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Dr Les Levidow

Les Levidow

Profile summary

  • Research Staff
  • Senior Research Fellow
  • Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
  • School of Social Sciences & Global Studies
  • Development
  • les.levidow

Professional biography

Senior Research Fellow, Open University (based there since 1989)

B.A., Biology, University of Rochester, NY, 1972.
M.A., Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, 1974.
PhD, Technology Policy, The Open University, 1995.

Science as Culture, Co-Editor since its inception in 1987

Research interests

Participatory Action Research (PAR) with civil society groups which thereby strengthen their collective capacities as change agents; projects have had contexts in Britain, the EU and Latin America.  Controversial sociotechnical innovations (e.g. agri-biotech, biofuels and thermal waste treatment), as well as alternatives to agri-industrial systems, especially agroecological practices linked with food localisation, short food-supply chains, solidarity economy and food sovereignty.  These topics have provided case studies for several policy-relevant issues: sustainability, socio-ecological resilience, socio-environmental technologies, low-carbon economy, innovation,  governance, public participation, regulatory science, the precautionary principle, waste hierarchy and European integration. 

Project funds have come from the European Commission, the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the OU’s Open Societal Challenges (OSC) programme.   

Publications in reverse chronological order: http://www.open.ac.uk/people/ll5#tab2
Some publications and films from each project can be found below.

RECENT RESEARCH PROJECTS 

Community-led policy innovation: Local Authority policy change towards climate-resilient, socially just agri-food systems
Funded by the OU’s Open Societal Challenges programme, pilot study through March 2024.
Partnership includes the Cobra Collective and food-growing advocacy groups in five Boroughs along the Thames Corridor.   Short-term aims include:

  • To increase the resources for local food-growing and short-supply chain distribution, especially by and for lower-income groups, as tangible step towards the wider aim to achieve  a climate-resilient, socially just agri-food system.
  • To engage Local Authorities by clarifying and requesting relevant support measures, especially through transversal policies that can overcome the commonly fragmented remits across administrative units and officers’ roles.
  • To articulate community-driven policy innovation at Local Authority level, aiming to enhance support measures and collective capacities that can help groups to achieve the first aim.
  • To build a local food culture through storytelling that expresses group aspirations, imaginations and commitments around local food growing, processing and distribution.

Publications
Community-led policy innovation for local food growing:  OU blog with webinar, December 2023,  https://societal-challenges.open.ac.uk/blog/communityled-policy-innovation-for-local-foodgrowing-halfyear-highlights-of-a-pilot-study/9

Audiovisual
Spelthorne’s Community-Led Climate Initiative, June 2023, https://vimeo.com/838584247
Incredible Edible Lambeth supporting community gardens on St Martin’s Estate, January 2024

Digital storytelling about group food-growing 
Short title of project: ‘Local food-growing initiatives respond to the Covid-19 crisis: enhancing well-being, building community for better futures’
Funded by the UKRI-AHRC Covid-19 Rapid Response Programme, during January 2021 – June 2022.The project had three partners: Sustain Alliance for Better Food & Farming; Reading International Solidarity Centre, (RISC), which runs Food for Families (F4F); and the Cobra Collective, which facilitated digital storytelling about people’s experiences in community food-growing (CFG). The project was structured as a course in visual storytelling, using methods of Participatory Action Research (PAR).  It has aimed to improve social inclusion, enhance well-being and build community bonds, while also strengthening third-sector capacities for such benefits.
Short overview of  course results and participants’ video stories.
Free online course for making your own video story.  
Publications
Visual Storytelling about Community Food Growing: Participatory Action Research Methods, Processes, and Wider Implications, https://cobracollective.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Visual-Storytelling-about-Community-Food-Growing_Handbook_Low-Res.pdf
Levidow, L, Berardi, A. & Jung, J.  2023.  How does community food growing build community bonds?   Insights from grassroots visual storytelling,  Local Environment 29(1): 1-20,  https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2023.2248612

Our films on CFG initiatives:
‘Calthorpe Community Garden: an oasis building community in central London’,
https://vimeo.com/751171844  Click on the CC icon to obtain the subtitles.
‘Josiah Braithwaite Community Garden: inter-generational learning builds community’,
https://vimeo.com/754435021  
‘Lavender Place Community Gardens: the evolution of an urban oasis’
https://vimeo.com/showcase/6851866/video/7766940

AgroEcos: nickname of Research partnership for an agroecology-based solidarity economy in Bolivia and Brazil
Funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF),  2020-2021.
Research teams: Open University, UK;  Comunidad de Estudios Jaina, Bolivia;  Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Brazil.
The project carried out Participatory Action Research (PAR) with initiatives building capacities for agroecological innovation in Bolivia and Brazil.  It aimed to identify and strengthen collective capacities for an agroecology-based solidarity economy.  
Tri-lingual website at  https://projetoagroecos.wixsite.com/meusite 

Journal papers
Cabral, L., Levidow, L. e Schmitt, C.J.  2021.  Alargamento de espaço para o diálogo de políticas Sul-Sul: Aprender com as iniciativas lideradas pela sociedade civil , Cadernos IESE,  pp.271-300,  Maputo: Moçambique:  Instituto de Estudos Sociais e Económicos (IESE). 
Levidow, L., Sansolo, D.G., Schiavinatto, M. 2021.  Agroecological practices as territorial development: an  analytical schema from Brazilian agroforestry case studies, Journal of Peasant Studies 48(4): 827-852, https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2019.1683003
Levidow, L., Sansolo, D.G., Schiavinatto, M. 2021. Agroecological innovation constructing socionatural order:  two case studies in Brazil, Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society 4(1): 1-29.
Levidow, L., Sansolo, D.G., Schiavinatto, M.  2022.  EcoSol-agroecology networks respond to the Covid-19 crisis in Brazil’s Baixada Santista region, Journal of Peasant Studies, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03066150.2022.2096447 
Levidow, L., Sansolo, D.G., Schiavinatto, M., Vacaflores, C.   2022.  EcoSol-agroecología construyen circuitos cortos solidarios por proximidades societales: experiencias en Brasil y Bolivia, A Revista das ITCPs 2(1): 52-69 (Incubadoras Tecnológicas de Cooperativas Populares), https://revistas.ufpel.edu.br/index.php/itcps/article/view/4682
Levidow, L., Sansolo, D.G., Schiavinatto, M.  2023.  Territorializing local food systems for an agroecological transition in Latin America, Land 12(8):  1577; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12081577 
Levidow, L.  2023 (forthcoming).  Traditional communities mobilising musical and agri-food cultures for a decolonial resistance-conservation in the Bocaina, Brazil,   MUSICultures no.50, https://oro.open.ac.uk/84417/
Levidow, L., Sansolo, D.G., Schiavinatto, M.  2023.  Territorializing local food systems for an agroecological transition in Latin America, Land 12(8): 1577; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12081577,  Special Issue on ‘Local Initiatives of Agroecological Transition for the Territorialization of Food Systems

Films from two case studies with English language subtitles
“Baixada Santista, Brasil: redes solidarias agroecológicos” (filme, 35’), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcyIcrdenmM&t=15s
“Agroecologia, Pesca e Economia Solidária na Bocaina em tempos de Covid-19”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjgOuo9Nfg4

Project reports, including transversal analysis and case studies (in English, Spanish or Portuguese)

Bulletin articles or blogs
AgroEcos Boletim no.2 (trilingual), novembro 2021.
Levidow, L. 2020. ‘Return to normal’ from the COVID-19 crisis? on AgroEcos website.
Levidow, L., Sansolo, D.G., Schiavinatto, M. 2021.  Agroecology’s societal benefits depend on solidaristic relationships: some experiences from Brazil,   Agroecology Europe,  October 2021 Month of Agroecology, https://www.agroecology-europe.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Month-of-Agroecology-Article-on-Social-Values-Les-Levidow-.pdf
Levidow, L.  2021.  Socio-environmental justice: traditional communities renewing musical cultures in the Bocaina, Brazil, Society for Ethnomusicology newsletter  55(2), http://oro.open.ac.uk/79446, or https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350188785_
Sansolo, D., Levidow, L., Gross, G.V.  2021. Participatory Action Research during the Covid-19 pandemic: methodological aspects,  http://www.open.ac.uk/ikd/blog/participatory-action-research-during-covid-19-pandemic-methodological-aspects

Food sovereignty through agroecology in South America: Interdisciplinary methods for participatory action research (PAR)
Funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) networking grants during  2021-2022.
Overseas Host Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Brazil.
Main activity was a continent-wide workshop on Investigación Acción Participativa (IAP or PAR in English) on the project’s theme.  Some researchers did site visits beforehand in order to strengthen their presentations at the workshop.  The project exchanged researchers’ experiences and improved methods for IAP, in turn contributing to civil society agendas for food sovereignty through agroecology.
Convocatoria (CfP) for the September 2022 workshop.
Informe final (final report), ‘Soberanía Alimentaria a través de la Agroecología por la IAP: Asuntos y preguntas para aclararse’,  Enero 2023.

Green New Deal agendas
Since 2019 the Green New Deal has become a central concept of various political alliances, both national and local, especially in the US and UK.  The concept has been appropriated for divergent political agendas, expressing conflicts about what transition process could reconcile decarbonisation, environmental sustainability and livelihoods.  The tensions are analysed in these articles; the first two are on labour movement blog pages.
Levidow, L.  2022.  Green New Deals: what shapes Green and Deal?,  Capitalism Nature Socialism (CNS) 33(3): 76-97.
Levidow, L.  2022.  Glasgow’s retrofit programme: rival agendas.   Edinburgh: ScotE3 (Employment, Energy and Environment),
Levidow, L.  2022.  Labour movement agendas in conflict over decarbonisation pathways.   London: Greener Jobs Alliance (GJA).

EARLIER RESEARCH PROJECTS (before 2015)

‘Increasing energy yield from the integration of anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis’, funded by the EPSRC Supergen Bioenergy programme, 2013-16, coordinated by Aston University. 
Project description     Publications include: 
Levidow, L., and Upham, P. 2017. Socio-technical change linking expectations and representations: Innovating thermal treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW), Science and Public Policy 44(2): 211-224,        http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/105465/1/Levidow%20Upham%20SPP%20gasification.pdf
Levidow, L. and Raman, S. 2019.  Metamorphosing waste as a resource: scaling waste management by ecomodernist means, Geoforum 98: 108–122, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.10.020,  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016718518303233
Levidow, L. and Raman, S. 2020.  Sociotechnical imaginaries of low-carbon waste-energy futures: UK techno-market fixes displacing public accountability, Social Studies of Science,  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0306312720905084        

‘Ecowater: Meso-level eco-efficiency indicators to assess technologies and their uptake in water use sectors’, funded by the European Commission during 2011-14, coordinated by the National Technical University
of Athens (NTUA).  Project website with publications: http://environ.chemeng.ntua.gr/ecowater/   Publications include: 
Levidow, L. et al. 2014. Improving water-efficient irrigation: prospects and difficulties of innovative practices,  Agricultural Water Management 146: 84–94.  
Levidow, L. et al. (2016) Industry eco-innovation strategies for process upgrading: systemic limits of internalising externalities, Technology Analysis and Strategic Management (TASM), 28(2): 190-204.     

‘Knowledge Production for Sustainable Bioenergy: An analysis of UK decision processes and priorities', funded by the ESRC during 2011-12.  PI: Dr Les Levidow, Co-I: Professor Theo Papaioannou. 
Publications at https://www.researchcatalogue.esrc.ac.uk/grants/RES-062-23-2701/read
Publications include:  
Levidow, L. and Papaioannou, T. 2014. UK biofuel promotion: Envisaging sustainable biofuels, shaping institutions and futures, Environment and Planning A 46(1): 280-298. 
Levidow, L. and Papaioannou, T. 2015. Policy-driven, narrative-based evidence-gathering: UK priorities for decarbonisation through biomass, Science and Public Policy 43(1): 46-61. 

'Co-operative Research on Environmental Problems in Europe (CREPE)’, funded by the European Commission during 2008-2010.  PI: Dr Les Levidow, Co-I: Dr Sue Oreszczyn.  
CREPE description, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/89671/factsheet/en
CREPE publications:  https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/89671/results/en
More publications:  https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Environmental-Problems-in-Europe-(-CREPE-)-%3A-What/778ce4d4995e1ea29c4fd84fe239086dcc5d8007

‘Facilitating Alternative Agro-food Networks (FAAN): Stakeholder Perspectives on Research Needs’, funded by the European Commission during 2008-2010. 
FAAN description, https://www.ifz.at/eng/Research/Food-Systems/Finished-Projects/FAAN
FAAN publications, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/88615/factsheet/en

Earlier projects on agri-biotech controversy and regulation through 2004:
Research reports and journal papers are on the Biotechnology Policy Group webpages, http://technology.open.ac.uk/cts/bpg.htm

Teaching interests

OU course teams 

DD319, Environmental Policy in a Global Context
Author of 'Environmental Activism', week 16

DD870, Understanding Global Development  Masters course 
Author of 'Inclusive Innovation', week 16

Impact and engagement

See Digital Storytelling and AgroEcos projects above 

External collaborations

See Digital Storytelling and AgroEcos projects above 

See AgroEcos and Food Sovereignty projects above 

Externally funded projects

Research partnership for an agroecology-based solidarity economy in Bolivia and Brazil
RoleStart dateEnd dateFunding source
Lead31 Dec 201931 Mar 2022AHRC Arts & Humanities Research Council

Agroecology-based Solidarity Economy in Bolivia and Brazil (AgroEcos) https://projetoagroecos.wixsite.com/meusite Funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), 2020-2021 Over the past decade, Latin America has had a greater convergence between solidarity economy (economia solidaria) and agroecology, here called EcoSol-agroecology as a short name. This convergence builds short food-supply chains (circuitos curtos) bringing agroecological producers closer to consumers, thus building solidaristic relationships. The various means include: public procurement for school meals, farmers’ markets and regular box schemes, sometimes organized as Community-Supported Agriculture. Research questions The project originally planned to investigate two main questions: • How do EcoSol-agroecology networks develop collective capacities for solidaristic circuitos curtos? • How can participatory action-research help to identify and strengthen those capacities? We had planned to investigate our research questions through in-person workshops using various cultural methods (e.g. narratives, art, social cartography, music, etc.). Given the Covid-19 pandemic and its hygiene restrictions, we had to postpone that plan. Moreover, EcoSol-agroecology networks faced new obstacles to their close relationships with consumers. So we added more research questions, for example: • How do these networks extend their previous practices and capacities? • How do they convert difficulties into opportunities? • How do they overcome obstacles, construct learning and conceive new strategies? To explore those questions, we have used online methods, especially webinars here. Partners and their case studies Open University, UK, coordinates the project. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São Paulo, investigates two territories: • Baixada Santista, in partnership with the Fórum de Economia Solidária da Baixada Santista (FESBS). • Bocaina (Costa Verde), in partnership with the Observatório de Territórios Sustentáveis e Saudáveis da Bocaina (OTSS) and the Fórum de Comunidades Tradicionais (FCT). Comunidad de Estudio Jaina, Tarija, Bolivia, investigates the Valle Central in partnership with the Bioferia agroecological producers. English-language outputs Pandemic context AgroEcos Boletim no.1 (trilingual bulletin) December 2020 ‘Return to normal’ from the COVID-19 crisis? , May 2020 Participatory Action Research during the Covid-19 pandemic: methodological aspects (March 2021), Pre-pandemic context Agroecological innovation constructing socionatural order: Two case studies in Brazil, Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society 4(1): 1-29 Socio-environmental justice: traditional communities renewing musical cultures in the Bocaina, Brazil

Appetite for Change
RoleStart dateEnd dateFunding source
Lead01 Apr 201631 Mar 2017HEFCE Higher Education Funding Council for England

Food poverty is a local, national and global problem. Evidence shows there is a dominant business model and an imbalance of power in the current food supply chain. Facilitate a knowledge exchange between the actors across the supply chain. By combining existing knowledge about food supply chains, social enterprise systems and local knowledge. We will use this to create local pilot projects that include co-production of knowledge for a community driven food supply system. This will come out of a series of workshops and mini feasts.

Publications

How does community food growing build community bonds? Insights from grassroots visual storytelling (2024)
Levidow, Les; Berardi, Andrea and Jung, Julia
Local Environment, 29(1) (pp. 1-20)

Territorialising Local Food Systems for an Agroecological Transition in Latin America (2023-08)
Levidow, Les
Land, 12, Article 1577(8)

Traditional communities mobilising musical and agri-food cultures for a decolonial resistance-conservation in the Bocaina, Brazil (2023)
Levidow, Les
MUSICultures(50) ((In Press))

Green New Deals: What Shapes Green and Deal? (2022)
Levidow, Les
Capitalism Nature Socialism ((Early access))

EcoSol-agroecology networks respond to the Covid-19 crisis: building an economy of proximity in Brazil’s Baixada Santista region (2022)
Levidow, Les; Sansolo, Davis and Schiavinatto, Monica
The Journal of Peasant Studies, 49(7) (pp. 1409-1445)

EcoSol-agroecología construyen circuitos cortos solidarios por proximidades societales: Experiencias en Brasil y Bolivia (2022)
Levidow, Les; Vacaflores, Carlos; Sansolo, Davis and Schiavinatto, Monica
Revista das ITCPs (Incubadoras Tecnológicas de Cooperativas Populares), 2(1) (pp. 52-69)

Agroecological practices as territorial development: an analytical schema from Brazilian case studies (2021)
Levidow, Les; Sansolo, Davis and Schiavinatto, Monica
Journal of Peasant Studies, 48(4) (pp. 827-852)

Agroecological innovation constructing socionatural order for social transformation: two case studies in Brazil (2021)
Levidow, Les; Sansolo, Davis and Schiavinatto, Monica
Tapuya, 4, Article 1843318(1)

Sociotechnical imaginaries of low-carbon waste-energy futures: UK techno-market fixes displacing public accountability (2020-08-01)
Levidow, Les and Raman, Sujatha
Social Studies of Science, 50(4) (pp. 609-641)

UK farmers’ transition pathways towards agroecological farm redesign: evaluating explanatory models (2020)
Padel, Susanne; Levidow, Les and Pearce, Bruce
Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 44(2) (pp. 139-163)

Movilizando pericia contra restricciones comerciales: un caso de disputa por la regulación de los OGM en la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC) (2019-07-04)
Levidow, Les and Bonneuil, Christophe
Revista Administración Pública y Sociedad(7) (pp. 119-129)

Metamorphosing waste as a resource: Scaling waste management by ecomodernist means (2019-01)
Levidow, Les and Raman, Sujatha
Geoforum, 98 (pp. 108-122)

London’s Urban Agriculture: Building Community through Social Innovation (2018-09)
Levidow, Les
International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 24(3) (pp. 354-376)

Which inclusive innovation? Competing normative assumptions around social justice (2018)
Levidow, Les and Papaioannou, Theo
Innovation and Development, 8(2) (pp. 209-226)

Linking the multi-level perspective with social representations theory: Gasifiers as a niche innovation reinforcing the energy-from-waste (EfW) regime (2017-07)
Levidow, Les and Upham, Paul
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 120 (pp. 1-13)

Innovating thermal treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW): Socio-technical change linking expectations and representations (2017-04)
Levidow, Les and Upham, Paul
Science and Public Policy, 44(2) (pp. 211-224)

Policy-driven, narrative-based evidence-gathering: UK priorities for decarbonisation through biomass (2016-02-01)
Levidow, Les and Papaioannou, Theo
Science and Public Policy, 43(1) (pp. 46-61)

Process eco-innovation: assessing meso-level eco-efficiency in industrial water-service systems (2016-01-01)
Levidow, Les; Lindgaard-Jørgensen, Palle; Nilsson, Åsa; Skenhall, Sara Alongi and Assimacopoulos, Dionysis
Journal of Cleaner Production, 110 (pp. 54-65)

The rise of flex crops and commodities: implications for research (2016-01-01)
Borras, Saturnino M.; Franco, Jennifer C.; Isakson, S. Ryan; Levidow, Les and Vervest, Pietje
Journal of Peasant Studies, 43(1) (pp. 93-115)

Industry eco-innovation strategies for process upgrading: systemic limits of internalising externalities (2016)
Levidow, Les; Blind, Michiel; Lindgaard-Jørgensen, Palle; Nilsson, Åsa and Skenhall, Sara Alongi
Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 28(2) (pp. 190-204)

Les bioraffineries éco-efficientes. Un techno-fix pour surmonter la limitation des ressources? [Eco-efficient biorefineries: Techno-fix for resource constraints?] (2015-09)
Levidow, Les
Économie rurale, 349-350 (pp. 31-55)

European transitions towards a corporate-environmental food regime: agroecological incorporation or contestation? (2015-08)
Levidow, Les
Journal of Rural Studies, 40 (pp. 76-89)

An ontological politics of comparative environmental analysis: the green economy and local diversity (2015-08)
Forsyth, Tim and Levidow, Les
Global Environmental Politics, 15(3) (pp. 140-151)

Improving water-efficient irrigation: prospects and difficulties of innovative practices (2014-12)
Levidow, Les; Zaccaria, Daniele; Maia, Rodrigo; Vivas, Eduardo; Todorovic, Mladen and Scardigno, Alessandra
Agricultural Water Management, 146 (pp. 84-94)

Prácticas agroecológicas en Europa: ¿alimentado o transformando el régimen agroalimentario predominante? (2014-10)
Levidow, Les; Pimbert, Michel and Vanloqueren, Gaetan
Agricultura y ganadería ecológico(17) (pp. 38-40)

Agroecological research: conforming — or transforming the dominant agro-food regime? (2014-10)
Levidow, Les; Pimbert, Michel and Vanloqueren, Gaetan
Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 38(10) (pp. 1127-1155)

EU research agendas: embedding what future? (2014-09)
Levidow, Les and Neubauer, Claudia
Science as Culture, 23(3) (pp. 397-412)

Eco-efficiency improvements in industrial water-service systems: assessing options with stakeholders (2014-05-19)
Levidow, Les; Lindgaard-Jørgensen, Palle; Nilsson, Åsa; Alongi Skenhall, Sara and Assimacopoulos, Dionysis
Water Science and Technology, 69(10) (pp. 2113-2121)

Self-fulfilling prophecies of the European knowledge-based bio-economy: the discursive shaping of institutional and policy frameworks in the bio-pharmaceuticals sector (2014-03)
Birch, Kean; Levidow, Les and Papaioannou, Theo
Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 5(1) (pp. 1-18)

Fuelling expectations: a policy-promise lock-in of UK biofuel policy (2014-03)
Berti, Pietro and Levidow, Les
Energy Policy, 66 (pp. 135-143)

UK biofuel policy: envisaging sustainable biofuels, shaping institutions and futures (2014-02)
Levidow, Les and Papaioannou, Theo
Environment and Planning A, 46(2) (pp. 280-298)

UK bioenergy innovation priorities: Making expectations credible in state-industry arenas (2014)
Levidow, Les; Borda-Rodriguez, Alexander and Papaioannou, Theo
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 87 (pp. 191-204)

Engaging cooperative research (2014)
Hincliffe, Steve; Levidow, Les and Oreszczyn, Sue
Environment and Planning A, 46(9) (pp. 2080-2094)

Innovation priorities for UK bioenergy: technological expectations within path dependence (2013-12)
Levidow, Les; Papaioannou, Theo and Borda-Rodriguez, Alexander
Science & Technology Studies, 26(3) (pp. 14-36)

Pratiche agroecologiche in Europa: adeguare o trasformare il sistema agroalimentare? [Agroecological practices in Europe: Conforming – or transforming the dominant agro-food regime?] (2013-11)
Levidow, Les
Bioagricultura(142) (pp. 43-46)

State imaginaries of the public good: shaping UK innovation priorities for bioenergy (2013-06)
Levidow, Les and Papaioannou, Theo
Environmental Science & Policy, 30 (pp. 36-49)

Path-dependent UK bioenergy (2013-05)
Levidow, Les; Papaioannou, Theo and Borda-Rodriguez, Alexander
Science as Culture, 22(2) (pp. 213-221)

Divergent paradigms of European agro-food innovation: the Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) as an R&D agenda (2013-01)
Levidow, Les; Birch, Kean and Papaioannou, Theo
Science, Technology & Human Values, 38(1) (pp. 94-125)

EU criteria for sustainable biofuels: accounting for carbon, depoliticising plunder (2013-01)
Levidow, Les
Geoforum, 44(1) (pp. 211-223)

The bio-economy concept and knowledge base in a public goods and farmer perspective (2012-05)
Schmid, Otto; Padel, Susanne and Levidow, Les
Bio-based and Applied Economics (BAE), 1(1) (pp. 47-63)

EU agri-innovation policy: two contending visions of the bio-economy (2012-04)
Levidow, Les; Birch, Kean and Papaioannou, Theo
Critical Policy Studies, 6(1) (pp. 40-65)

Challenging unsustainable development through research cooperation (2012-01-17)
Levidow, Les and Oreszczyn, Sue
Local Environment, 17(1) (pp. 35-56)

How does the World Trade Organisation know? The mobilization and staging of scientific expertise in the GMO trade dispute (2012)
Bonneuil, Christophe and Levidow, Les
Social Studies of Science, 42(1) (pp. 75-100)

Global agrofuel crops as contested sustainability, Part II: Eco-efficient techno-fixes? (2011-06)
Levidow, Les and Paul, Helena
Capitalism Nature Socialism, 22(2) (pp. 27-51)

Segregating GM crops: why a contentious 'risk' issue in Europe? (2011-06)
Levidow, Les and Boschert, Karin
Science as Culture, 20(2) (pp. 255-279)

Food relocalization for environmental sustainability in Cumbria (2011-04-20)
Levidow, Les and Psarikidou, Katerina
Sustainability, 3(4) (pp. 692-719)

Sustainable capital? The neoliberalization of nature and knowledge in the European “knowledge-based bio-economy” (2010-09)
Birch, Kean; Levidow, Les and Papaioannou, Theo
Sustainability, 2(9) (pp. 2898-2918)

Global agrofuel crops as contested sustainability, Part I: Sustaining what development? (2010-06)
Levidow, Les and Paul, Helena
Capitalism Nature Socialism, 21(2) (pp. 64-86)

Assumptions in the European Union biofuels policy: frictions with experiences in Germany, Brazil and Mozambique (2010)
Franco, Jenny; Levidow, Les; Fig, David; Goldfarb, Lucia; Hönicke, Mireille and Mendonça, Maria Luisa
Journal of Peasant Studies, 37(4) (pp. 661-698)

Democratizing agri-biotechnology? European public participation in agbiotech assessment (2009)
Levidow, Les
Comparative Sociology, 8(4) (pp. 541-564)

Coexistence or contradiction? GM crops versus alternative agricultures in Europe (2008-01)
Levidow, Les and Boschert, Karin
Geoforum, 39(1) (pp. 174-190)

European public participation as risk governance: enhancing democratic accountability for agbiotech policy? (2007-12)
Levidow, Les
East Asian Science, Technology and Society: an International Journal, 1(1) (pp. 19-51)

Europeanising advisory expertise: The role of 'independent, objective and transparent' scientific advice in agri-biotech regulation (2007-12)
Levidow, Les and Carr, Susan
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 26(6) (pp. 880-895)

GM crops on trial: technological development as a real-world experiment (2007-05)
Levidow, Les and Carr, Susan
Futures, 39(4) (pp. 408-431)

Recasting “Substantial Equivalence”: Transatlantic Governance of GM Food (2007-01)
Levidow, Les; Murphy, Joseph and Carr, Susan
Science, Technology and Human Values, 32(1) (pp. 26-64)

Regulatory standards for environmental risks: understanding the US-European Union conflict over Genetically Modified Crops (2006-02)
Murphy, Joseph; Levidow, Les and Carr, Susan
Social Studies of Science, 36(1) (pp. 133-160)

EU regulation of agri-biotechnology: precautionary links between science, expertise and policy (2005-08)
Levidow, Les; Carr, Susan and Wield, David
Science and Public Policy, 32(4) (pp. 261-276)

Mercantilizando la educación superior: estrategias neoliberales y contra–estrategias (2003-05)
Levidow, Les
Boletin de Educación Superior(14-15) (pp. 4-11)

Industry responses to the European controversy over agricultural biotechnology (2002-08-01)
Levidow, L.; Oreszczyn, S.; Assouline, G. and Joly, P.-B.
Science and Public Policy, 29(4) (pp. 267-275)

Agricultural public-sector research establishments in Western Europe: research priorities in conflict (2002-08-01)
Levidow, L.; Søgaard, V. and Carr, S.
Science and Public Policy, 29(4) (pp. 287-295)

Ignorance-based risk assessment? Scientific controversy over GM food safety (2002-03-01)
Levidow, Les
Science as Culture, 11(1) (pp. 61-67)

Farm inputs under pressure from the European food industry (2002-02)
Levidow, L. and Bijman, J.
Food Policy, 27(1) (pp. 31-45)

Precautionary uncertainty: regulating GM crops in Europe (2001-12)
Levidow, Les
Social Studies of Science, 31(6) (pp. 842-874)

Science and Governance in Europe: lessons from the case of agricultural biotechnology (2001-10-01)
Levidow, L. and Marris, C.
Science and Public Policy, 28(5) (pp. 345-360)

Utilitarian bioethics?: market fetishism in the GM crops debate (2001-04-01)
Levidow, Les
New Genetics and Society, 20(1) (pp. 75-84)

Genetically modified crops in the European Union: regulatory conflicts as precautionary opportunities (2000-07)
Levidow, Les; Carr, Susan and Wield, David
Journal of Risk Research, 3(3) (pp. 189-208)

Regulating biotechnological risk, straining Britain's consultative style (1999-10)
Levidow, Les; Carr, Susan and Wield, David
Journal of Risk Research, 2(4) (pp. 307-324)

European Biotechnology Regulation: Framing the Risk Assessment of a Herbicide-Tolerant Crop (1997-10)
Levidow, Les; Carr, Susan; von Schomburg, Rene and Wield, David
Science, Technology and Human Values, 22(4) (pp. 472-505)

Harmonization Difficulties of Uncertainty-Based Regulation (1996)
Levidow, L.; Carr, S.; Schomburg, R. and Wield, D.
Science and Public Policy, 23(3) (pp. 135-157)

Beyond Climate Fixes: From Public Controversy to System Change (2023-05-09)
Levidow, Les
ISBN : 978-1529222395 | Publisher : Bristol University Press | Published : Bristol

Towards Understanding the Politics of Flex Crops and Commodities: Implications for Research and Policy Advocacy (2014-06)
Borras, Saturnino M.; Franco, Jennifer C.; Isakson, Ryan; Levidow, Les and Vervest, Pietje
Think Piece Series on Flex Crops & Commodities
Publisher : Transnational Institute | Published : Amsterdam

GM food on trial: Testing European democracy (2009)
Levidow, Les and Carr, Susan
Genomics & Society
ISBN : 978-0-415-95541-6 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : New York/London

Governing the Transatlantic conflict over agricultural biotechnology: contending coalitions, trade liberalisation and standard-setting (2006-08-30)
Murphy, Joseph and Levidow, Les
Genetics and Society
ISBN : 041537328X | Publisher : Routledge | Published : London, UK

“Let's move on" : Bob Young's contribution to radical science concepts and practices (2023)
Levidow, Les
In: Jacobsen, Kurt and Hinshelwood, R.D. eds. Psychoanalysis, Science and Power: Essays in Honour of Robert Maxwell Young (pp. 134-141)
ISBN : 9781003204244 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : London

Turning Nature into an Asset: Corporate Rent-seeking Strategies (2020-07-14)
Levidow, Les
In: Birch, Kean and Muniesa, Fabian eds. Turning Things into Assets (pp. 225-257)
ISBN : 9780262539173 | Publisher : MIT | Published : Cambridge, MA, USA

Transitions towards a European Bioeconomy: Life Sciences versus agroecology trajectories (2019)
Levidow, Les; Nieddu, Martino; Vivian, Franck-Dominque and Béfort, Nicolas
In: Allaire, Gilles and Daviron, Benoit eds. Ecology, Capitalism and the New Agricultural Economy: The Second Great Transformation (pp. 181-203)
ISBN : 9780815381617 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : London

Sustainable Intensification: Agroecological Appropriation or Contestation? (2018-06-27)
Levidow, Les
In: Constance, Douglas H.; Konefal, Jason T. and Hatanaka, Maki eds. Contested Sustainability Discourses in the Agrifood System. Earthscan Food and Agriculture (pp. 19-41)
ISBN : 9781138063099 | Publisher : Routledge/Earthscan | Published : London

Substituting a fictional ‘science’ for public accountability: legitimacy problems of the EU’s regulatory framework for GM products (2017-09-11)
Levidow, L.
In: Escajedo San-Epifanio, L. ed. Towards a new regulatory framework for GM crops in the European Union: Scientific, ethical, social and legal issues and the challenges ahead (pp. 155-166)
ISBN : 978-90-8686-845-2 | Publisher : Wageningen Academic Publishers

Researching agro-environmental problems with others (2017-09-06)
Oreszczyn, Sue; Levidow, Les and Wield, Dave
In: Oreszczyn, Sue and Lane, Andy eds. Mapping environmental sustainability: reflecting on systemic practices for participatory research (pp. 45-74)
ISBN : 978-1447331575 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol

Transition du régime agro-industriel européen vers la bioéconomie : Life Sciences versus Agroécologie (2017-03-02)
Levidow, Les; Nieddu, Martino; Vivien, F. D and Befort, Nicolas
In: Allaire, Gilles and Daviron, Benoit eds. Transformations agricoles et agroalimentaires: Entre écologie et capitalisme. Synthèses
ISBN : 978-2-7592-2614-6 | Publisher : Éditions Quæ | Published : Paris

Neoliberal origins of anti-GM protest in Europe (2015-07-12)
Levidow, Les
In: Macnaghten, Phil and Carro-Ripalda, Susana eds. Governing Agricultural Sustainability: Global Lessons from GM Crops. Pathways to Sustainability (pp. 179-185)
ISBN : 978-1-138-89182-1 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : London

European Union policy conflicts over agbiotech: ecological modernisation perspectives and critiques (2014)
Levidow, Les
In: Smyth, Stuart J.; Phillips, Peter W. B. and Castle, David eds. Handbook on Agriculture, Biotechnology and Development (pp. 153-165)
ISBN : 9780857938343 | Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing Limited | Published : Cheltenham

EU regulatory conflicts over GM food: lessons for the future (2014)
Levidow, Les
In: Thompson, Paul B. and Kaplan, David M. eds. Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Food Ethics
Publisher : Springer Science+Business Media | Published : Dordrecht

The 2003-06 WTO GMO dispute: Implications for the SPS Agreement (2013)
Levidow, Les and Bonneuil, Christophe
In: Thompson, Paul B. and Kaplan, David M. eds. Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Food Ethics
Publisher : Springer Reference | Published : Heidelberg

Contending European agendas for agricultural innovation (2012-11)
Levidow, Les
In: Barbier, Marc and Elzen, Boelie eds. System Innovations, Knowledge Regimes and Design Practices towards Transitions for Sustainable Agriculture (pp. 171-192)
ISBN : 2-7380-1306-6 | Publisher : INRA | Published : Paris, France

Neoliberalising technoscience and environment: EU policy for competitive, sustainable biofuels (2012-09)
Levidow, Les; Papaioannou, Theo and Birch, Kean
In: Pellizzoni, Luigi and Ylönen, Marja eds. Neoliberalism and Technoscience. Theory, Technology and Society (pp. 159-186)
ISBN : 978-1-4094-3532-7 | Publisher : Ashgate | Published : Farnham

Generating regulatory futures: From agbiotech blockages to a bioeconomy? (2012-04-06)
Levidow, Les
In: Howlett, Michael and Laycock, David eds. Regulating Next Generation Agri-Food Biotechnologies: Lessons from European, North American and Asian Experiences. Genetics and Society (pp. 15-33)
ISBN : 9780415693615 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : London, UK

Making local food sustainable in Manchester (2012-03-22)
Levidow, Les and Psarikidou, Katerina
In: Viljoen, Andre and Wiskerke, Johannes S. C. eds. Sustainable Food Planning: Evolving Theory and Practice (pp. 207-220)
ISBN : 978-90-8686-187-3 | Publisher : Wageningen Academic Publishers | Published : Wageningen

Making Europe unsafe for agbiotech (2009-07)
Levidow, Les
In: Atkinson, Paul; Glasner, Peter and Lock, Margaret eds. The Handbook of Genetics and Society: Mapping the New Genomic Era. Genetics and Society
ISBN : 978-0-415-41080-9 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : London

The Transatlantic Agbiotech Conflict as a Problem and Opportunity for EU Regulatory Policies (2006-10)
Levidow, Les
In: Falkner, Robert ed. The International Politics of Genetically Modified Food (pp. 118-137)
ISBN : 978-1-349-27966-1 | Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan | Published : London, UK

Governing conflicts over sustainability: agricultural biotechnology in Europe (2005-06-16)
Levidow, Les
In: Higgins, Vaughan and Lawrence, Geoffrey eds. Agricultural governance: globalization and the new politics of regulation. Routledge advances in sociology (pp. 98-117)
ISBN : 415352290 | Publisher : Routledge | Published : London, UK

Marketizing higher education: neoliberal strategies and counter-strategies (2002)
Levidow, Les
In: Robins, Kevin and Webster, Frank eds. The Virtual University?: Knowledge, Markets and Management (pp. 227-248)
ISBN : 9780199245574 | Publisher : Oxford University Press | Published : Oxford, UK

Fausses notes dans le consert reglementaire (1998)
Carr, Susan; Levidow, Les and Wield, David
In: Philipan, P. and Tasteman, C. eds. Plantes transgeniques: Les graines de la discorde (pp. 129-133)
ISBN : 2842990625 | Publisher : Elsevier | Published : Paris, France

Bounding the Risk Assessment of a Herbicide Tolerant Crop (1996)
Levidow, L.; Carr, S.; Schomberg, R and Wield, D.
In: van Dommelen, A. ed. Coping with Deliberate Release: The Limits of Risk Assessment (pp. 81-102)
ISBN : 90-802139-4-2 | Publisher : International Centre for Human and Public Affairs | Published : Tilberg

Inclusive Innovation for Global Development: the Role of Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) Ecosystems (2024)
Papaioannou, Theo; Levidow, Les and Aksoy, Zuhre
In : DSA 2024: Social justice and Development in a Polarising World (26-28 Jun 2024, SOAS University of London, UK / hybrid)

Socio-environmental justice: traditional communities renewing musical cultures in the Bocaina, Brazil (2021)
Levidow, Les
In : Socio-environmental justice: traditional communities renewing musical cultures in the Bocaina, Brazil (11 Feb 2021, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Seminar 1)

Knowledge practices: doing cooperative research with civil society organisations (2009)
Hinchliffe, Stephen; Oreszczyn, Sue and Levidow, Les
In : Nordic Environmental Social Sciences (NESS) Conference (9-12 Jun 2009, London, UK)

Visual Storytelling about Community Food Growing: Participatory Action Research Methods, Processes, and Wider Implications (2022-09)
Levidow, Les; Berardi, Andrea; Jung, Julia; Richards, Dave; McAllister, Fiona; Scott, Beth; Burton, Kath; Nuzzo, Claudia and Forest-Briand, Victoria Emanuelle
Cobra Collective

Meanings lost and found: translating ‘sociotechnical’ for a Brazilian counter-hegemonic agenda (2021-03)
Levidow, Les
European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST), Munich.

What Green Economy? Diverse agendas, their tensions and potential futures (2014-07)
Levidow, Les
IKD, Open University

Sustainable Development of Rural Communities in the Mediterranean Region (2013-09)
Woodgate, Graham; Lamberti, Lamberto; Belsanti, Virginia; Bessaoud, Omar and Levidow, Les
CIHEAM-IAMB, Bari, Italy.

Cooperative research processes in CREPE (Cooperative research on Environmental Problems in Europe) (2011)
Oreszczyn, Sue; Levidow, Les and Hinchliffe, Stephen
The Open University, UK.

EU agbiotech controversy: what has been on trial? (2010-12)
Levidow, Les and Carr, Susan
Soziale Technik, Graz.

Precautionary Expertise for GM Crops (PEG): EU Workshop Report (2003-10)
Levidow, Les
Centre for Technology Strategy, The Open University

Market stage precautions: managing regulatory disharmonies for transgenic crops in Europe (1999-04)
Levidow, Les; Carr, Susan and Wield, David
AgBiotechNet