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

The prevailing socio-economic paradigm, dominated by growth-oriented models, continues to drive biodiversity loss, climate change and inequality. Alternative paradigms, such as degrowth, the wellbeing economy and ecosystem-based governance, already exist, but they remain fragmented, rarely institutionalised, and poorly understood in terms of their combined effects on the biodiversity-climate-equity nexus. Mainstream scenarios often mirror the status quo, ignoring diverse values and paths.

SPARK4B+ starts from the premise that societies stall because the alternatives remain unimaginable. Degrowth, the wellbeing economy, ecosystem-based governance and related practices already exist - but commonly only at small scale, in a fragmented manner, rarely institutionalised, and largely untested. SPARK4B+ sets out to establish them as both visionary and tangible: imagined with communities, tested with evidence, put to work in real places.

AIMS

SPARK4B+ aims to make alternative socio-economic paradigms not only imaginable, but tangible, credible and actionable. The project is structured around seven interlinked objectives:

Map and assess alternative socio-economic paradigms and governance frameworks relevant to biodiversity, climate and justice, including empirical cases, barriers, enablers and strategies for diffusion.
Advance future-visioning methodologies by integrating multiple value perspectives, qualitative systems models and transformation theories with digital tools such as generative AI and immersive technologies.
Develop and refine quantitative models and 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, rooted in place-based realities while enabling comparability and mutual learning across contexts.
Pilot and amplify interventions in Demonstration Intervention Cases, testing the feasibility, effectiveness, equity and scalability of strategies that put alternative paradigms into practice.
Build and empower coalitions and champions, equipping them with knowledge, skills and institutional support to diffuse transformative change while fostering inclusive leadership.
Communicate, engage and disseminate knowledge widely, fostering societal dialogue, cultural engagement and policy uptake to accelerate the systemic adoption of alternative pathways.

METHODS

Working across six sites (Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Hungary and Colombia) and seven sectors including agriculture, forestry, water, finance, health, education and urban development, the project combines qualitative methods (visioning, narratives, systems mapping, behavioural and arts-based approaches) with quantitative modelling (socio-economic and ecological trade-off analysis), enabled by co-creation and generative AI. This is what the consortium calls response-able knowledge and action: scenarios and pathways that are scientifically grounded, plural in their values, and genuinely usable by the people who have to act on them. Transformation Labs and Demonstration Intervention Cases in each country will develop and test these pathways, sustained by coalitions and champions who carry them forward once the project ends.

ACTIVITIES/MILESTONES

Over the coming 48 months, SPARK4B+ will map and assess alternative socio-economic paradigms across the biodiversity-climate-equity nexus, documenting 50+ best practices and developing an analytical tool to support scenario- and pathway-building. The project will produce three qualitative toolboxes with more than 50 methods, including SPARKBOX, alongside a dedicated AI/VR toolbox for immersive stakeholder engagement, and an interactive modelling dashboard (SPARKSPACE) for exploring trade-offs and synergies. Its findings will reach decision-makers through a Policy Knowledge Synthesis Report, policy briefs and infographics, at least three high-profile Policy Brunches in Brussels, and participation in more than 30 international policy events, while reaching wider audiences through documentaries, exhibitions, online courses (MOOCs) and creative collaborations with artists and media.