Blane Harvey
Associate Professor & William Dawson Scholar
*** PLEASE NOTE THAT I WILL BE ON SABBATIC LEAVE FOR ALL OF 2024. I WILL NOT BE ACCEPTING NEW GRADUATE STUDENTS OVER THIS PERIOD. THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING***
PhD, Education and International Development (McGill University)
MA, Culture and Values in Education (McGill University)
Informal and organisational learning, social learning, learning in communities and networks of practice, leadership and sustainability, education and international development, participatory action research (PAR), learning in international cooperation, knowledge co-production, knowledge brokering, learning-centred responses to climate change, social justice and environmental change
By appointment. Please note that I will be on sabbatic leave for the 2024 calendar year.
Principal Investigator: Renforcer la gouvernance locale face aux changements climatiques : étude de cas d’une initiative de formation professionnelle en ligne développée par l’Union des Municipalités du Québec
This study assesses the effectiveness of a new online learning program on climate change adaptation for municipal policymakers in Quebec. Results will inform the design of further peer learning resources on climate change in the province.
Funding: Ouranos (2023-2024)
Co-principal Investigator: Review of climate change education ambition in Central Asia and preparation for school-level pilot of Green School Quality Standard
This study reviews the state of climate change education policy in four Central Asian countries to identify good practices and opportunities for further investment.
Funding: UNESCO (2023-2024)
Co-principal Investigator: Re-imagining knowledge mobilization in a carbon-constrained world: A study of academic conferencing in the sustainability sciences
This research examines the future of low-carbon academic conferences, taking stock of lessons from the current COVID-19 pandemic. Undertaken in collaboration with Ouranos (Quebec), we are particularly interested in how the move to virtual and hybrid forms of conferencing impact participant experience and the global equity of both participation and its benefits.
Funding: International Development Research Centre; Mitacs; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Connection Grant (2023-2024).
Principal Investigator: Transdisciplinary Learning: Understanding how facilitated learning supports transdisciplinary action on climate change
This research is examining how facilitated learning processes contribute to the work and longer term impact of transdisciplinary collaborations on climate-resilient development. Undertaken in collaboration with researchers and practitioners from the Red Cross Climate Centre (Netherlands), the International Development Research Centre (Canada), Climate and Development Knowledge Network (South Africa), and St. Francis Xavier University (Canada).
Funding: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grant (2019-2023); Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC) Nouveau Chercheur Grant (2018- 2023)
Principal Investigator: Education in sustainability transitions: Re-imagining the contribution of educational research, pedagogy and policy
Global sustainability challenges, particularly the climate crisis, are urgent concerns for this and future generations, yet they remain peripheral to much educational pedagogy, policy, and research. This lack of meaningful engagement, scholars argue, highlights the need to rethink how educational leadership and pedagogy should be supporting transitions to a more just and sustainable future. This award will help to initiate faculty-wide dialogue on these concerns and serve as a foundation for change. We will critically examine how the teaching and learning models we adopt and promote might advance new models of leadership and partnership for pursuing sustainability education as a central element to our practice.
Funding: McGill Faculty of Education Research Innovation Award (2020)
Principal Investigator: Network-building in sustainability research: A study of the McGill Sustainability Systems Initiative's practices and outcomes (2019-2020)
This 18-month study will map the evolution of the transdisciplinary research network convened through the MSSI. It will study the impact of facilitation practices used by the Initiative on researcher engagement, and aim to understand the drivers of emerging research impacts. (Funding: McGill Sustainability Systems Initiative)
Principal Investigator: Supporting the next generation of climate and sustainability leaders: A collaborative inquiry (2018-2019)
Study of evolutions in the way climate adaptation leadership is being conceptualized, supported and assessed in international cooperation. Undertaken with the International Development Research Centre and regional partners in Africa and Asia. (Funding from McGill University’s Social Sciences and Humanities Development Grants)
Co-Applicant (with Kayla Johnson & Joe Levitan at McGill): The Critical Issues Summit: Engaging and Empowering Students to be Global Change Agents (2018-2020) Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Engage Grant.
Peer reviewed journal articles
Sengalrayan, B. & Harvey, B. (2023). Engaging knowledge users in Canadian knowledge mobilisation research: A scoping review of research in education. Evidence and Policy. (https://doi.org/10.1332/17442648Y2023D000000014)
Deskin, Z. & Harvey, B. (2023). Critical Food Systems Education in University Student-run Food Initiatives: Learning Dynamics, Outcomes, and Opportunities for Food Systems Transformation. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. (doi:10.3389/fsufs.2023.1230787)
Gohasany, H. & Harvey, B. (2023). Capacity development for knowledge mobilization: A scoping review of the concepts and practices. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications. (https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01733-8)
Darling, S., Harvey, B., Hickey, G. (2023). From ‘stakeholders’ to rights holders: How approaches to impact assessment affect indigenous participation in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Environmental Impact Assessment Review. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2022.107025)
Darling, S., Harvey, B., & Hickey, G. M. (2022). Advancing pluralism in impact assessment through research capacity: Lessons from the Yukon Territory, Canada. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management. (https://doi.org/10.1142/S1464333222500260)
Golhasany, H. & Harvey, B. (2022). Academic freedom, the impact agenda, and pressures to publish: Understanding the driving forces in higher education. SN Social Sciences. (https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-022-00468-8)
Darling, S., Harvey, B., & Hickey, G. M. (2022). On the individual and organizational capacities supporting impact assessment: the case of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board. FACETS, 7(1), 674-700. (https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2021-0118)
Harvey, B., Huang, Y.S., Araujo, J., Vincent, K. & Sabiiti, G. (2022). Southern leadership in collaborative climate and development research. Climate and Development. (https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2021.2020614)
Essa, S., Harvey, B. (2022). Education for sustainable development in Saudi Arabia: A critical discourse analysis through media and policy documents. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Sustainability Education. 18(2). (https://doi.org/10.21601/ijese/115190)
Huang, Y.S., Harvey, B., Asghar, A. (2021). Bureaucratic exercise? Education for sustainable development in Taiwan through the stories of policy implementers. Environmental Education Research.(https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1926431)
Huang, Y.S., Harvey, B. (2021). Beyond Indicators and Success Stories: An Emerging Method to Assess Social Learning in Large-scale Climate Adaptation Programs. Frontiers in Sociology. (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2021.649946/)
Schipper, E.L.F, Ensor, J., Mukherji, A., Mirzabaev, A., Fraser, A., Harvey, B., Totin, E., Garschagen, M., Pathak, M., Antwi-Agyei, P., Tanner, T., Shawoo, Z. (2021). Equity in climate scholarship: a manifesto for action. Climate and Development. (https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2021.1923308)
Harvey, B., Huang, Y.S., Araujo, J., Vincent, K., Roux, J.P., Visman, E. (2021). Mobilizing climate information for decision-making in Africa: A review of stakeholder engagement and knowledge brokering strategies from large-scale research initiatives. Frontiers in Climate. (doi:10.3389/fclim.2020.589282/)
Nightingale, A.J., Eriksen, S., Taylor, M., Forsyth, T., Pelling, M., Newsham, A., Boyd, E., Brown, K., Harvey, B., Jones L., Bezner Kerr, R., Mehta, L., Naess, L.O., Ockwell, D., Scoones, I., Tanner, T. Thompson, J., Whitfield, S. (2020). Beyond Technical Fixes: Climate solutions and the great derangement. Climate and Development. (doi:10.1080/17565529.2019.1624495)
Smith, K., Pearson, M., Allen, W. Barwick, M., Farrell, C., Hardy, M., Harvey, B., Kothari, A., Neal, Z., Pellini, A. (2019). Building and diversifying our interdisciplinary giants: Moving scholarship on evidence and policy forward. Evidence and Policy. 15(4). (doi.org/10.1332/174426419X15705227786110)
Harvey, B., Jones, L., Cochrane, L. & Singh, R. (2019). The evolving landscape of climate services in sub-Saharan Africa: NGO contributions to system change. Climatic Change. (doi: 10.1007/s10584-019-02410-z)
Buffardi, A., Harvey, B. & Pasanen, T. (2019). ‘Learning partners’: Overcoming the collective action dilemma of inter-organisational knowledge generation and sharing? Development in Practice. (doi: 10.1080/09614524.2018.1550052)
Harvey, B., L. Cochrane, M. Van Epp (2019). Charting knowledge co-production pathways in climate and development. Environmental Policy and Governance. (https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.1834)
Cundill, G., B. Harvey, M. Tebboth, L. Cochrane, et al. (2019). Large-scale transdisciplinary collaboration for adaptation research: Challenges and insights. Global Challenges, 2. (doi: 10.1002/gch2.201700132)
Jones, L., B. Harvey, L. Cochrane, B. Cantin, D. Conway, R. Cornforth, K. De Souza, and A. Kirbyshire (2018) Designing the next generation of climate adaptation research for development. Regional Environmental Change 18(1), 297-304. (doi: 10.1007/s10113-017-1254-x)
Harvey, B., T. Pasanen, A. Pollard & J. Raybould (2017) Fostering learning in large programmes and portfolios: Emerging lessons from climate change and sustainable development. Sustainability 9(2), 315. (doi:10.3390/su9020315)
Ensor, J. and B. Harvey (2015). Social learning and climate change adaptation: Evidence for international development practice. WIREs Climate Change 6(5), 509-522. (doi: 10.1002/wcc.348)
De Souza, K, E. Kituyi, B. Harvey, M. Leone, K.S. Murali & J. Ford (2015). Vulnerability to climate change in three hot spots in Africa and Asia: Key issues for policy-relevant adaptation and resilience-building research. Regional Environmental Change 15(5), 747-753. (doi: 10.1007/s10113-015-0755-8)
Kristjanson, P., B. Harvey, M. Van Epp & P.K. Thornton (2014) Social learning and sustainable development. Nature Climate Change 4(1), 5-7. (doi:10.1038/nclimate2080)
Harvey, B. and C. Fisher (2013). Mobilising knowledge for climate change adaptation in Africa: Reflecting on the adaptive management of knowledge networks. Knowledge Management for Development Journal 9(1), 37-56. [URL]
Hammill, A., B. Harvey & D. Echeverria (2013). Knowledge for action: User-oriented analysis of online knowledge broker platforms for climate change and development. Knowledge Management for Development Journal 9(1), 72-92. [URL]
Harvey, B. T. Lewin and C. Fisher (2012). Is development research communication coming of age? IDS Bulletin 43(5), 1-8. (doi: 10.1111/j.1759-5436.2012.00356.x)
Harvey, B., L. Carlile, J. Ensor, B. Garside & Z. Patterson (2012). Understanding context in learning-centred approaches to climate change communication. IDS Bulletin 43(5), 31-37. (doi: 10.1111/j.1759-5436.2012.00360.x)
Burns, D., Harvey, B. and Ortiz Aragon, A. (2012). Action research for development and social change. IDS Bulletin 43(3), 1-7. (doi: 10.1111/j.1759-5436.2012.00318.x)
Harvey, B., D. Burns and K. Oswald (2012). Linking community, radio, and action research on climate change: Reflections on a systemic approach. IDS Bulletin 43(3), 101-117. (doi: 10.1111/j.1759-5436.2012.00326.x)
Harvey, B. (2011). Climate Airwaves: Community radio, action research and advocacy for climate justice in Ghana. International Journal of Communication. Vol.5, 2035-2058. [URL]
Harvey, B. (2011). Negotiating openness across science, ICTs, and participatory development: Lessons from the AfricaAdapt network. Information Technologies and International Development 7(1), 19-31. [URL]
Harvey, B. (2010). Learning from power in development cooperation: Lessons from Senegal. Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences 2(3), 340-370. [URL]
Harvey, B. and J. Langdon (2010). Re-imagining capacity and collective change: Experiences from Senegal and Ghana. IDS Bulletin 41(3), 79-86. (doi: 10.1111/j.1759-5436.2010.00139.x)
Cranston, P., P. Grunewald, B. Harvey, C. Jackson, L. Lamoureux, E. Le Borgne, L. Morris & S. Staiger (Eds) (2015). Facilitation for development. Knowledge Management for Development Journal 11(1).
Ford, J.D., K. De Souza, E. Kituyi, B. Harvey, M. Leone & K. Murali (Eds) (2015). Adaptation in climate change hotspots: Analysis from Africa and Asia. Regional Environmental Change 15(5).
Lewin, T., B. Harvey and S. Page (Eds.) (2012). New roles for communication in development? IDS Bulletin 43(5).
Harvey, B., Leite, S., Heiberg, S. (2023). Sustainability transformations at McGill: Leverage points for accelerating change. In W.M. Purcell & J. Haddock-Fraser (Eds.) Bloomsbury Handbook on Sustainability in Higher Education: An Agenda for Transformational Change, London, Bloomsbury Publishing.
Cundill, G. and B. Harvey (2019). Unpacking the potential role of social learning in adaptation policy. In ECH Keskitalo and B. Preston (Eds.) Research Handbook on Climate Change Adaptation Policy, Edward Elgar Publishing (doi:10.4337/9781786432520.00014)
Harvey, B. (2014). Science, ICTs and participatory development: Negotiating openness across epistemic divides. In Smith, M.L. and K. Reilly (Eds.) Open Development: Technological, Organizational, and Social Innovation in International Development. Cambridge, MIT Press.
Tanner, T. and B. Harvey (2013). Social justice and low carbon development. In F. Urban and J. Nordensvard (eds.) Low Carbon Development: Key Issues. London, Routledge Press
Harvey, B. and T. Mitchell (2012). ICT-enabled knowledge sharing in North-South partnerships: Lessons from the AfricaAdapt network. In R. Heeks and A. Ospina (Eds.) ICTs, Climate Change and Development: Case Evidence. University of Manchester. Available online at: http://niccd.org/Book_ICCD_Case_Evidence.pdf
Harvey, B. (2011). Development cooperation and learning from power in Senegal. In Kapoor, D. (Ed.) Critical perspectives on neoliberal globalization, development and education in Africa and Asia. Rotterdam, Sense Publishers.
Harvey, B. (2011). From technicism to transformation: Vocational adult learning in development. In Rossatto, C.A. (Ed.) Teaching for Global Community: Overcoming the Divide and Conquer Strategies of the Oppressor. Asheville, Information Age Publishing.
Harvey, B. (2009). Indigenous knowledges, sustainable development and the environment: Implications for education and capacity building. In Langdon, J. (Ed.) Indigenous knowledges, development and education. Rotterdam, Sense Publishers.
Langdon, J. and B. Harvey (2009). Building anti-colonial spaces of education: Challenges and reflections. In Kempf, A. (Ed.) In Breach of the Colonial Contract: Anti-Colonialism in the US and Canada. Toronto, Springer Press.
As contributing author
IPCC (2014) Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part B: Regional Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Barros, V.R., C.B. Field, D.J. Dokken, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma, E.S. Kissel, A.N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L. White (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, 688 pp [Contributing author – Chapter 22. Africa]
Kinthaert, L. (2022, November). "How can policy makers be globally inclusive when it comes to sustainability? 11 experts weigh in." Taylor and Francis.
Fischer, C., Harvey, B. & Huang, Y.S. (2022, October 28). "What Is Next for South–South Peer Learning on Adaptation? Reflecting on peer learning in post-pandemic times" International Institute for Sustainable Development.
Huang, Y.S. & Harvey, B. (Summer 2022). "Re-imagining knowledge mobilization in a carbon- constrained world." Feature published in the Institute of Human Development and Wellbeing Summer 2022 Newsletter.
Litwin, K. (2022, July 12). "‘Convenors of conversations’ and ‘models of transformation’: The role of higher education in the fight against climate change" McGill Reporter.
Harvey, B., Bourque, A., Huang, Y.S., Debradandere, A. (2021, November 5). "Rethinking academic conferencing for a carbon-constrained world" University Affairs.
Omelon, S., Harvey, B. Gonzales, A. (2020, October 15). “How can sustainability research be translated into real-world changes?” McGill University.
Harvey, B. (2020, October 13). “Systemic Action Research with Dr. Blane Harvey.” The Action Research Podcast.
Harvey, B. (2020, October 13). “Review, rejection and moving forward.” STARTcast. START International.
Harvey, B., Sprowls, E. & Huang, Y.S. (2020, May 12) "School-community gardens plant the seeds of change to address global warming." The Conversation.
Harvey, B. (2020, January 27) “Preparing our students for climate change” Interview for the Elias Makos Show, CJAD 800 Radio, Montreal.
Harvey, B., Starr, L. & Levitan, J. (2020, January 21) “Preparing our students for the climate future.” Montreal Gazette.
Schwartz, S. (2019, August 3) "An eco-friendly vision for business, from eyeglasses to toothbrushes." Montreal Gazette.
Harvey, B., L. Jones, L. Cochrane & R. Singh (2019, April 13) "NGOs are shaking up climate services in Africa. Should we be worried?" Thompson Reuters Foundation News.
Ellis, T. (2018, Dec 10) "McGill Sustainability Faculty Feature: Professor Blane Harvey." McGill Sustainability.
Guilbert, K. (2017, May 9) “As droughts worsen, phones and radios lead way to water for Niger's herders.” Thompson Reuters Foundation News.
Pasanan, T. & B. Harvey (2017, March 29) “Eight lessons on fostering learning in large research and development programmes.” LSE Impact Blog.
Walsh, D. (2011, Sept. 27). “Climate change takes a toll on cultures.” The New York Times.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Christopher Luederitz, McGill University (2023-Present)
Ying Syuan Huang, McGill University (2022-Present)
PhD
Shiqing Gong, PhD in Educational Studies, McGill University (2023-present)
Justus Wachs, PhD in Educational Studies, McGill University (2022-present)
Stephanie Leite, PhD in Educational Studies, McGill University (2020-present)
Maxime Goulet-Langlois, PhD in Educational Studies, McGill University (2020-present, co-supervised with Naomi Nichols, Trent University)
Emily Sprowls, PhD in Educational Studies, McGill University (2019-present, co-supervised with Allison Gonsalves)
Paul Meighan, PhD in Educational Studies, McGill University (2019-Complete, co-supervised with Mela Sarkar)
Hamid Golhasany, PhD in Educational Studies, McGill University (2019-present)
Ryan Deuel, PhD in Educational Studies, McGill University (2018-Complete)
MA
Thesis Supervisor, Jacee Forsythe, MA in Educational Studies, McGill University (2023-Present)
Thesis Supervisor, Sophia Richardson, MA in Educational Studies, McGill University (2023-present)
Thesis Supervisor, Vanja Lugongic, MA in Educational Studies, McGill University (2023-present)
Thesis Supervisor, Daphne Chalmers, MA in Educational Studies, McGill University (2021-Complete)
Thesis Supervisor, Salma Tihani, MA in Educational Studies, McGill University (2020-Complete)
Thesis Supervisor, Bernadine Sengalrayan, MA in Educational Studies, McGill University (2019-Complete)
Thesis Supervisor, Rubin McNeely, MA in Educational Leadership, McGill University (2018-Complete)
Thesis Supervisor, Shaemaa Essa, MA in Educational Leadership, McGill University (2018-Complete)
Project Supervisor, Alexia Chechile, MA in Educational Leadership, McGill University (2018-Complete)
Project Supervisor, Anthony Di Dimozio, MA in Educational Leadership, McGill University (2018-Complete)
Thesis Supervisor, Peter Papadeas, MA in Educational Leadership, McGill University (2017-Complete)
William Dawson Scholar
Associate Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education
Associate Member, McGill School of Environment
Affiliate Member, McGill Institute for the Study of International Development
Adjunct Research Professor: Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
Associate Editor, Climate and Development Journal
Editorial Board, Springer Nature Social Sciences
Member, Canadian Association for Studies in International Development
Member, Canadian Society for the Study of Education
