Who we are

Liphe4 is a non-for-profit scientific association established in 2003, which gathers an international group of scholars in the field of Sustainability Science. Its aim is to promote and participate in research and educational activities related to Sustainability Science, Science for Governance, with a particular focus on Integrated Analysis of Scenarios and technological changes. It organises a yearly summer school and thematic sessions at scientific conferences. Members of both its International Board and its Scientific Advisory Board have an outstanding academic record and a long experience in participating in research projects, many of which European funded.

The society is particularly focused on the development and application of an innovative methodology called Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal Metabolism (MSIASM). MSIASM is an approach which has been developed by the group of scholars establishing the society, and that will be used in PAMDELA as part of the analytical methods.

The team of Integrated Assessment and Complex Systems Analysis of Liphe4 has been involved in several projects among which:

(i) a 4 year Sustainability of Intensification of Rural Areas in China project (EU: STD TS3.CT92.0065);
(ii) a 3 year Multi-regional Operational Program on technological choices in the food system and multi-criteria definition of quality for food products: 1997-1999;
(iii) a 3 year "SEA Trans: South East Asia in Transition" (ICA4-CT-2000-30010);
(iv) a 4 year Participatory Integrated assessment of large scale adoption of GMOs in Italy;
(v) a 2 year DIAFANIS - Participatory Integrated Assessment of tourist development alternatives in Catalonia.

The team is member of the NESH network (Network for Ecosystem Sustainability and Health).

Post-Normal Science: a science of sustainability cannot be an autistic science

From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary - http://www.merriam-webster.com/

Main Entry: au·tism
Pronunciation: 'o-"ti-z&m
Function: noun
: a variable developmental disorder that appears by age three and is characterized by impairment of the ability to form normal social relationships, by impairment of the ability to communicate with others, and by stereotyped behavior patterns
- au·tis·tic /o-'tis-tik/ adjective or noun
- au·tis·ti·cal·ly /-ti-k(&-)lE/ adverb

From the Post-Autistic Economics Network - http://www.paecon.net/

The Post-Autistics Economics is against:
•* economics’ "uncontrolled use" and treatment of mathematics as "an end in itself", and the resulting "autistic science",
•* the repressive domination of neoclassical theory and derivative approaches in the
curriculum, and
* the dogmatic teaching style, which leaves no place for critical and reflective thought.

The new challenge posed by Post-Normal Science – Silvio Funtowicz

"The objective of scientific endeavor in this new context may well be to enhance the process of the social resolution of the problem, including participation and mutual learning among the stakeholders, rather than a definite 'solution' or technological implementation. This is an important change in the relation between the problem identification and the prospects of science-based solutions"