Methods

Explore examples, case studies and resources on methods for pathways to sustainability, informed by the STEPS Centre’s Pathways Approach.

Methods can help to explore diverse sources of knowledge or ways of seeing problems; they can also help to broaden out options to reveal possible ways forward. Browse the highlights below, or search and explore the full Methods repository.

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Highlights

Vignettes

Explore varied examples of methods that can reveal diverse ways of seeing the world, and offer multiple possible ways forward.

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Case studies

Our case studies show how methods have been used in practice, in the work of the STEPS Centre and its collaborators around the world.

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Publications

Books, papers and guides to methods and methodological approaches relevant to opening up and broadening out pathways to sustainability.

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Featured resources

The Pathways Approach

Read about the STEPS Centre’s approach to exploring sustainability, which highlights diverse ways of understanding problems and reveals neglected ways to respond to them.

Creating a map with drawings and colourful objects

Challenging Research

A series of virtual events exploring how methods challenge power, how power shapes research, and the relationship between knowledge and action.

Online course: Pathways to Sustainability

Explore our online course on pathways to sustainability, including a section on Methods and Methodologies.

Explore the course

Book: Transformative Pathways to Sustainability

Open Access book on experiences with 'T-Labs' in six countries.

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Book: Dynamic Sustainabilities

Open Access book by the STEPS Centre’s co-founders setting out the foundations of the Centre’s approach and methodology.

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Methods for research on the 'nexus'

Analysis of more than a hundred methods relevant to research and appraisal of challenges around the ‘nexus’ of water, energy and food.

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Methods events

Browse an archive of talks, lectures and workshops exploring questions about methods for sustainability, convened by the STEPS Centre and its partners.

Blog: Methods

Read blog posts on the theme of methods by STEPS Centre researchers and collaborators, sharing experiences and insights.

Search the Archive

Our Methods Repository draws on 15 years of the ESRC STEPS Centre’s research into methods for sustainability - from practical examples to critical thinking on the relationships between power, knowledge and action.

To explore, visit the archive to view the most recent material, or search and browse by publications, case studies, example ‘vignettes’, events and other resources.

Search the archive