Andra-Ioana Horcea-Milcu
Biographic Data
| ID | 1574972 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Andra-Ioana Horcea-Milcu |
| GIVEN NAMES | Andra-Ioana |
| FAMILY NAME | Horcea-Milcu |
| SIGNATURE | HORCEA-MILCU A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Babeș-Bolyai University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1757-6615 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 32 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 287 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 32 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 9 |
Why context matters
Five priorities to advance transformative transdisciplinary research
In response to the climate and biodiversity crisis, the number of transdisciplinary research projects in which researchers partner with sustainability initiatives to foster transformative change is increasing globally. To enable and catalyze substantial transformative change, transformative transdisciplinary research (TTDR) is urgently needed to provide knowledge and guidance for actions. We review prominent discussions on TTDR and draw on our ex…
Sustainability-aligned values
Modern environmental thought has always involved normative claims about the values needed for sustainability. This has often played out in debates between proponents of anthropocentric and ecocentric ways of valuing nature. More recently, there has been a flourishing of interest in relational and pluricentric ways of valuing nature, coinciding with a “turn to values” in the sustainability literature. In this paper we explore the meaning and use o…
Diverse values of nature for sustainability
Twenty-five years since foundational publications on valuing ecosystem services for human well-being 1,2 , addressing the global biodiversity crisis 3 still implies confronting barriers to incorporating nature’s diverse values into decision-making. These barriers include powerful interests supported by current norms and legal rules such as property rights, which determine whose values and which values of nature are acted on. A better understandin…
Modes of mobilizing values for sustainability transformation
Engaging diverse experts in the global science-policy interface
This longitudinal study explores evidence of learning and reflexivity among experts involved in the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Values Assessment from 2018 to 2022. As part of an online survey administered at yearly intervals, experts self-reported their views on: i) the aims they attributed to the Values Assessment, ii) their epistemic worldviews, iii) the definition of the multiple va…
Visualizing stakeholders' willingness for collective action in participatory scenario planning
Participatory scenario planning is a powerful approach to guide diverse stakeholders in creating and reflecting on visions of plausible and desired futures. However, this process requires tools to guide collective action to implement such visions within management agendas. This study develops, applies, and analyzes a novel visual tool within a virtual participatory scenario planning process about the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Madrid, Sp…
The relationship between values and knowledge in visioning for landscape management
Respecting connections between the diversity of values and forms of knowledge is essential to support a decision-making that fosters relationships between ecosystems and people. However, little theory has been developed for clarifying interactions between values and knowledge, and their relevance for environmental policy. We surfaced the overlooked relationship between values and knowledge by studying individual cognitive and emotional processes …
Associations between landscape values, self-reported knowledge, and land-use
While previous socio-ecological systems research has shown relationships between local knowledge and the assignment of landscape values, the relationships between value assignment and more nuanced forms of local knowledge remain less understood. This study makes use of public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS), a method for identifying and mapping landscape attributes important to local communities. We use this method to assess …
Inclusive conservation and the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
The draft Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework commits to achievement of equity and justice outcomes and represents a ‘‘relational turn’’ in how we understand inclusive conservation. Although ‘‘inclusivity’’ is drawn on as a means to engage diverse stakeholders, widening the framing of inclusivity can create new tensions with regard to how to manage protected areas. We first offer a set of tensions that emerge in the light of the relational tu…
Values as leverage points for sustainability transformation
The burgeoning literature on sustainability transformation agrees that values play a key, albeit unelucidated, role on the transformation research agenda. Recent literature linking values and transformation increasingly points toward the hypothesis that values may act as leverage points for sustainability transformation. However, how transformation research can engage with values as leverage points remains a critical knowledge gap. Here, I argue …
Making transdisciplinarity happen
Both within science and society, transdisciplinary approaches are increasingly employed to address today’s sustainability challenges. Often transdisciplinary research processes are structured in three core phases: a) problem identification and formation of a common research object; b) co-production of solution-oriented and transferable knowledge; c) embedding co-produced knowledge through transdisciplinary reintegration. In all phases of this ide…
Circular bioeconomy
The circular bioeconomy is a highly scrutinized concept in Finland and internationally, with a high degree of polarization regarding forest utilization rates and distrust between certain actors. This offers an interesting case for an exploratory analysis of issues associated with knowledge co-production. Knowledge co-production entails the integration of different knowledge types and collaboration across multiple societal actors with potentially …
Values shift in response to social learning through deliberation about protected areas
Six modes of co-production for sustainability
Bridge over troubled water
Sustainability transformations call forth new forms and systems of knowledge across society. However, few tools and processes exist for promoting dialogue among different interests and normative stances in knowledge co-creation. In this article, we build on the notion of thought collectives to argue that understanding and moderating normative tensions are necessary if sustainability science is to provide successful solutions. Drawing on an analys…
Transdisciplinary research in natural resources management
Transdisciplinary research often utilizes collaborative ways of knowledge production to enable deliberate transformations towards sustainability. Multiple concepts with varying definitions are applied, leading to confusion in the aims and uses of these concepts. In this article, we review five concepts relevant to the current debate on the new collaborative ways of knowledge production in transdisciplinary research. We focus on the concepts of co…
Co-productive agility and four collaborative pathways to sustainability transformations
Co-production, the collaborative weaving of research and practice by diverse societal actors, is argued to play an important role in sustainability transformations. Yet, there is still poor understanding of how to navigate the tensions that emerge in these processes. Through analyzing 32 initiatives worldwide that co-produced knowledge and action to foster sustainable social-ecological relations, we conceptualize ‘co-productive agility’ as an eme…
Scaling the impact of sustainability initiatives
Amplifying the impact of sustainability initiatives to foster transformations in urban and rural contexts, has received increasing attention in resilience, social innovation, and sustainability transitions research. We review the literature on amplification frameworks and propose an integrative typology of eight processes, which aim to increase the impact of such initiatives. The eight amplification processes are: stabilizing, speeding up, growin…
Transforming knowledge systems for life on Earth
Formalised knowledge systems, including universities and research institutes, are important for contemporary societies. They are, however, also arguably failing humanity when their impact is measured against the level of progress being made in stimulating the societal changes needed to address challenges like climate change. In this research we used a novel futures-oriented and participatory approach that asked what future envisioned knowledge sy…
A leverage points perspective on social networks to understand sustainability transformations
Sustainability transformations research increasingly recognizes the importance of local actors and their networks to foster fundamental societal change. Local actors have different types of relations between each other (e.g., sharing material resources, giving advice) through which they jointly intervene in different system characteristics. We conducted social network analyses of 32 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who drive initiatives to f…
Three principles for co-designing sustainability intervention strategies
Transformational research frameworks provide understanding and guidance for fostering change towards sustainability. They comprise stages of system understanding, visioning and co-designing intervention strategies to foster change. Guidance and empirical examples for how to facilitate the process of co-designing intervention strategies in real-world contexts remain scarce, especially with regard to integrating local initiatives. We suggest three …
Research pathways to foster transformation
Horcea-Milcu, A.-I., B. Martín-López, D. P. M. Lam, and D. J. Lang. 2020. Research pathways to foster transformation: linking sustainability science and social-ecological systems research. Ecology and Society 25(1):13. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11332-250113
Loving the mess
This paper concludes a special feature of Sustainability Science that explores a broad range of social value theoretical traditions, such as religious studies, social psychology, indigenous knowledge, economics, sociology, and philosophy. We introduce a novel transdisciplinary conceptual framework that revolves around concepts of 'lenses' and 'tensions' to help navigate value diversity. First, we consider the notion of lenses: perspectives on val…
Values in transformational sustainability science
Co-productive agility and four collaborative pathways to sustainability transformations
Co-production, the collaborative weaving of research and practice by diverse societal actors, is argued to play an important role in sustainability transformations. Yet, there is still poor understanding of how to navigate the tensions that emerge in these processes. Through analyzing 32 initiatives worldwide that co-produced knowledge and action to foster sustainable social-ecological relations, we conceptualize ‘co-productive agility’ as an eme…
Six modes of co-production for sustainability
Values in transformational sustainability science
Loving the mess
This paper concludes a special feature of Sustainability Science that explores a broad range of social value theoretical traditions, such as religious studies, social psychology, indigenous knowledge, economics, sociology, and philosophy. We introduce a novel transdisciplinary conceptual framework that revolves around concepts of 'lenses' and 'tensions' to help navigate value diversity. First, we consider the notion of lenses: perspectives on val…
Transforming knowledge systems for life on Earth
Formalised knowledge systems, including universities and research institutes, are important for contemporary societies. They are, however, also arguably failing humanity when their impact is measured against the level of progress being made in stimulating the societal changes needed to address challenges like climate change. In this research we used a novel futures-oriented and participatory approach that asked what future envisioned knowledge sy…
The importance of ecosystem services for rural inhabitants in a changing cultural landscape in Romania
Hartel, T., J. Fischer, C. Câmpeanu, A. I. Milcu, J. Hanspach, and I. Fazey. 2014. The importance of ecosystem services for rural inhabitants in a changing cultural landscape in Romania. Ecology and Society 19(2): 42. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06333-190242
Transdisciplinary research in natural resources management
Transdisciplinary research often utilizes collaborative ways of knowledge production to enable deliberate transformations towards sustainability. Multiple concepts with varying definitions are applied, leading to confusion in the aims and uses of these concepts. In this article, we review five concepts relevant to the current debate on the new collaborative ways of knowledge production in transdisciplinary research. We focus on the concepts of co…
Making transdisciplinarity happen
Both within science and society, transdisciplinary approaches are increasingly employed to address today’s sustainability challenges. Often transdisciplinary research processes are structured in three core phases: a) problem identification and formation of a common research object; b) co-production of solution-oriented and transferable knowledge; c) embedding co-produced knowledge through transdisciplinary reintegration. In all phases of this ide…
A holistic approach to studying social-ecological systems and its application to southern Transylvania
Hanspach, J., T. Hartel, A. I. Milcu, F. Mikulcak, I. Dorresteijn, J. Loos, H. von Wehrden, T. Kuemmerle, D. Abson, A. Kovács-Hostyánszki, A. Báldi, and J. Fischer. 2014. A holistic approach to studying social-ecological systems and its application to southern Transylvania. Ecology and Society 19(4): 32. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06915-190432
A leverage points perspective on social networks to understand sustainability transformations
Sustainability transformations research increasingly recognizes the importance of local actors and their networks to foster fundamental societal change. Local actors have different types of relations between each other (e.g., sharing material resources, giving advice) through which they jointly intervene in different system characteristics. We conducted social network analyses of 32 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who drive initiatives to f…
The role of scenarios in fostering collective action for sustainable development
Grounding Ipbes experts’ views on the multiple values of nature in epistemology, knowledge and collaborative science
This study identifies and analyses the underlying assumptions of experts involved in the first author meeting (FAM) of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)’s Values Assessment, and how they shape understandings of the multiple values of nature. We draw from survey data collected from 94 experts attending the FAM. Respondents self-report the tendencies and aims they bring to the assessment (i…
Social factors mediating human–carnivore coexistence
Navigating conflicting landscape aspirations
Engaging diverse experts in the global science-policy interface
This longitudinal study explores evidence of learning and reflexivity among experts involved in the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Values Assessment from 2018 to 2022. As part of an online survey administered at yearly intervals, experts self-reported their views on: i) the aims they attributed to the Values Assessment, ii) their epistemic worldviews, iii) the definition of the multiple va…
Values shift in response to social learning through deliberation about protected areas
Modes of mobilizing values for sustainability transformation
Values as leverage points for sustainability transformation
The burgeoning literature on sustainability transformation agrees that values play a key, albeit unelucidated, role on the transformation research agenda. Recent literature linking values and transformation increasingly points toward the hypothesis that values may act as leverage points for sustainability transformation. However, how transformation research can engage with values as leverage points remains a critical knowledge gap. Here, I argue …
Why context matters
Circular bioeconomy
The circular bioeconomy is a highly scrutinized concept in Finland and internationally, with a high degree of polarization regarding forest utilization rates and distrust between certain actors. This offers an interesting case for an exploratory analysis of issues associated with knowledge co-production. Knowledge co-production entails the integration of different knowledge types and collaboration across multiple societal actors with potentially …
Bridge over troubled water
Sustainability transformations call forth new forms and systems of knowledge across society. However, few tools and processes exist for promoting dialogue among different interests and normative stances in knowledge co-creation. In this article, we build on the notion of thought collectives to argue that understanding and moderating normative tensions are necessary if sustainability science is to provide successful solutions. Drawing on an analys…
Five priorities to advance transformative transdisciplinary research
In response to the climate and biodiversity crisis, the number of transdisciplinary research projects in which researchers partner with sustainability initiatives to foster transformative change is increasing globally. To enable and catalyze substantial transformative change, transformative transdisciplinary research (TTDR) is urgently needed to provide knowledge and guidance for actions. We review prominent discussions on TTDR and draw on our ex…
Three principles for co-designing sustainability intervention strategies
Transformational research frameworks provide understanding and guidance for fostering change towards sustainability. They comprise stages of system understanding, visioning and co-designing intervention strategies to foster change. Guidance and empirical examples for how to facilitate the process of co-designing intervention strategies in real-world contexts remain scarce, especially with regard to integrating local initiatives. We suggest three …
Cultural Ecosystem Services
Milcu, A. Ioana, J. Hanspach, D. Abson, and J. Fischer 2013. Cultural ecosystem services: a literature review and prospects for future research . Ecology and Society 18(3):44. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-05790-180344
Navigating conflicting landscape aspirations
A holistic approach to studying social-ecological systems and its application to southern Transylvania
Hanspach, J., T. Hartel, A. I. Milcu, F. Mikulcak, I. Dorresteijn, J. Loos, H. von Wehrden, T. Kuemmerle, D. Abson, A. Kovács-Hostyánszki, A. Báldi, and J. Fischer. 2014. A holistic approach to studying social-ecological systems and its application to southern Transylvania. Ecology and Society 19(4): 32. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06915-190432
The importance of ecosystem services for rural inhabitants in a changing cultural landscape in Romania
Hartel, T., J. Fischer, C. Câmpeanu, A. I. Milcu, J. Hanspach, and I. Fazey. 2014. The importance of ecosystem services for rural inhabitants in a changing cultural landscape in Romania. Ecology and Society 19(2): 42. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-06333-190242
The role of scenarios in fostering collective action for sustainable development
Social factors mediating human–carnivore coexistence
Loving the mess
This paper concludes a special feature of Sustainability Science that explores a broad range of social value theoretical traditions, such as religious studies, social psychology, indigenous knowledge, economics, sociology, and philosophy. We introduce a novel transdisciplinary conceptual framework that revolves around concepts of 'lenses' and 'tensions' to help navigate value diversity. First, we consider the notion of lenses: perspectives on val…
Values in transformational sustainability science
Grounding Ipbes experts’ views on the multiple values of nature in epistemology, knowledge and collaborative science
This study identifies and analyses the underlying assumptions of experts involved in the first author meeting (FAM) of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)’s Values Assessment, and how they shape understandings of the multiple values of nature. We draw from survey data collected from 94 experts attending the FAM. Respondents self-report the tendencies and aims they bring to the assessment (i…
Scaling the impact of sustainability initiatives
Amplifying the impact of sustainability initiatives to foster transformations in urban and rural contexts, has received increasing attention in resilience, social innovation, and sustainability transitions research. We review the literature on amplification frameworks and propose an integrative typology of eight processes, which aim to increase the impact of such initiatives. The eight amplification processes are: stabilizing, speeding up, growin…
Transforming knowledge systems for life on Earth
Formalised knowledge systems, including universities and research institutes, are important for contemporary societies. They are, however, also arguably failing humanity when their impact is measured against the level of progress being made in stimulating the societal changes needed to address challenges like climate change. In this research we used a novel futures-oriented and participatory approach that asked what future envisioned knowledge sy…
A leverage points perspective on social networks to understand sustainability transformations
Sustainability transformations research increasingly recognizes the importance of local actors and their networks to foster fundamental societal change. Local actors have different types of relations between each other (e.g., sharing material resources, giving advice) through which they jointly intervene in different system characteristics. We conducted social network analyses of 32 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who drive initiatives to f…
Three principles for co-designing sustainability intervention strategies
Transformational research frameworks provide understanding and guidance for fostering change towards sustainability. They comprise stages of system understanding, visioning and co-designing intervention strategies to foster change. Guidance and empirical examples for how to facilitate the process of co-designing intervention strategies in real-world contexts remain scarce, especially with regard to integrating local initiatives. We suggest three …
Research pathways to foster transformation
Horcea-Milcu, A.-I., B. Martín-López, D. P. M. Lam, and D. J. Lang. 2020. Research pathways to foster transformation: linking sustainability science and social-ecological systems research. Ecology and Society 25(1):13. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11332-250113
Six modes of co-production for sustainability
Bridge over troubled water
Sustainability transformations call forth new forms and systems of knowledge across society. However, few tools and processes exist for promoting dialogue among different interests and normative stances in knowledge co-creation. In this article, we build on the notion of thought collectives to argue that understanding and moderating normative tensions are necessary if sustainability science is to provide successful solutions. Drawing on an analys…
Transdisciplinary research in natural resources management
Transdisciplinary research often utilizes collaborative ways of knowledge production to enable deliberate transformations towards sustainability. Multiple concepts with varying definitions are applied, leading to confusion in the aims and uses of these concepts. In this article, we review five concepts relevant to the current debate on the new collaborative ways of knowledge production in transdisciplinary research. We focus on the concepts of co…
Co-productive agility and four collaborative pathways to sustainability transformations
Co-production, the collaborative weaving of research and practice by diverse societal actors, is argued to play an important role in sustainability transformations. Yet, there is still poor understanding of how to navigate the tensions that emerge in these processes. Through analyzing 32 initiatives worldwide that co-produced knowledge and action to foster sustainable social-ecological relations, we conceptualize ‘co-productive agility’ as an eme…
The relationship between values and knowledge in visioning for landscape management
Respecting connections between the diversity of values and forms of knowledge is essential to support a decision-making that fosters relationships between ecosystems and people. However, little theory has been developed for clarifying interactions between values and knowledge, and their relevance for environmental policy. We surfaced the overlooked relationship between values and knowledge by studying individual cognitive and emotional processes …
Associations between landscape values, self-reported knowledge, and land-use
While previous socio-ecological systems research has shown relationships between local knowledge and the assignment of landscape values, the relationships between value assignment and more nuanced forms of local knowledge remain less understood. This study makes use of public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS), a method for identifying and mapping landscape attributes important to local communities. We use this method to assess …
Inclusive conservation and the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
The draft Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework commits to achievement of equity and justice outcomes and represents a ‘‘relational turn’’ in how we understand inclusive conservation. Although ‘‘inclusivity’’ is drawn on as a means to engage diverse stakeholders, widening the framing of inclusivity can create new tensions with regard to how to manage protected areas. We first offer a set of tensions that emerge in the light of the relational tu…
Values as leverage points for sustainability transformation
The burgeoning literature on sustainability transformation agrees that values play a key, albeit unelucidated, role on the transformation research agenda. Recent literature linking values and transformation increasingly points toward the hypothesis that values may act as leverage points for sustainability transformation. However, how transformation research can engage with values as leverage points remains a critical knowledge gap. Here, I argue …
Making transdisciplinarity happen
Both within science and society, transdisciplinary approaches are increasingly employed to address today’s sustainability challenges. Often transdisciplinary research processes are structured in three core phases: a) problem identification and formation of a common research object; b) co-production of solution-oriented and transferable knowledge; c) embedding co-produced knowledge through transdisciplinary reintegration. In all phases of this ide…
Circular bioeconomy
The circular bioeconomy is a highly scrutinized concept in Finland and internationally, with a high degree of polarization regarding forest utilization rates and distrust between certain actors. This offers an interesting case for an exploratory analysis of issues associated with knowledge co-production. Knowledge co-production entails the integration of different knowledge types and collaboration across multiple societal actors with potentially …
Values shift in response to social learning through deliberation about protected areas
Political science (22 works) · Sociology (20 works) · Sustainability and Climate Change Governance (18 works) · Ecology (17 works) · Sustainability (17 works) · Geography (16 works) · Computer Science (15 works) · Business (12 works) · Social science (11 works) · Biology (10 works)