Integrated environmental research and networking of economy and information in rural areas of Finland Matti Luostarinen Agricultural Research Centre ofFinland, Resource Management Research, FIN-31600 Jokioinen, Finland, e-mail: matti.luostarinen@mtt.fi This article uses material from many extensive research projects starting from the construction of the electric power supply network and its water supply systems in northern Finland in 1973-1986, to the Agropolis agricultural strategy and networking for the Loimijoki project. A list of the material and references of the publications is available in Agronet on the Internet. All these projects applied inte- grated environmental research covering biology, the natural sciences, social sciences, and planning methodology. To be able to promote sustainable agriculture and rural development there is a pressing need to improve research methodology and applications for integrated environmental research. This article reviews the philosophy and development of the theory behind integrated environmental re- search and the theory of network economy. Key words', common agricultural policy, environmental research, integrated research, network econo- my, research methodology ntroduction The world is witnessing enormous changes such as globalisation and networking of the economy and information. Beside the ongoing expansion of trade in the 19905,the international networks of finance, information and production have ex- perienced a further development towards globali- sation. A necessary response to the challenge is to expand the marketing ofFinnish agricultural products in the EU and at the same time towards world markets. This requires agriculture to strengthen its ability to innovate, i.e., to mod- ernise production and organisational structures, to overcome traditional forms of the (Tayloris- tic) division of work, to improve the skills of farmers and to invest in R&D. Environmental research in such circumstances cannot give solutions and tools to decision-mak- ers (society/political leaders) unless there is ex- tensive integrated environmental research. In par- ticular, such research is needed to promote sus- tainable agriculture and rural development. However, there is no separate discipline with- in environmental research, that systematically © Agricultural and Food Science in Finland Manuscript received January 1998 315 Vol. 711998): 315-328. AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCE IN FINLAND aims at developing systems and applications for this wide field. In fact, the only common denom- inator in the natural sciences, social sciences and applied sciences is the common direction of problems, i.e. they are all related to environmen- tal issues. Several research projects are current- ly under way to develop indicators and policy measures to determine the conditions for sustain- able development in agriculture in Finland. The main issues cover landscape-related, ecological, regional, economic and socio-economic prob- lems and the evaluation of policy implementa- tion. Planning ideology of society as the power behind the scenes In the 1970 s the task of research, based on soci- ety’s planning ideology, was to identify problems in various social sectors and to find possible so- lutions (remedies). The nature of the entire proc- ess was instrumental, segmental and superviso- ry. In actual fact, the planning comprised quan- titative planning ofresources and supervision of the use of resources by means of various sub- segmental programming and optimising meth- ods. It was not until the late 1980s,after the glo- bal economic crises, that the systematic nature and interactive systems of society began to take shape together with global models and macroso- cial research projects (e.g. the disputed global models ofForrester (1971, 1976) and Meadows (1972), the Club of Rome and Mesarovic and Pestel (1974), the Bariloche Model in Latin America, the Sarum Model in Great Britain and the papers produced by the “Secretariat ofFutu- rological Research” in Sweden). Interesting major joint projects in Finland included, mainly in the 1960 s and 19705, the water construction schemes in northernFinland to build up the coun- try’s electric power system (Asp et al. 1977, Luostarinen 1978) and, in the 19905, the inte- gration of economic and social issues with bio- sciences into environmental research. The crea- tion of a comprehensive perspective of social development became a central theme in environ- mental research and planning, allowing the goals ofpreviously unconnected sub-systems to be or- ganised into an integrated whole. It is obvious that solving a problem without knowing the en- tire system only leads to an accumulation of problems elsewhere. With slight exaggeration, then it could be said that problems in a certain sector of society did not arise out of the sub- system alone (e.g. loads on the environment from agriculture) but out of its relation to other sub- systems (e.g. closed domestic market with fixed producer prices with support/subsidy systems). Ackoff (1974), Churchman (1971) and Jantsch (1972) developed this concept in Western coun- tries. In the 1980s, planning was arranged at three levels: 1. normative or political planning; 2. strategic planning; and 3. operational and technical planning. This division was of crucial importance to general environmental planning and research. At that time, the sole aim of strategic planning was to identify and assess alternative action plans and goals in order to achieve general objectives, whereas that of operational and technical plan- ning was to define the actions to be taken within the framework of the strategy. Stagnation and the need for an interest in technical sciences (engi- neering) were evident in the studies. According to Wilenius (1970), this brought self-implement- ing prophecies to research and planning. Inte- grated environmental research has been compli- cated by opposed organisational and political opinions and conflicts of interest. Therefore, the development of sociological and economic en- vironmental research has been to some extent slower in Finland than in the other Nordic Coun- tries, and apart from basic biological research opportunities for academic studies have been inadequate. The rigidness of the social and organisation- al structures diminished toward the end of the 316 Seminar in honour of the 100thanniversary ofMTT AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCE IN FINLAND 1980s. Project organisations with new research subjects were established and system work gained ground in all social spheres. Clusters of the network economy were promoted. The meth- odological facilities of environmental research increased simultaneously with the new econom- ic and social needs, making it into a process embracing all human activity. Out of this proc- ess emerged research methods that would serve the different interests of knowledge (Fig. 1). According to Niitamo (1977), the same process occurred in the general contemplation of futu- rological research and its potential. Social practice and integrated environmental research Knowledge is connected with the social practice of an individual in his efforts to control his sur- roundings. The actions of an individual are tra- ditionally divided between three media that he uses in his actions: work, language and power. Of these, work is classified as the medium with which human society maintains and renews the necessities for life; language is the medium for understanding and conveying reality; and power is the medium with which the objectives of work are defined and an organisational order is estab- lished. An interesting contribution to the field of in- tegrated research was that of Mäenpää (1977), who divided the above Habermas tripartition - the three media of social practice - into three different fields ofknowledge and a complemen- tary interest in knowledge. The first of these deals with information, which extends and im- proves the technical capacity to develop and con- trol the environment. This interest in technical knowledge is closely associated with the theory of empirical and analytical sciences, which in- terprets reality with the objective of validating Fig. 1.Morphologies of integrated research activities and areas ofapplication of the various methods (Niitamo 1977,Luos- tarinen 1991). 317 Vol. 7(1998): 315-328. AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCE IN FINLAND and augmenting the knowledge required for in- strumental action. In naturalistic research and the naturalistic world view this is a dominant fea- ture and is evident in the Finnish biological and geoscientific research tradition. This process studies reality through observation and empiri- cal laws (Fig. 2). It is not possible for environmental science and research to proceed solely from a naturalis- tic basis. Simply because, in addition to produc- ing information, a necessary prerequisite for planning is interpretation of the data produced. This interpretation imparts meaning and logic to environmental phenomena and enables social activities to be directed on the basis of consen- sus. When only naturalistic and, at the same time, technical interest in knowledge is used, the fact that laws express the relations between living, conscious people is often over looked. As a re- sult, there is dissatisfaction/frustration causing mass demonstrations, rebellions, and even wars. There is nothing indispensable or perpetual in social laws. Further, the mode of action of the system is different from that in the natural sci- ences (Fig. 3). That is why social philosophy - also when engaged in environmental research - must critically demystify established social laws and short-term conflicts of interest and demon- strate that behind them are human beings who, at least in principle, can act of their own free will in harmony with a view of the world look- ing for hidden historic possibilities of a wider scope (possibilism) than those provided by the naturalistic environmental outlook (environmen- talism/determinism) (e.g. von Wright 1988). nterpretation of multidisciplinary and integrated research In rural areas, consensus is achieved in a differ- ent organisational structure from that in urban areas. The rural community in itself represents a mode of action very different from the rational planning and decision-making process of urban culture (Gemeinschaft-Gesellschaft, see Tönnies 1887). Interpretation in rural communities often lacks the capacity to fully identify common ad- vantages and benefits. Among current environ- mental projects, Natura 2000 is an example of conflicting interpretations by rural and urban populations, causing confrontation of the differ- ent interests within a mutual culture. Many en- vironmental projects and their management might have succeeded better had there been bet- ter understanding between individual members oforganisations, enabling explanations to be re- placed by comprehension. In integrated environ- mental research, it is vital that researchers reach mutual understanding in many different fields of science. Fig. 2. Traditional view of inductive and deductive expla- nation models (Luostarinen 1991). 318 Seminar in honour of the IOOth anniversary ofMTT AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCE IN FINLAND Galtung(1974) introduced a requirement that all sciences should be independent of the exer- cise of power and unspoken objectives regarded as self-evident truths (science as invariance-seek- ing and invariance-breaking activity). This re- flection embraces a critical interpretation of in- tegrated research. The process has sometimes been compared to psychoanalysis: undesirable behavioural models in human beings are re- moved by subconscious forces. The task ofpsy- choanalysis is to bring subconscious forces to consciousness, regulating individual behaviour Fig. 3. Integration of naturalistic and anthropological environment research (Luostarinen 1986). 319 Vol. 7(1998): 315-328. AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCE IN FINLAND in order to gain control of one’s behaviour in a new manner. The evaluationand commensurability ofpub- lic goods, e.g. landscapes, should be redefined, no longer, however, on the basis of traditional economics with its definitionsof ownership and bartering costs, inventories and other costs (Aakkula 1997). There is at the moment no prac- tical method for assessing the economic value of a rural environment and of social benefits ver- sus social costs. Within the framework of criti- cal social science, this entails analysing claims or ideological dependencies that are modifiable rather than subject to constant laws. In practice, this will lead to a dynamic system design of an integrated research project against the back- ground of the general systems theory (Bertalanf- fy 1973) and a simultaneously initiated discus- sion about social cybernetics (Asby 1968, Ah- mavaara 1976). The biggest problem in integrated research may be the different systems of interpretation in the various disciplines, preventing interdiscipli- nary understanding or the transferral of under- standing to the “user” through an inappropriate method of interpretation. The rural organisation- al culture does not accept information with the same interpretation and argumentation as does the urban organisational culture, whose commu- nal nature is not so actively integrated. There- fore, it is not possible to explain social phenom- ena within the framework of technical knowl- edge, nor can human behaviour be assessed caus- ally as a result of external factors. Earlier, at the time environmentalresearch was gaining ground in Finland, a typical example quoted was Mar- kovitc (1971), who considered human behaviour as a part of our naturalistic thinking and as a natural object. This pattern of thought was au- thorisedby the ways ofthinking and norms prev- alent at that time. It was assumed that human behaviour was governed by nature and the so- cial environment, cultural heritage and traditions. However, in practice the models applied result- ed in fallacious prognoses even when they seemed to be technically exact (see Blalock 1971). Due reason for this was the changes in human consciousness that have a great effect on the constancy of the variables, or entirely new factors that altered actions subject to valid laws. In this manner the positivistic research method- ology continued to approach an introspective and partly also interpretation based on behaviourism (Fig. 4). Cooperation between integrated research and network economy The entirely new way of thinking that emerged in the early 1990 s has required interdisciplinary cooperation and clustering in agriculture. The cluster model has evidently worked well in co- operation between businesses, the public admin- istration and research institutions. This would not have been possible, however, without the new communications technology and its applications for agriculture. At the international level, a new global mod- el was required for research and science parks. The operation was organised through the Asso- ciation of University Related Research Parks (AURRP), and the International Association of Science Parks (lASP), based on the new organi- sational culture introduced by the EU for the regional economy under the strategic manage- ment of the European Business Network (EBN) and Business Innovation Centre (BIC). The “re- form” of society and the use of natural resourc- es took place within the framework of the new system (Fig. 5) and was characterised by a large- scale coordinative task based on knowledge en- vironments and by the creation of clusters. In this way, the ideology ofenvironmental research, which earlier applied as a penetration principle, was given a new social mission, and a new or- ganisation of integrated environmental research was introduced. All this has supported the im- plementation of the network economy theory: as a form ofnetwork jobs, social networks, network economy, etc. 320 Seminar in honour of the 100th anniversary ofMTT AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCE IN FINLAND As the network theory spread, it was divided to serve the conceptual systems of the various disciplines, resulting in the least change in the natural sciences and those already based on the systems theory. However, the management of the systems theory in the natural sciences was dif- ferent from what society expected of integrating organisations, social networks and network maps (see Garrison 1974, Israel 1985, Klefbeck et al. 1987, Poukka 1990), of the process spirals of network meetings (see Speck and Atteneave 1973, Erickson 1984) and of network econ- omy (see Birley 1985) and its applications to re- gional changes (see Eskelinen and Lautanen 1989). In rural areas as elsewhere the mass produc- tion model for raw materials has been based on an increasing division of labour and specialisa- tion. One of the primary competitive factors in EU agriculture today is the ability to get those agricultural products with increasing demand on the market quickly into production. The profit margin no longer depends so much on the size of the yield or the degree of specialisation. The main aims for rural development in terms of integrated research are; 1. to improve promotion of new knowledge and new technicalapplications for rural develop- ment; 2. to reduce rural unemployment (caused part- ly by increased productivity); new jobs can be created primarily through investment and innovation; 3. to develop new ownership patterns, especially for agriculture and the food industry, as a way of alleviating the problems caused by capital accumulation, which creates new markets (for Fig. 4. Integration of physical and normative levels into normative aspatial environment (Luostarinen 1986). 321 Vol. 7(1998): 315-328. AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCE IN FINLAND gaining maximum profit on invested capital) by promoting new consumer patterns regard- less of negative social impacts as a whole; 4. in rural areas, to adapt to just-in-time pro- duction (JIT) and its methods/organisations; 5. to develop flexible work relations (telework and flexitime), thereby enabling people to work in/through information networks, also in rural areas; and 6. to develop the transfer of technology and in- novation diffusion processes In the United States it became clear in the 1970 s that traditional models ofregional behav- iour no longer function in network economies and in diffusion processes (Fig. 6). Modern in- formation technology enables innovations to spread, regardless of the physical location (pro- Fig. 5. Integration of social and natural resources in network economy (Luostarinen 1992). 322 Seminar in honour of the 100thanniversary ofMTT AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCE IN FINLAND AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCE IN FINLAND 323 vided that the required infrastructure exists). Examples of this are the Agropolis agricultural strategy, the agricultural information services system on the Internet (Agronet) and the second- generation science park ideology integrated into the BIC- programme of EBN, which were initi- ated and developed at the Agricultural Research Centre ofFinland (MTT) in Jokioinen. The proc- ess was started in 1992,and within 2 years had spread to most Finnish farms. Similar process launched in an urban area apparently could not have given better results. At present innovations Fig. 6. Changes in adaptation rate of innovations in the United States during the 1900 s and on illustration of the innovation process (Rogers and Shoemaker 1971, Rogers 1983). Vol. 7 (1998): 315-328. are diffused mainly between nodes (knots in a network) with no links to the field of diffusion to prevent thereception of information (e.g. sub- innovative areas) (see Hägestrand 1953, 1970). In the experience of the Agropolis strategy (Luostarinen 1993), the diffusion processes as a global phenomenon seem to take place mainly between “global villages” and are likely to cause fewer social problems than previous work mod- els. Moreover, the initial structuring of organi- sational activities has permitted cooperation be- tween different research segments (biological, economic, technical, social) and different sec- tors ofpublic administration(see Minzberg 1989, Wiberg 1990). Current results A promising progress is being made in coopera- tive projects in integrated research and in net- working economy at both national and interna- tional level. At the local level the results have been summarised in the reports of the Loimijoki project (1991-1997) and in connection with the Agropolis strategy (Luostarinen 1992, 1996, 1997, Yli-Viikari et al. 1998). 1. Differences between rural and urban commu- nities are narrowing at the same time as the complexity and diversity oftechnological and social systems are increasing. 2. Great progress is being made in science, and in particular in information and communica- tions technology, biotechnology, production processes and the use of materials. Flexible organisational structures often seem to be easier to implement in rural areas and their communities than in urban communities, where the factors causing rigidity, e.g. trade unions, are more problematic. The main driv- ing forces of change are research, science, education and regional economies as part of the European single market. 3. Mass production is being replaced with the models of a flexible economy strategy, with a simultaneous increase in the diversity of consumption and products. This will create new challenges for research. The polarisation of social values and global environmental problems are components of the same devel- opment process. 4. In rural areas, some people are already liv- ing in a “global village”, others still in a tra- ditional local village community. Localisa- tion terms as well as old spatial theories and model structures have to be abandoned and replaced with practices that are better suited to and function better in each individual case. Single large-scale models no longer function well. 5. In organisational structures central manage- ment is being replaced by networks. The boundaries between the work place and en- vironment are becoming blurred. 6. Farmers are establishing new cooperative en- terprises alongside existing central coopera- tives, a process that will eventually lead to the the disappearance of the old rural com- munal organisation (Gemeinschaft-Gesell- schaft). The conservative, “rational” and post- industrial social structure is making urban cultures more rigid and slowing down proc- ess in both production and the adoption of innovations. The applications of a flexible economy do not favour peripheral areas. Pe- riphery, as a concept, will have to be rede- fined. Discussion To reconcile multidisciplinary research and its applications to business and regional public ad- ministration, and to transfer technology, the ba- sic analogy of the research subject can be divid- ed into three sections: 1) In an integrated cluster, the research subject consists only of fixed parts causally linked 324 Seminar in honour of the 100th anniversary ofMTT AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCE IN FINLAND to one another. The mechanism (causal struc- ture) is assumed to be constant. Problems are created by human behaviour, which is not mechanical and cannot be transferred direct- ly to the causal structures. 2) If the research subject of the integrated clus- ter consists mainly of interactive parts then problems are created by areas no longer fol- lowing the earlier theory of external control- lability. 3) In integrated research, statistical and empir- ical methods are highly appropriate for re- search into fixed causal relations. The meth- ods are less appropriate, however, for moni- toring process-type environmental phenom- ena (clusters); their applications are almost exclusively limited to system dynamics or interactive simulation. Qualitative and struc- tural methods (e.g. scenario analyses) and intuitive methods (e.g. the Delphi technique) (Luostarinen and Olin 1994) are exceptions that can also be used to trace phenomena of process analogy. In information gathering systems, the inte- gration takes place either by empirical, formal- istic, constructive or dialectic media (Fig. 1). In- tuitive methods are an information-gathering sys- tem associated with the empirical section of in- tegrated research. Because these methods often deal with complex and undefined topics, they are appropriate for constructive information gather- ing. When the Agropolis strategy within the Loimijoki programme was implemented (Luos- tarinen 1992, 1993), the initial planning of the project involved multi-scientific modelling and synergic system work. As the projects pro- gressed, one could see how the technical inter- est in knowledge, the comprehending interest in knowledge and the critical interest in knowledge had to be connected individually to the right sys- tems of information gathering in integrated en- vironmental research as a rural operation. 1. The technical interest in knowledge is main- ly the development of toolsand enhancement of their use (know how), for instance in the projects seeking to solve the technical prob- lems of sporadic loading on a water system or those involved in connecting the infrastruc- ture of science park activity to a business. 2. The comprehending interest in knowledge tends to improve the communication and co- operation abilities of organisations (know why). In the experimental projects it mainly meant introducing models for project work and applying the network theory at its vari- ous levels. 3. The critical interest in knowledge creates the basis for defining and evaluating the devel- opment goals for society (know where to). In the experimental cases this mainly meant charting the future prospects for rural areas, agriculture and the food industry, examining the operational conditions in EU membership and seeking to establish an innovation pro- gramme linked to the knowledge environ- ment. A caricature of a typical example was the case in the lijoki river valley, where the first phase of biological research yielded results from river construction, showing that the cranberry harvest, optimised and measured by square analysis, ex- ceeded the damage caused to agriculture (Luos- tarinen 1984). In practice, however, berry har- vests have hardly any effect on theregional econ- omy, whereas the damage done to agriculture through river construction has sometimes laid entire villages to waste. A similar problem had occurred earlier along the Kemijoki and the Ounasjoki rivers when the effects of large-scale river constructing projects were evaluated by the integrated research method (Asp et al. 1977, Luostarinen and Mäkinen 1980). We must none- theless recognise that there are no simple mod- els with which integrated environmental research could deal with multidisciplinary research and its applications. 325 Vol. 7(1998): 315-328. AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCE IN FINLAND Conclusion Sustainable agricultural production needs to be matched with sustainable consumption. Howev- er, in an increasingly globalised economy, agri- cultural companies will only survive if they can develop competitive advantages that appeal to consumers. We have to take this as a challenge and an opportunity to build upon an existing competitive advantage (clean agricultural envi- ronment and products) with real differentiation strategies leading to sustainable development associated with environmental protection and social responsibility. Finnish agriculture as a part of EU agricul- ture enters into the reformed Common Agricul- tural Policy in 2000. The reforms are designed to improve the competitiveness of EU agricul- ture on domestic and world markets. Finnish agriculture has only a year of the transition pe- riod left which should be used for the best inter- est of the country, especially from the agricul- tural point of view. In this development process, integrated environmental research and network- ing of the agricultural economy and information in rural areas of Finland play a key role. References Aakkula, J. 1997. Maaseutuympäristö taloudellisena ar- vona. The rural environment as an economic bene- fit. In: Luostarinen, M. & Yli-Viikari, A. (eds.). Maa- seudun kulttuurimaisemat. Summary: Rural land- scapes in Finland. Maatalouden tutkimuskeskus ja Suomen ympäristökeskus, p. 35-45. (in Finnish). Ackoff, R.L. 1974. Redesigning the Future. A system Approach to Societal Problems. New York. 260 p. Ahmavaara, Y. 1976. Yhteiskuntakyberenetiikka. Tapio- la. 256 p. Asby, W.R. 1968. An Introduction to Cybernetics. Lon- don. 182 p. Asp, E., Luostarinen, M. & Mäkinen, H. 1977. Ounasjoen sosiaalistaloudellinen tutkimus. Selvitys rakentami- sen yksityis- ja kunnallistaloudellisista vaikutuksis- ta. Oulun ja Turun yliopisto. Lapin tutkimuksia no. 1- 2. 231 p. ja 67 p. Bertalanffy, L, von 1973. General System Theory. 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Filosofian tila ja tulevaisuus, p. 1-229. Wright, G.H. von 1971. Explanation and Understanding. London. 230 p. - 1988. Huomautuksia psykologian filosofiasta. In: Taskutieto. 271 p. Yli-Viikari, A., Jansson, H., Jansson, H. Kurppa, S., Känkänen, M., Luostarinen, M., Soini, S., Turtola, A, & Turtola, E. 1988. Loimijokiprojektin raportti 1991- 1997. Ympäristöhankkeen eteneminen Loimijokilaak- son maatiloilla ja jokirannoilla. Maatalouden tut- kimuskeskus, Jokioinen. 84 p. SELOSTUS Kestävän kehityksen integroidun tutkimuksen ja verkostotalouden teorian tutkimusmenetelmälliset ongelmat Matti Luostarinen Maatalouden tutkimuskeskus Kestävän kehityksen monitieteiseltä tutkimukselta edellytetään usein, että sen tutkimusmenetelmät lä- hestyisivät tulevaisuudentutkimuksessa käytettäviä menetelmiä. Samaa edellytetään myös maaseudun verkostoitumista ja verkostotaloutta tutkivilta tieteil- tä. Erillistä ympäristötutkimuksen tieteenalaa tai ver- kostotiedettä, joka suuntautuisi systemaattisesti alan menetelmien kehittämiseen ja soveltamiseen, ei kui- tenkaan ole. On vain eri tieteiden välisiä yhteisiä asioita ratkaistavaksi, minkä vuoksi on syntynyt kes- tävään kehitykseen pyrkiviä menetelmiä ja lähesty- mistapoja. Humanistinen ja maaseudun ongelmia laa- jemmin tutkiva verkostoituminen edellyttää erityyp- pisiä käsittelytapoja kuin luonnontieteellinen aiheen tarkastelu. Asiaa esitellään useissa maaseudun kehittämiseen 327 Voi 7(1998): 315-328. AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCE IN FINLAND ja ympäristöntutkimukseen liittyvissä suurprojekteis- sa, alkaen Pohjois-Suomen koskisodista ja vesiraken- nushankkeista vuosilta 1972-1986, jatkuen Loimijo- kiprojektiin ja Agropolis-strategiaan vuosille 1991- 1997. Oleellista näissä monitieteisissä hankkeissa on ollut löytää yhteinen kieli ja käsitteet päätöksenteki- jöille ja suunnittelijoille laajoja intressiryhmiä kos- kettavissa tutkimus- ja suunnittelukohteissa. Tarve tällaiseen työhön on entisestään lisääntynyt maail- manlaajuisten ympäristökysymysten ja verkostoitumi- sen sekä kestävän aluetaloussuunnittelun myötä. Yhteiskunnan oma suunnitteluideologia ja ideolo- gian historiallinen kehitysvaihe vaikuttavat ehkä mer- kittävimmin integroituun tutkimukseen ja sen yhteyk- siin verkostotalouden teoriaan. Kärjistäen voidaan sanoa, että yhteiskunnan jonkun osan ongelma ei enää synny vain osajärjestelmästä itsestään, vaan osajär- jestelmän suhteista yhteiskunnan muihin järjestel- miin. Vanhasta kolmiportaisesta suunnittelusta (nor- matiivinen, strateginen ja operatiivis-tekninen) on siirrytty systeemisuunnitteluun ja -dynamiikkaan sekä verkostoteoriaan ja -talouteen. Vielä ennen 1990-lu- vun alun syvää lamakautta yhteiskunnan kriisiherk- kyyden ja systemaattisuuden huomioonottaminen ei ollut integroidun tutkimuksen, suunnittelun eikä ym- päristötutkimuksenkaan kantavia teemoja. Sen sijaan 1970-luvun alun määrällinen resurssisuunnittelu oh- jaavine toimenpiteineen vaikutti yhä taustalla. Agropolis-strategia, verkostoituminen ja kestävän kehityksen mukaiset tutkimusmenetelmälliset näkö- kulmat ovat yleistyneet niin kansallisesti kuin kan- sainvälisestikin tilanteessa, jolloin keskeiseksi tee- maksi on noussut kokonaiskuvan luominen yhteis- kuntakehityksestä. Tämän ansiosta aiemmin irrallisi- na esitetyt osajärjestelmien tavoitteet on voitu koota mielekkääksi kokonaisuudeksi. Samalla tutkijat ovat havainneet, että integroidussa työssä tulkinta tai rat- kaisun etsintä eivät ole yksinomaan teknisiä tai instrumentaalisia. Erityisesti kestävää kehitystä toteu- tettaessa ja verkostotaloudessa on jouduttu suunnit- telukäytäntöön, jossakaikille maaseudun ilmiöille on pystyttävä antamaan merkitys ja sisältö yhteisen ym- märryksen pohjalta. Yhä useammin intuitiiviset tai laadullis-rakenteelliset menetelmät korvaavat empii- riset tai formaaliset tietolähteet, tai introspektiiviset positivistiset. Samalla eri tieteenalojen tiedonkeruu- ja käyttöjärjestelmät joudutaan tulkitsemaan maaseu- dun yhteisessä toimintakentässä, jonka 1. tekninen mielenkiinto kohdistuu lähinnä työväli- neiden etsimiseen alue- tai ympäristötalouden ke- hittämiseksi ja valittujen työvälineiden käytön te- hostamiseksi (know how). Esimerkkejä ovat tie- donsiirtoverkostot ja uudet infrastruktuurit kuten Agropolis-strategia ja Agronet-verkosto. 2. ymmärtävä mielenkiinto kohdistuu lähinnä ihmis- ten ja organisaatioiden kommunikaatio-ja yhteis- toimintakyvyn lisäämiseen (know why). Esimerk- kejä ovat projektityöskentely, osuustoiminta ja kestävä luonnonvarain käyttö (maaseudulla), sekä maareformien, maaltapaon, yhdyskuntarakentei- den muutosten, aliravitsemuksen ja sosiaalisten ongelmien aiheuttama yhteiskunnan kriisiherk- kyys (kansainvälisesti). 3. kriittinen mielenkiinto luo lähinnä edellytyksiä yhteiskunnan kehittämistavoitteiden asettamisel- le ja arvioinnille (know where to). Esimerkkejä ovat uudet toimintamallit ja -strategiat sekä nii- den tulosten arviointi. Integroidut tutkimusyksiköt käynnistävät yleen- sä toimintansa mekanismi perusanalogianaan, empi- rismi tutkimusvälineenään ja syy-seuraussuhteet ole- tuksenaan. Myöhemmin toiminta etenee ymmärtä- vään ja kriittiseen tiedonkeruuvaiheeseen, jolloin laa- dullis-rakenteelliset ja intuitiiviset menetelmät lisään- tyvät. Kapea-alaisesta perusmateriaalista siirrytään monimuotoisempaan materiaaliin. Koska tutkimus- kohde on vaikeasti hahmotettavissa tai siitä on risti- riitaisia tulkintoja tai teorioita, on välttämätöntä käyt- tää parempia tiedonhankkijoita, jolloin perinteisistä tiedonkeruujärjestelmistä (empirismi, formalismi) tulee “osarutiineja”. Teoria lähestyy dialektista suun- nittelua tai toiminta-analogioiden etsimistä osana sys- teemiteoriaa tai -dynamiikkaa. Toisaalta monitietei- sessäkään tutkimuksessa ja sovelluksissa tulokset ei- vät voi koskaan olla yhtään sen laajempia kuin vali- tut menetelmät ja niiden taustalla olevat perusanalo- giset rajaukset ovat. Tämä on ehkä tärkein lopputu- los, johon päästään laajentamalla luonnontieteellistä näkemystä humanismin suuntaan. 328 Seminar in honour of the 100thanniversary ofMTT AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCE IN FINLAND