Cycles of change: enhancing collaboration and communication in Norwegian municipalities to strengthen heritage preparedness for extreme events

AbstractThis article considers the development of a framework to collaboratively identify and address the most pressing needs for application of climate change research to the preservation of cultural heritage in Norway. Its focus is on historic wooden buildings, at increased risk from fire and flood due to climate change. Drawing from the field of translational research, the MICHON project identified the need for targeted, systematic knowledge networks in preparedness planning for cultural heritage environments. This was developed through a combination of desk-based research and extensive collaboration with Norwegian municipalities, fire brigades and local communities. The process has included evaluation of policy and practice in diverse case sites to frame a networking methodology that builds on Lean Construction and the backwards planning method. The interaction between researcher and practitioner has been at the forefront of the project and the iterative design has already shown transformative impacts to both practice and research.Sammendrag«‘Cycles of change’; forsterking av samhandling og kommunikasjon i norske kommuner for å styrke arbeidet med beredskap for kulturminner ved akutte hendelser»Artikkelen tar for seg utviklingen av et rammeverk for å identifisere og adressere de viktigste behovene for anvendelse av klimaendringsforskning for bevaring av kulturarv i Norge. Fokuset er på historiske trebygninger, med økt risiko for brann og flom på grunn av klimaendringene. Med translasjonell forskning som metodisk utgangspunkt, identifiserte MICHON-prosjektet behovet for målrettede, systematiske kunnskapsnettverk i beredskapsplanlegging for kulturmiljøer, i tillegg til gjennomføring av øvelser. Dette er utviklet gjennom en kombinasjon av litteraturgjennomgang og omfattende samarbeid med norske kommuner, brannvesen og lokalsamfunn. Prosessen har inkludert evaluering av politikk og praksis på ulike områder for å lage et rammeverk for en nettverksmodell og som bygger på metodene for samarbeid som Lean Construction og bakoverplanlegging. Samspillet mellom forskning og praksis har vært utforsket i prosjektet, og den iterative fremgangsmåten har allerede vist gode effekter på tvers av fagfelt.Résumé«Cycles de changement: renforcer la collaboration et la communication dans les municipalités norvégiennes pour améliorer la préparation du patrimoine face aux événements extrêmes»Cet article envisage le développement d'un cadre permettant d’identifier et de répondre de manière collaborative aux besoins les plus urgents pour mettre en application la recherche sur le changement climatique, pour la préservation du patrimoine culturel en Norvège. Il se concentre sur les bâtiments historiques en bois, exposés à un risque accru d'incendie et d'inondation en raison du changement climatique. S'inspirant du domaine de la recherche translationnelle, le projet MICHON a identifié le besoin d’avoir des réseaux de savoirs ciblés et systématiques dans la planification de la préparation de l’environnement du patrimoine culturel. Il a été mis au point grâce à une association de recherches documentaires et d'une collaboration étendue aux municipalités norvégiennes, aux pompiers et aux communautés locales. Le processus a inclus l'évaluation de la politique et de la mise en œuvre dans divers sites étudiés pour élaborer une méthodologie de mise en réseau qui s'appuie sur une gestion allégée (Lean) et une méthode de rétroplanning. L'interaction entre le chercheur et le praticien a été au premier plan du projet et la conception itérative a déjà produit des transformations à la fois sur la pratique et la recherche.Zusammenfassung„Zyklen des Wandels: Verbesserung der Zusammenarbeit und Kommunikation in norwegischen Gemeinden zur Stärkung der Vorsorge bei Extremereignissen im Bereich Kulturgut“Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit der Entwicklung eines Rahmens zur gemeinsamen Identifizierung und Bewältigung der dringendsten Bedürfnisse bei der Anwendung der Klimawandelforschung zur Erhaltung des kulturellen Erbes in Norwegen. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf historischen Holzgebäuden, die aufgrund des Klimawandels einem erhöhten Risiko durch Feuer und Überschwemmungen ausgesetzt sind. Ausgehend vom Bereich der translationalen Forschung wurde im Rahmen des MICHON-Projekts der Bedarf an gezielten, systematischen Wissensnetzwerken für die Bereitschaftsplanung im Bereich des kulturellen Erbes ermittelt. Dies wurde durch eine Kombination aus Sekundärforschung und umfassender Zusammenarbeit mit norwegischen Gemeinden, Feuerwehren und den Gemeinschaften vor Ort entwickelt. Der Prozess umfasste die Bewertung von Politik und Praxis an verschiedenen Fallbeispielen, um eine Netzwerkmethodik zu entwickeln, die auf Lean Construction und der Methode der Rückwärtsplanung aufbaut. Die Interaktion zwischen Forschern und Praktikern stand im Vordergrund des Projekts, und das iterative Design hat bereits transformative Auswirkungen sowohl auf die Praxis als auch auf die Forschung gezeigt.Resumen“Ciclos de cambio: Mejorando la colaboración y la comunicación en los municipios noruegos para fortalecer la prevención de riesgos del patrimonio ante fenómenos extremos”Este artículo examina el desarrollo de un marco para identificar y abordar en colaboración, las necesidades más apremiantes en cuanto a la aplicación de la investigación sobre el cambio climático a la conservación del patrimonio cultural en Noruega. Se centra en los edificios históricos de madera, expuestos a un mayor riesgo de incendio e inundación debido al cambio climático. Basándose en el campo de la investigación traslativa, el proyecto MICHON identificó la necesidad de redes de conocimiento específicas y sistemáticas relativas a un plan de preparación de emergencia para entornos de patrimonio cultural. Esto se desarrolló mediante una combinación de investigación documental y una amplia colaboración con municipios noruegos, cuerpos de bomberos y comunidades locales. El proceso ha incluido una evaluación de las políticas y la prácticas en diferentes emplazamientos para delimitar una metodología de trabajo en red basada en ‘Lean Construction’ y el método de planificación retrospectiva. La interacción entre los investigadores y los profesional practicantes ha estado al frente del proyecto y este proceso de diseño iterativo ya ha mostrado efectos transformadores tanto en la práctica como en la investigación.摘要“周期变化：挪威市政当局为强化遗产的极端事件预防能力而加强合作与交流”本文探讨了一个框架制定，以共同确定和满足挪威在文化遗产保护方面应用气候变化研究的最迫切需求。文章的关注点是历史悠久的木质建筑，由于气候变化，这些建筑面临火灾和洪水的风险越来越大。MICHON项目借鉴了转化型研究的经验，确定了在文化遗产环境的防灾规划中建立有针对性且系统的知识网络的必要性。通过案头研究以及与挪威市政当局、消防队和当地社区的广泛合作，该项目得到了发展。这一过程包括对不同案例场所的政策和实践进行评估，以构建一种基于精益建设和逆向策划法的网络方法。研究人员与实践者之间的互动一直是该项目的重中之重，而迭代设计已显现出对实践和研究的变革性影响Keywords: disaster preparednesscultural heritagepreventive workinterdisciplinary planningnetworkbackwards planning AcknowledgmentsThe authors sincerely thank the cooperative municipalities in the MICHON project, for sharing knowledge and making time to prioritise this matter. The authors have learned so much from the workshops and discussions, which will be important for the project and to convey to other Norwegian municipalities. Also, gratitude goes to Nancy Bell for introducing the authors to the field of translational research.Notes1 Cf. for example, ICOMOS, Resolution 19GA 2017/30—Mobilizing ICOMOS and the Cultural Heritage Community to Help Meet the Challenge of Climate Change (2017), 18–20, www.icomos.org/images/DOCUMENTS/General_Assemblies/19th_Delhi_2017/19th_GA_Outcomes/GA2017_Resolutions_EN_20180206finalcirc.pdf (accessed 2 September 2023).2 Sandra Fatoric and Erin Seekamp, ‘Are Cultural Heritage and Resources Threatened by Climate Change? A Systematic Literature Review’, Climatic Change 142, 1, no. 17 (2017): 227–54.3 Cf. UNESCO, ‘Reducing Disaster Risk at World Heritage Properties’ (2021), https://whc.unesco.org/en/disaster-risk-reduction/#need (accessed 2 September 2023).4 Cf. Alessandra Bonazza et al., Safeguarding Cultural Heritage from Natural and Man-Made Disasters. A Comparative Analysis of Risk Management in the EU (Brussels: European Commission, 2018), 32.5 Elena Sesana et al., ‘Adapting Cultural Heritage to Climate Change Risks: Perspectives of Cultural Heritage Experts in Europe’, Geosciences 8, no. 8 (2018): 305, https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8080305 (accessed 2 September 2023).6 See, for example, ICCROM, ‘First Aid and Resilience for Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis (FAR), ICCROM Programme’ (2023), https://www.iccrom.org/what-we-do/programmes/first-aid-and-resilience-cultural-heritage-times-crisis-far/our-approach; ICCROM, ‘Climate, Culture, Peace’ (2022), https://custom-eur.cvent.com/CABD8F5ECAB94065919D73EE0472667D/files/be8251dd112f4b82b3de08763d9a16c8.pdf (both accessed 2 September 2023).7 IPCC, Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Geneva: IPCC, Geneva, 2023): 1–34, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_SYR_SPM.pdf (accessed 5 September 2023).8 Rongbin Xu et al., ‘Wildfires, Global Climate Change, and Human Health’, The New England Journal of Medicine 383 (2020): 2173–3181, https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsr2028985 (accessed 5 September 2023).9 Inger Hanssen-Bauer et al., Climate in Norway 2100—A Knowledge Base for Climate Adaptation, The Norwegian Environment Agency, report no. 1/2017. ISSN 2387-3027.10 Sesana et al., ‘Adapting Cultural Heritage to Climate Change Risks’.11 Cecilie Flyen et al., ‘Municipal Collaborative Planning Boosting Climate Resilience in the Built Environment’, International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment 9, no. 1 (2018), https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-10-2016-0042 (accessed 5 September 2023).12 Changing Climate—Together for a Climate-resilient Society, White Paper to the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) from the Ministry of Climate and Environment, 2023 (in Norwegian), https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/1008d2a2e92c4384890817fae9fca1d4/no/pdfs/stm202220230026000dddpdfs.pdf (accessed 2 September 2023).13 Changing Climate—Together for a Climate-Resilient Society, authors translation.14 The Directorate for Cultural Heritage, Climate Strategy: The Climate Strategy for Cultural Heritage Environment Management (The Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage, 2021), http://www.riksantikvaren.no/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/RA_Klimastrategi_2021.15.08-oppslag_150dpi.pdf (accessed 20 May 2023).15 Nancy Bell, personal communication with Joel Taylor (2020).16 Cf. for example, Clemens Blümel et al., In Search of Translational Research: Report on the Development and Current Understanding of a New Terminology in Medical Research and Practice (Berlin: Berlin Institute of Health, 2015), https://www.bihealth.org/fileadmin/publikationen/dateien/iFQ-BIH-Report_2015_web.pdf (accessed 5 September 2023).17 Jonathan Breckon and Jane Dodson, Using Evidence: What Works? A Discussion Paper (London: NESTA , 2016), https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/∼/media/bl/global/social-welfare/pdfs/non-secure/u/s/i/using-evidence-what-works.pdf (accessed 5 September 2023).18 Cf. for example, Kathy Eljiz et al., ‘Improving Knowledge Translation for Increased Engagement and Impact in Healthcare’, BMJ Open Quality 9, (2020), https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32943430/ (accessed 15 June 2023).19 See, for example, Wilfred Carr and Stephen Kemmis, Becoming Critical: Education, Knowledge and Action Research (London: Routledge, 1986); Richard Sagor and Charlene Williams, The Action Research Guidebook: A Process for Pursuing Equity and Excellence in Education, 3rd edn (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2016).20 Cf. Bruno De Oliveira, ‘Participatory Action Research as a Research Approach: Advantages, Limitations and Criticisms’, Qualitative Research Journal 23, no. 3 (2023): 287–97, https://doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-08-2022-0101 (accessed 3 June 2023).21 De Oliveira, ‘Participatory Action Research as a Research Approach’.22 De Oliveira, ‘Participatory Action Research as a Research Approach’.23 Assignments for the New Regions, White Paper to the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) from the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, 2019 (in Norwegian), https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/meld.-st.-6-20182019/id2616180/?ch=1 (accessed 2 September 2023).24 See Åshild Lappegard Hauge, Gro Sandkjær Hanssen, and Cecilie Flyen, ‘Multilevel Networks for Climate Change Adaptation—What Works?’, International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management 11, no. 2 (2018): 215–34, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCCSM-10-2017-0194 (accessed 5 September 2023).25 Office of the Auditor General of Norway, Riksrevisjonens undersøkelse av myndighetenes arbeid med å tilpasse infrastruktur og bebyggelse til et klima i endring (Survey of Norwegian Authorities’ Work with Adaptation of Infrastructure and Built Environment to a Changing Climate), Document 3:6, 2021–2022 (Oslo, 2022) (in Norwegian), https://www.riksrevisjonen.no/globalassets/rapporter/no-2021-2022/dokument-3-6-2021-2022---undersokelse-av-myndighetenes-arbeid-med-klimatilpasning-av-bebyggelse-og-infrastruktur---endelig.pdf (accessed 5 September 2023).26 See, for example, Mikkel Vindegg et al., Barrierer for klimatilpasning på lokalt og regionalt nivå (Barriers Towards Climate Adaptation at Local and Regional Levels) CICERO Report 03/2022 (Oslo, 2022) (in Norwegian), https://www.vestforsk.no/sites/default/files/2022-05/CICERO%20Rapport%202022%2003%20-%20m%20partnere%20-%20web.pdf (accessed 5 September 2023); Torbjørn Selseng, Berit Johanne Skogvang, and Carlo Aall, Spørreundersøkelse til norske kommuner om status for 2021 i arbeidet med klimatilpasning (Survey to Norwegian Municipalities about the 2021 Status for the Work with Climate Adaptation), Vestlandsforskning Report 10/2021 (Sogndal, 2021) (in Norwegian), https://www.ks.no/globalassets/fagomrader/samfunnsutvikling/klima/KTP-kommuneundersokelsen-10122021.pdf (accessed 5 September 2023).27 Cf. for example, NRK Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, ‘Dansk klimaekspert: Noreg har ein stor jobb framfor seg’ (‘Danish Climate Research: Norway has a Big Job Ahead’) (11 August 2023), https://www.nrk.no/norge/dansk-klimaekspert_-noreg-har-ein-stor-jobb-framfor-seg-1.16507234 (accessed 5 September 2023).28 Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Plan- og bygningsloven (The Planning and Building Act) (Oslo, 2010), https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/2008-06-27-71 (accessed 5 September 2023).29 Flyen et al., ‘Municipal Collaborative Planning’.30 ‘New Goals for Norway’s Cultural Environment Policy’, White Paper to the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) from the Ministry of Climate and Environment, 2020 (in Norwegian), https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/meld.-st.-16-20192020/id2697781/ (accessed 5 September 2023).31 The Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection, Veileder til helhetlig risiko- og sårbarhetsanalyse i kommunen (Guide to Comprehensive Risk and Vulnerability Analysis in the Municipality), revised version (2022) (in Norwegian), https://www.dsb.no/globalassets/dokumenter/veiledere-handboker-og-informasjonsmateriell/veiledere/veileder_helhetlig_ros_01-22.pdf (accessed 5 September 2023).32 Breckon and Dodson, Using Evidence.33 Rohit Jigyasu and Vanicka Arora, Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage in Urban Areas: A Training Guide (Kyoto: RitsDMUCH, 2013).34 Sherry R. Arnstein, ‘Ladder of Citizen Participation’, Journal of the American Planning Association 35, no. 4 (1969): 216–24, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01944366908977225 (accessed 5 September 2023).35 Cf. Flyen et al., ‘Municipal Collaborative Planning’; Hauge, Hanssen, and Flyen, ‘Multilevel Networks for Climate Change Adaptation’; Åshild Lappegard Hauge et al., ‘User Guides for Climate Adaptation of Buildings and Infrastructure in Norway—Characteristics and Impact’, Climate Services 1 (2017): 23–33.36 Hauge, Hanssen, and Flyen, ‘Multilevel Networks for Climate Change Adaptation’.37 Cf. David Alexander, Principles of Emergency Planning and Management (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002); Rohit Jigyasu, ‘Sustainable Post-disaster Reconstruction through Integrated Risk Management: The Case of Rural Communities in South Asia’, Journal of Research in Architectural Planning 3 (2004): 32–43.38 Cf. Lee Bosher, Ksenia Chmutina, and Dewald van Niekerk, ‘Stop Going Around in Circles: Towards a Reconceptualisation of Disaster Risk Management Phases’, Disaster Prevention and Management 30, no. 4/5 (2021): 525–37, https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-03-2021-0071 (accessed 5 September 2023).39 Flyen et al., ‘Municipal Collaborative Planning’.40 Cf. for example, James Newman et al., Resilient Cultural Heritage: Learning from the Japanese Experience (Washington, DC: Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, 2020); Aleksandra Solinska-Novak et al., ‘An Overview of Serious Games for Disaster Risk Management—Prospects and Limitations for Informing Actions to Arrest Increasing Risk’, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 31 (2018): 1013–29; Bárbara Mínguez García, ‘Understanding and Communicating Risk to Cultural Heritage: The Future of Preserving the Past’, in 8th International Conference on Building Resilience: Risk and Resilience in Practice: Vulnerabilities, Displaced People, Local Communities and Heritages, Lisbon 2018 (2019): 229–34.41 Cf. The Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection, Metodehefte: Diskusjonsøvelse (Handbook in Planning, Execution, and Evaluation of Exercises) (2016), https://www.dsb.no/veiledere-handboker-og-informasjonsmateriell/metodehefte-diskusjonsovelse/ (accessed 23 May 2023).42 Andor Vince, Leading and Facilitating Tabletop Exercises in Emergency Response, Online Workshop, Heritage Collections Care Consultancy, New Zealand, 2023.43 Cf. Newman et al., Resilient Cultural Heritage; Solinska-Novak et al., ‘An Overview of Serious Games for Disaster Risk Management’.44 Cf. for example, Bo Terje Kalsaas, ed., Lean Construction—Forstå og forbedre prosjektbasert produksjon (Lean Construction—Understand and Improve Project Based Production) (Bergen, Norway: Fagbokforlaget, 2017), 36–42; Iqbal Shakeri, Khashayar Asadi Boroueni, and Homan Hassani, ‘Lean Construction: From Theory to Practice’, International Journal of Academic Research 7, no. 1 (2015): 129–36, doi: 10.7813/2075-4124.2015/7-1/B.22.45 See, for example, Deborah Mitchell, J. Edward Russo, and Nancy Pennington, ‘Back to the Future: Temporal Perspective in the Explanation of Events’, Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 2 (1989): 25–38.46 Cf. Daniel Kahneman and Gary Klein, ‘Conditions for Intuitive Expertise: A Failure to Disagree’, American Psychologist 64, no. 6 (2009): 515–26, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016755 (accessed 5 September 2023).47 Gary Klein, Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2017).48 Cf. Kahneman and Klein, ‘Conditions for Intuitive Expertise’; Daniel Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow (New York: Girard Strauss, 2011).49 Hauge, Hanssen, and Flyen, ‘Multilevel Networks for Climate Change Adaptation’.50 Carla Green et al., ‘Approaches to Mixed Methods Dissemination and Implementation Research: Methods, Strengths, Caveats, and Opportunities’, Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Service Research 42 (2015): 508–23, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10488-014-0552-6 (accessed 5 September 2023).51 Janet Heaton, Jo Day, and Nicky Britten, ‘Collaborative Research and the Co-production of Knowledge for Practice: An Illustrative Case Study’, Implementation Science 11, no. 20 (2015): 1–10, https://implementationscience.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13012-016-0383-9 (accessed 5 September 2023).52 Cf. Jordan Ferraro and Jane Henderson, ‘Identifying Features of Effective Emergency Response Plans’, Journal for the American Institute for Conservation 50, no. 1 (2011): 35–48.Additional informationNotes on contributorsNina Kjølsen JernæsNina Kjølsen Jernæs holds a master’s degree in Fine Arts Conservation and has worked at NIKU as a paintings conservator since 2008, with an additional role as a researcher since 2016. Nina’s main areas of work are preventive conservation, condition assessments, salvage, damage limitations and interdisciplinary projects related to climate change and extreme events on cultural heritage.Cecilie FlyenCecilie Flyen holds a master’s degree in Architecture, and has worked as a senior researcher at NIKU since 2022. Her main competencies cover climate change adaptation of the built environment and cultural heritage buildings, climate change mitigation, cultural heritage sustainability, climate behaviour, decision processes, governance and public administration, and legal framework and policy instruments. Cecilie has long experience on national and international research projects and has been working within research since 2001 (and a senior researcher since 2008). She also has experience as a professional architect prior to her research career.Joel TaylorJoel Taylor is a researcher involved in conservation, sustainability and the role of heritage in society. He has previously worked at University College London, Institute for Sustainable Heritage, English Heritage, and the National Museums and Galleries of Wales (UK), the University of Oslo (Norway) and the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) in the US. He has a PhD in Conservation, and his research interests include preventive conservation, conservation theory, sustainability and intergenerational justice, decision making, and the social role of conservation.