The "CSCEE" Crowdsourced Knowledge to drive SME Circular Economy Engagement project
| Project Element | Details |
|---|---|
| Acronym | CSCEE |
| Full Title | Crowdsourced Knowledge to drive SME Circular Economy Engagement project |
| Funding Body | Environmental Protection Agency Ireland |
| Funding Amount | €180,252 |
| Project Duration | 24 months - December 2023 to December 2025 |
| Project Principal Investigator | Dr. Peter Mooney, Maynooth University |
| Lead Researcher | Kanishka Mendhekar, Maynooth University |
| Number of Work Packages | Five in total: WP1: Project management, WP2: Review, Evaluate, Recommend, WP3: Co-Creation Activities, WP4: CSCEE - Crowdsourcing App, WP5: Communication and Dissemination |
This project is funded under the EPA Research Programme 2021-2030. The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.
What is the CSCEE project about?
It is not easy for SMEs to engage in circular economy practices or change their business models and strategies to undertake transformation to circular economic operations. The potential benefits of the circular economy are clear and are stated widely but achieving those benefits is not straightforward because activities aimed at driving the circular economy forward means businesses face many barriers which inhibit their ability to implement these approaches. SMEs typically face greater constraints with the availability of resources that those faced by larger companies. According to available data in 2022 there were 234,180 micro, 17,147 small and 2,901 medium enterprises in Ireland. It would be impossible to understand the circular economy ambitions, engagements, achievements, and barriers for all of these enterprises.
It is crucial to devise a systematic, scalable and efficient approach to identifying the barriers and opportunities for Irish SME circular economic practices. The CSCEE Crowdsourced Knowledge to drive SME Circular Economy Engagement project will deliver an innovative approach to gaining this knowledge. CSCEE begins with a comprehensive desk-based review of current Irish SME CE engagement landscape to understand the baseline situation. The project will then undertake the design, develop and deliver an innovative and scalable crowdsourcing-based approach to obtaining feedback, knowledge and experiences from a large number of SMEs. During this phase of the project a number of co-creation workshops will be organised. Over the course of several workshops SMEs from different sectors will have an opportunity to participate. At the conclusion of this phase of the project a co-designed software-based crowdsourcing application will be deployed for a six month crowdsourcing campaign involving SMEs and their circular economy engagement experiences.
When the crowdsourcing campaign has been completed the CSCEE project enters its final phase of evaluation and recommendation. The input gathered (stored within a database of all qualitative responses) from the crowdsourcing campaign will be synthesised and analysed to identify the barriers and opportunities to Irish SME Circular Economy activities and practices. These findings will be delivered using a number of communication strategies/tools which are adjusted to our target audiences. Our communication and dissemination strategy will ensure that our findings and recommendations could be mainstreamed into practice across various industry sectors participating in this research. The pathways in CSCEE for achieving all our expected outcomes are credible and the contribution of the project results to the national understanding of SME engagement with Circular Economy activities are significant.
The CSCEE project is a novel and timely project, and it will contribute significantly to the knowledge of SME implementation and engagement with Circular Economy activities. Few studies have analysed the implementation of CE activities in business and the barriers companies have had to overcome. CSCEE will contribute to filling this knowledge gap.
CSCEE Objectives
The Crowdsourced Knowledge to drive SME Circular Economy Engagement (CSCEE – Pronounced ‘see see’) project has three primary SMART objectives based on the specification of the call documentation. CSCEE is 24 months in duration.
- OBJ1: To deliver a comprehensive review of current Irish SMEs engagement with the Circular Economy
- OBJ2: Design, develop and deliver an innovative and scalable crowdsourced-based co-creation approach to understanding Irish SME engagement in Circular Economy practices
- OBJ3: To identify barriers and opportunities to Irish SME Circular Economy activities and practices
The CSCEE Team
Peter Mooney is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Maynooth University. He was previously the Principal Investigator (PI) on the recently funded EPA 20-month project on Artificial Intelligence and the Circular Economy 2021-GCE-1051. Peter is PI for the CSCEE project and through this he will also look to leverage collaborations with existing EPA-funded research projects on Circular Economy.
Kanishka Mendhekar is a PhD candidate and Postdoctoral Researcher at Maynooth University, specializing in sustainability practices in Irish SMEs. She holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration and a Master's in Strategy and Innovation. Trained in mixed-methods research, she applies both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to explore SME sustainability adoption. She was awarded the Young Climate Leadership Program fellowship at The Mary Robinson Centre and is dedicated to bridging academic research with real-world sustainability impact.
Three partners on the project are members of the Innovation Value Institute at Maynooth University (Prof. Helfert is the Director). Dr. Galvan is a recognised expert in software verification and software testing (having recently published an international text book on the subject). The IVI have extensive links with industry and SMEs and host important platforms for knowledge engagement through the MU IVI seminars and annual IVI Summit. Dr. Edana Richardson provides extensive expertise in analysing the legal aspects of green, social and sustainability initiatives. In particular, Dr. Richardson has international experience in mapping legal frameworks against defined sustainability frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals which will be particularly relevant for the experience of SMEs in CE.
The collective knowledge of the PI, Co-PIs, and the lead Senior Postdoctoral Researcher for this project is critical to properly and wholly evaluating the barriers and opportunities faced by Ireland's SME as they embark on circular economy transformations. Subsequently, the CSCEE project will make a very substantial impact on building national research capacity around circular economy management opportunities.
Contact the CSCEE Team
To discuss our project or possible collaborations please email peter dot mooney AT mu dot ie (Peter Mooney). We would be delighted to hear from you.
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