Dr. Chris Jacobson joined CSAFE in 2011 as a Research Fellow. She is interested in the ways that agencies learn and use different types of knowledge in environmental management. Chris's work emphasises what academia has to learn from communities’ and agencies’ experiences, and uses that to reflect on academic wisdom, rather than the other way around. She relishes the close working links she makes with co-researchers from agencies and communities.

Chris has three key interests:

1. Learning processes in adaptive management, and theoretical frameworks for thinking about learning and adaptation
2. The ways that institutions work to promote and inhibit information-sharing, and learning from different experiences and types of knowledge
3. Frameworks for integrating local, science, and indigenous knowledge in environmental management

Chris has primarily worked in the conservation sector in Australia and New Zealand. At CSAFE, she is the principal investigator on a Marsden fast-start project entitled, Knowledge Interfacing and Power Sharing in Co-management: A comparative analysis. The aim of the project is to understand how indigenous and non-indigenous people would like their knowledge applied as part of co-management, as well as the institutional barriers to this. The project will involve case studies from New Zealand and Australia.

 Publications

Journal Articles & Book Chapters

Stephens, A., C. King, K. Lyons and C. Jacobson (accepted subject to revisions) Adapting grounded theory. International Journal of Qualitative Methods.

Jacobson, C., R.W. Carter, M. Hockings and J. Kelman (2011) Maximising conservation evaluation utilisation. Evaluation 17(1): 53-71.

Muriuki, G., L. Seabrook, C. McAlpine, C. Jacobson, B. Price and G. Baxter (2011) Land cover change under unplanned human settlements: A study of the Chyulu Hills squatters, Kenya. Landscape and Urban Planning 99(2): 154-165.

Stephens, A., C. King and C. Jacobson (2011) Exploring FST principles in Community Development: The ‘Carrot on a Stick’ Early Health Intervention Programme. International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations 10(2): 257-276.

Muriuki, G., C. Jacobson, G. Baxter, C. McAlpine, B. Price and L. Seabrook (2010) Migrating, staying and moving-on: migration and population redistribution in the Chyulu Hills, Kenya. Population, Space and Place Early view online: DOI: 10.1002/psp.619

Stephens, A., C. Jacobson and C. King (2010) Describing a feminist systems theory. Systems Research and Behavioural Science 27(5): 553 – 556.

Stephens, A., C. Jacobson and C. King (2009) Towards a feminist systems theory. Systems Practice and Action Research 23(5): 371-386.

Jacobson, C. and A. Stephens (2009) Cross cultural approaches to environmental research and management: a response to the dualisms inherent in western science? Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 39(4): 159 -162.

Jacobson, C., W.J. Allen, K.F.D. Hughey, S. Rixecker and R.W. Carter (2009) Towards more reflexive use of adaptive management. Society and Natural Resources 22:484 - 495.

Jacobson, C., W. Allen, R. Allen, C. Veltman, D. Ramsey, D. Forsyth, C. Todd, S. Nicol, and R. Barker (2009) Collaborative learning as part of adaptive management of forests affected by deer  in C. Allan, and G. Stankey, editors. Adaptive environmental management: a practical guide. Springer, United Kingdom. Pp. 297 – 318.

Stathis, P., and C. Jacobson (2009) Institutionalising adaptive management: creating a culture of learning in New South Wales Parks and Wildlife Service in C. Allan, and G. Stankey, editors. Adaptive environmental management: A practical guide. Springer, United Kingdom. Pp. 329 – 347.

Allen, W. and C. Jacobson (2009)  Learning about the social elements in the Tussock Grasslands of New Zealand in C. Allan, and G. Stankey, editors. Adaptive environmental management: a practical guide. Springer, United Kingdom. Pp. 103 – 126.

Jacobson, C., R. W. Carter, and M. Hockings. (2008) The status of protected area evaluation in Australia and implications for its future. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management 15:202 - 210.

Jacobson, C.L. (2007) Towards improving the practice of adaptive management in the New Zealand conservation context. PhD thesis, Lincoln University.

Conferences

Ross, H., J. Bellamy, B. Head and C. Jacobson (2011) Learning to collaborate to solve complex problems: Western Australia’s wheatbelt and salinity. Environmental Institute of Australia and New Zealand Conference, Sunshine Coast, Australia, September 2011.

Jacobson, C. and J. Kelman (2008) Management effectiveness evaluation in Australia: progress and future directions. APAC 2008 proceedings: Australian Protected Areas Congress,  Twin Waters, Queensland Australia 24 – 28 November  94 - 96. (Reviewed) 

Allen, W., and C. Jacobson (2002) Adaptive Management models. Workshop presentation and facilitation. New Zealand Environmental Impact Association Conference, Diamond Harbour, Christchurch, New Zealand In: Humpage, L., and Morris, L. (ed.s) Assessing the impacts of major land use changes in New Zealand – The New Zealand Association of Impact Assessment Inc. Conference proceedings  102 – 112.