A Civic Lantern to engage civic and civil society in goal-setting for sustainability in Cornwall: A research report

Abstract

Across Cornwall, there is an increasing appreciation of the importance of taking action to improve sustainability for future generations. Community organisations and leaders are already taking action to improve the social wellbeing and environmental health within their local areas. In 2020, the Cornwall Plan was published, outlining a vision for achieving a more sustainable Cornwall by 2050. The Cornwall Plan includes ambitious high-level plans to take Cornwall through six major transitions to become a greener and fairer place over the next generation. Action to achieve these transitions needs to take account of existing work conducted by wider civic and civil society organisations and individuals. Further, it should maximise on the knowledge and capacity that already exists. In January 2022, the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Leadership Board (CIOSLB), agreed to support an experiment to engage civic and civil society organisations in determining two priority goals that would contribute to realising the vision of the Cornwall Plan over the next 12 months. In order to identify and prioritise these two goals, a workshop event called ‘The Civic Lantern’, was organised by University of Exeter researchers based at Penryn. The Civic Lantern was orchestrated as a space in which civic organisations, civil society groups and community leaders could shine a light on and share practical, community solutions to pressing issues of socio-ecological sustainability. Held on Thursday 9 June 2022, the workshop was hosted at Woodland Valley Farm, Ladock, with a professional facilitator and illustrator to help run and capture the event respectively. Overall, 42 participants ranging from grassroots activists, representatives from parish councils and environmental or social organisations attended. Through both a pre-event survey and in-person discussion, participants deliberated, sorted and then voted on which two socio-ecological goals should be supported by both the Leadership Board and the wider community. The event ended with a formal civic ceremony in which the two top goals were presented to representatives of the CIOS Leadership Board. The final two agreed goals for enhancing social and environmental sustainability were: Priority action 1: Give land and support to every community to have a sustainable growing scheme Priority action 2: Support communities to map under-utilised properties so that local people can be housed This report explains the context for the workshop, the structure of the event and its outcomes, and the next steps agreed upon to achieve these goals. Graphic illustrations of the event are included at the end of the report.