Janet Stephenson's Inaugural Professorial Lecture: Culture and sustainability
17 August 2021.

Profile

Janet Stephenson is passionate about collaborative, interdisciplinary research to address complex sustainability issues. She has led or co-led many interdisciplinary and cross-cultural research projects relating to landscape values, energy and transport transitions, environmental management and climate change adaptation. Her interest in the importance of culture is a consistent theme across all of these topics, as elaborated in her recent book, Culture and Sustainability.

Janet’s academic background is in sociology, planning and human geography. She joined the Centre as a Senior Research Fellow at the end of 2008, having previously taught in the Geography Department at Otago University from 2002–2008. She was Director of the Centre for Sustainability from 2011 to 2021.

Janet is on the steering committee for the University of Otago research theme Otago Energy Research Centre. She is on the Advisory Board of INCLUDE, a Norwegian research centre for socially inclusive energy transitions. She is also a member of the Coastal People: Southern Skies collaboration that connects communities with world-leading, cross-disciplinary research to rebuild coastal ecosystems.

Research

Current projects

  • Innovations for Climate Adaptation (2022-2024). Co-Principal Investigator with Professor Merata Kawharu. This project tracks innovations in governance and management that are being undertaken by mana whenua and local authorities as they adjust to making decisions for a climate-impacted future. Funded by Deep South National Science Challenge.
  • Kainga and Climate Change (2019-2024). Associate investigator in this project which is working with 7 rural Māori communities on how they and their descendants can better shape a future that builds community and environmental resilience in response to climate change. Funded by MBIE Endeavour Fund.

Recent completed projects

  • Climate-Adaptive Communities (2018-19) Janet was Principal Investigator for this research programme funded by the Deep South National Science Challenge. The findings (including videos, webinars, a cartoon and policy advice) support local government staff to build community readiness to engage with coastal communities that are facing climate change challenges such as sea level rise.
  • Simulation of climate change impacts on the New Zealand energy system (2020-23). Associate Investigator. Funded by Deep South National Science Challenge.
  • Bioshare (2019-2022) explored bioeconomies as the 'new oil' for Norway and how benefit-sharing could be achieved in these new economies. Funded by the Norwegian Research Council.
  • Flexeffect (2019-2022) examined how flexible electricity use among households can be achieved amongst Norwegian households, trialling various way to incentivise flexible electricity consumption. Funded by the Norwegian Research Council
  • Sustainable Seas (2017-2019) Janet was a member of the Science Leadership Team ( SLT ) on the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge 2017-2019. As cross-programme leader, she was responsible for the delivery of projects including how ecosystem-based management ( EBM ) fits into New Zealand's legislative and policy frameworks, and an EBM case study trialled in Tasman and Golden Bays.
  • Demand Response in Agriculture (2017-2019) Janet's research in this National Science Challenge looked at the potential for dairy farmers with irrigated farms to become involved in demand response in the electricity system. PhD student Jefferson Dew has a major role in this project.
  • Biosmart (2015-2018) Research on managing the transition to a smart bioeconomy. Led by Ruralis, Norway.
  • Vulnerable Communities and Climate Change (2017) involved a series of dialogues with stakeholders nationally about what issues communities were facing with climate change, and where research was required.  Funded by the Deep South National Science Challenge, contracted to Motu.
  • Valuation Frameworks for marine decision-making (2016-2019) Janet was an Associate Investigator in this workstream of the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge.
  • Green Grid - Janet was a key researcher in the Green Grid research programme. The research examined how NZ's electricity grid can be managed in future with higher levels of renewable energy, distributed generation, and consumer uptake of new grid-connected appliances such as photovoltaics, electric vehicles and energy management systems. The programme was led by the Epecentre, University of Canterbury.
  • Energy Cultures 2 - Janet led the four-year interdisciplinary Energy Cultures 2 research programme. It addressed the questions: How best might NZ realise cost-effective opportunities for energy efficiency and savings in homes, small businesses and their transport? What do new transport technologies and practices offer for greater efficiencies? The results are summarised for policy makers:
    Energy Cultures Policy Briefs

Selected recent academic publications

Stephenson, J. (2023). Culture and Sustainability: Exploring Stability and Transformation with the Cultures Framework. Palgrave Macmillan.

Stephenson, J., Kawharu, M., Bond, S., Diprose, G. (2022) What does success look like? A flaxroots perspective of adaptation. NZ Coastal Society Special Issue Adapting to coastal change and hazard risk in Aotearoa New Zealand pp13-15

MacArthur, J. & Stephenson, J. (2022) Energy Politics and Policy.  In MacArthur, J. & Bargh, M. Environmental Politics and Policy in Aotearoa New Zealand. Auckland University Press. Pp255-281

Stephenson, J., Sovacool, B. K., & Inderberg, T. H. J. (2021). Energy cultures and national decarbonisation pathways. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 137, 110592.

Tombs, B.D., Stephenson, J., France-Hudson, B, Ellis, E. (2021). Property Purgatory.  Policy Quarterly, 17(1): 50-56.

Stephenson, J., Barth, J., Bond, S., Diprose, G., Orchiston, C., Simon, K., Thomas, A. (2020).  Engaging with communities for climate change adaptation. Policy Quarterly 16(2): 35-40.

View additional publications

Selected policy advice and community-oriented outputs

Stephenson, J., Kawharu, M., Bond, S., Diprose, G., Te Rereatukāhia Marae Komiti, Maketu Iwi Collective, Te Kaahui o Rauru, Kati Huirapa ki Puketeraki and Aukaha (2024). Kete Whakaaro: A basket of ideas from mana whenua who are leading their own climate change adaptation. https://hdl.handle.net/10523/36243

Bond S, Diprose G, Stephenson J, Kawharu M (2024). Innovations for climate response: a kete for local government to help inform robust and just decision making. https://hdl.handle.net/10523/36197

Janet Stephenson, Merata Kawharu, Sophie Bond, Gradon Diprose and members of Rereatukahia Marae Komiti, Maketu Iwi Collective, Te Kaahui o Rauru, Kati Huirapa ki Puketeraki and Aukaha (2023). Adaptation by Mana Whenua: initiatives, challenges and working with councils. https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/handle/10523/16245

Bray, A., Stephenson, J. and Bond, S. (2023). Just Adaptation: what does justice mean, and how can it guide adaptation planning and decision-making? Summary report, Centre for Sustainability, University of Otago. https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/handle/10523/15268

Current PhD Students

  • Mino Cleverley - Samoa and Fa'asinomaga - An Indigenous Perspective of Forced Migration on account of Sea-level Rise and Climate Change
  • Courtney Simpson - The role of carbon markets and investment in New Zealand's transition to a low carbon economy
  • Ariane Bray - Reframing climate policy through justice, fairness, and equity
  • Kakau Foliaki - Energy Cultures in Tonga

Supervised PhDs awarded

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