Members of the project are posing for the picture up a staircase with a transparent glass balustrade

SPARK4B+ : Strengthening Pathways for Alternative socio-economic paradigms and governance frameworks and Response-able Knowledge and action for Biodiversity-Positive and just futures

Funder

SPARK4B+ receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101291197

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Project Team

Marco Van De Wiel, Alex Franklin, Jonathan Eden, Barbara Smith, Claire Lyons, Lindy Binder.

Value to Coventry University

€6,991,938.75

Duration

September 2026 – August 2030

Collaborators

Coventry University (United Kingdom, Coordinator), GreenFormation Kft. (Hungary, Partner, Co-Coordinator), Universitetet i Bergen (Norway, Partner), ESSRG Nonprofit Kft. (Hungary, Partner), Universidad de Vigo (Spain, Partner), SDSN Association Paris (France, Partner), Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia, Partner), Universitaet Hohenheim (Germany, Partner), European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research (Austria,Partner), Stockholms Universitet (Sweden, Partner), Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Colombia, Partner), Agence Francaise de Developpement (France, Partner), Norsk Institutt For Naturforskning NINA (Norway, Partner), Lunds Universitet (Sweden, Partner), Warwickshire Wildlife Trust (United Kingdom, Partner), Fundacion Montescola (Spain, Partner), VEXIZA (Spain, Partner).

Project Overview

The current growth-oriented socio-economic paradigm drives biodiversity loss, climate change and inequality. While alternative paradigms such as degrowth, wellbeing economy and ecosystem-based governance exist, they are fragmented and rarely institutionalised, with limited insight into their effects on the biodiversity–climate–equity nexus. Mainstream scenarios often mirror status quo, ignoring diverse values and paths. This lack of credible visions for alternative biodiversity- and equity-positive futures fuels inertia and blocks change. SPARK4B+ makes these paradigms tangible, credible and actionable. It combines qualitative (visioning, narratives, systems mapping, behavioural and arts-based methods) with quantitative (socio-economic and ecological modelling, trade-off and co-benefit analysis) approaches, enabled by co-creation and AI, with Transformation Labs and Demonstrator Cases across six countries and seven sectors developing and testing pathways, with coalitions and champions sustaining impact. By bridging imagination and evidence, SPARK4B+ equips stakeholders with tools for biodiversity-positive and just futures. SPARK4B+ will support the implementation of biodiversity, climate and social policies with evidence, scenarios, and tools, while advancing societal change through tested interventions in agriculture, forestry, water, finance, health, education and urban development. It will empower champions, foster inclusive leadership and embed biodiversity-positive practices in governance, communities and everyday life.

Project Objectives

The overarching aim of the project is to make alternative socio-economic paradigms and governance frameworks for biodiversity, climate and justice tangible, credible, actionable and sustainable by integrating qualitative and quantitative methods with transdisciplinary and co-creative approaches and generative AI. By bridging imagination and evidence, we seek to overcome the current inertia in biodiversity action, co-create compelling alternative futures, and empower policymakers, communities, and champions to adopt transformative pathways that protect and restore biodiversity and advance equity. To achieve our aim, we address the following objectives:

Map and assess alternative socio-economic paradigms and governance frameworks relevant for biodiversity, climate and justice, including empirical cases, barriers, enablers, and strategies for diffusion.
Advance future visioning methodologies by integrating multiple value and valuation perspectives, qualitative system models, and transformation theories with digital tools (AI and immersive technologies).
Develop and refine quantitative models and user-friendly tools that integrate biodiversity, climate, and socio-economic dimensions, enabling rigorous analysis of trade-offs, synergies, and long-term impacts.
Co-create alternative scenarios and pathways with stakeholders through Transformation Labs (T-Labs), ensuring they are rooted in place-based realities and policy challenges, while enabling comparability and mutual learning across scales and contexts.
Pilot and amplify interventions in Demonstration Intervention Cases, testing the feasibility, effectiveness, equity and scalability of strategies that operationalise alternative paradigms in practice.
Build and empower coalitions and champions, equipping them with knowledge, skills, and institutional support to diffuse transformative change across scales and sectors, while fostering inclusive leadership and ensuring equity in representation, decision-making, and impact.
Communicate, engage, and disseminate knowledge widely, fostering societal dialogue, cultural engagement, and policy uptake to accelerate systemic adoption of alternative pathways and diffusion of biodiversity.

Impact Statement

SPARK4B+ contributes to emerging scholarship on socio-economic transformation, biodiversity governance and just sustainability transitions. By co-creating and testing alternative futures with stakeholders across Europe and Latin America, the project will provide practical tools, evidence and policy insights that help governments, organisations and communities embed biodiversity-positive, equitable and climate-resilient practices in decision-making and everyday life.