Applied in Europe Historical Obstacles, Current Situation, Future Challenges Dan Podjed, Meta Gorup and Alenka Bezjak Mlakar

ABSTRACT: The article presents the state of applied anthropology in Europe, in particular fo- cusing on the application of anthropological knowledge and skills within the private sector. Firstly, the text depicts the historical context, which has had a strong and often negative impact on the developments in contemporary applied anthropology and specifically on applying an- thropology in for-profit endeavours. It then provides an overview of this type of applied an- thropology in Europe by identifying its main institutions and individuals. Building on this analysis, the article elaborates on extant challenges for its future development, and outlines the most promising solutions. The authors conclude that it is of crucial importance for European anthropology to make the transition ‘from words to actions’, especially in the areas not tradi- tionally addressed by anthropologists, such as business and design anthropology or consultancy work in the private sector. While the discipline has a longer applied history in areas such as de- velopment, human rights and multiculturalism, few anthropologists have played significant roles in the efforts usually associated with the private sector. It is argued that anthropology should – also outside the non-profit and non-governmental sectors – shift from being a descrip- tive, hermeneutical and interpretative branch of social sciences describing and explaining the past or commenting on the present, to an applied discipline intervening in shaping the future.

KEYWORDS: activity overview, applied anthropology, Europe, future of anthropology, , private sector

Introduction common species. At first glance, such a situation may seem surprising since anthropology is – and should Extending Karl Marx’s assessment that ‘[p]hilosophers unquestionably remain – a well-established and in- have hitherto only interpreted the world in various creasingly diversified academic field, offering invalu- ways; the point is to change it’ (1903 [1845]: 133; em- able theoretical and analytical insights into virtually phasis added), we argue that the same holds true for every topic one might think of. What seems to have many European anthropologists, who have up until been neglected by the discipline, however, is its po- now not extensively engaged in applied versions of tential to contribute actively to a number of topical is- their discipline. While anthropologists have been ac- sues of our times related to, for example, information tive in areas such as development and medical anthro- technologies, user experience, design, environment, pology, and have addressed the issues of migration, climate change, urban and economic development, human rights and multiculturalism in non-govern- education, employment, administration, policy-mak- mental and non-profit organisations, their counter- ing, and to include anthropological approaches in in- parts in the private, for-profit sector remain a less dustry and the private sector (cf. van Willigen 2002).

Anthropology in Action, 23, no. 2 (Summer 2016): 53–63 © Berghahn Books and the Association for Anthropology in Action ISSN 0967-201X (Print) ISSN 1752-2285 (Online) doi: 10.3167/aia.2016.230208 AiA | Dan Podjed, Meta Gorup and Alenka Bezjak Mlakar

This article addresses three main issues. Firstly, it ethnographic data, who replaced the amateurs of the elaborates on the historical background, which is the previous generation’ (Sillitoe 2006: 5). However, Jack source of, we argue, most of the obstacles for apply- Goody (1995) and George Stocking (1995) argue ing anthropology outside the more traditional areas against this often stereotypical perception and explain of its application. Secondly, the text provides an that especially in the post-First World War period, overview of individuals and institutions in Europe many British anthropologists were actually critical of who, despite what we see as unfavourable conditions, colonialism. Further, the major source of anthropolog- have decided to embrace such a form of applied an- ical funding at the time came from American founda- thropology. Thirdly, it proposes some solutions on tions with reformist rather than imperial interests, how to enhance the currently limited scope of appli- which makes the situation at the time even less straight- cations of anthropological skills. forward (see also Kuper 1996). The development of anthropology was similarly influenced by geopolitical ambitions of other colonial Historical Obstacles countries. In Portugal, for instance, applied anthro- pology was either associated with ‘procolonial dicta- European applied anthropology has been crucially af- torial political regime’ or seen as a ‘non-scientific and fected by the historical context of anthropology as a purely ideological’ stream of anthropology (Afonso whole. In many parts of Europe, the latter has re- 2006: 165). Although not referring to colonialism as mained a primarily academically oriented discipline such, the former Soviet Union, partly consisting of with an insufficient influence on the economy, the for- European countries, is also an interesting case. There, mation of national and European policies, and the anthropologists – or more specifically, ethnologists functioning of non-profit organisations. We identify and ethnographers – were encouraged to focus on three potential causes for such a state, which largely administration of the peoples in ‘internal colonies’, arise from anthropology and its practitioners them- namely indigenous peoples and ethnic groups. selves: the ‘colonial hangover’ marked by anthropol- ‘[A]nthropology came to be entwined with scientific ogists’ moral and ethical crisis, different national socialism, and as a result its theories and methods traditions and language barriers, and disagreement were heavily politicized’ (Baba and Hill 2006: 182). on the meaning of the term ‘applied anthropology’. Thus, a large part of Soviet anthropology was in fact Adding to the general public’s and decision-makers’ applied and focused on practical problems, as de- common preference for simple, quantifiable stories – fined by the state. uncharacteristic of anthropology’s unconventional, Applications of anthropology were even more ob- time-consuming methodology (see also Stewart 2014), viously abused in Germany during the Nazi regime which results in findings that non-anthropologists in the 1930s and 1940s when many anthropologists may view as idiosyncratic stories with no implica- openly justified racism, developed applications of tions for broader contexts – these might have added racist theory and at least indirectly participated in the to anthropologists’ underrepresentation in institu- Holocaust (Schafft 2004). Andre Gingrich (2005), how- tions which greatly influence political, economic and ever, illustrates that the situation was again not as social agendas. clear-cut as it may appear: while some anthropologists The lingering ‘colonial hangover’ was caused by were actually complicit in the crimes, though to differ- the use and abuse of anthropology in obtaining eco- ent extents, many resisted the Nazi ideology – several nomic and political dominance in the nineteenth of them from a distance, that is in exile. Nevertheless, and twentieth centuries. For example, from the early collaboration of anthropology with Nazism before twentieth century, anthropologists had begun to be and during the Second World War strongly marked employed by the British colonial administrators, par- and hindered the development of applied anthropol- ticularly in Africa, and training programmes for colo- ogy in German-speaking countries until the second nial civil servants were at that time introduced at the half of the 1980s (cf. Gingrich 2005: 152). universities in Oxford, Cambridge and London (King Although the second half of the twentieth century and Wilder 2003: 32). To facilitate colonisation, they brought about sobriety, the catharsis has been a long were joining the native in ‘exotic’ loca- process and the ‘colonial hangover’ seems to persist tions to gather data and train governmental bureau- until today. For instance, applied anthropologists op- crats (Kedia and van Willigen 2005: 5). Such ‘gov- erating in the private sector would frequently face ernment anthropologists’ came to be perceived as accusations – particularly from their academic coun- ‘second-class citizens, sort of professional collectors of terparts – of their cooperation with the capital.

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Anthropologists often see money as ‘the root of all Methodology evil’ (Moeran and Garsten 2012: 9), a perspective aris- ing from their prevailing ‘sympathy for the poor and Despite the obstacles identified above, the practice of left wing ideology’ (Stewart 2014). applying anthropological knowledge and skills in the European countries without historical imperialistic private, for-profit sector has consolidated, and the aspirations – or enough political clout – have different number of European anthropologists engaging in reasons for lagging behind. For the most part, conti- such ventures has grown. This is one of the reasons nental anthropology and were historically why our attempt at preparing an overview of the state oriented. Researchers often focused on ‘national eth- of the art was by no means simple. Our study mainly nologies’, analysing ethnogeneses and remnants of relied on identifying individuals, organisations and the past. They were closely connected to nation-build- networks by using online search engines. We also ing processes of the nineteenth century. In those parts made use of the member database of the Applied An- of Europe, general audiences still often consider eth- thropology Network of the European Association of 1 nology or anthropology as historical disciplines hav- Social Anthropologists (EASA), which helped us to ing nothing to contribute to solving present-day identify additional relevant sources and gather infor- problems (contrary to the situation in the U.S., as as- mation on particular national situations. European lin- sessed by Jordan 2014). Subsequently, it has proven guistic diversity presented a particular puzzler and difficult – at least in our personal experiences and our search mainly focused on data available in Eng- those of many of our colleagues – to convince poten- lish, Italian, German, Dutch, Slovenian, Serbian and tial ‘customers’ that anthropological approaches could Croatian languages. Further, many anthropologists be of use. Further, national borders and linguistic working outside academia or in interdisciplinary re- boundaries remain a challenge since European ap- search institutes have dropped their title ‘anthropol- plied anthropologists often publish in their national ogist’, which made identifying them very difficult. In languages (van Marrewijk 2010). Due to various na- some cases, we became aware of anthropologists tional traditions, European applied anthropology re- working outside academia purely by coincidence, mains fragmented and lacks ‘supranational hubs’, through personal contacts. Accordingly, we acknowl- which would enable intellectual connectivity and edge the incompleteness of our search, which resulted transfer of knowledge and research approaches. in sampling rather than a thorough overview of the Lastly, even the name of the discipline has been situation. Nevertheless, we are convinced that this problematic (cf. Baba and Hill 2006). The negative con- first step towards describing the current state of ap- notation of the adjective ‘applied’ caused its inten- plied anthropology in Europe is needed to raise tional avoidance in the names of some associations in awareness of what is being done and what remains to the second half of the twentieth century, such as the be tackled by anthropologists, and hope our exercise U.K.’s Group for Anthropology in Policy and Practice will be of assistance in developing future overviews, (GAPP) or the British Association for Social Anthro- such as the Global Survey of Anthropological Practice pology in Policy and Practice (BASAPP), which later recently initiated by the World Council of Anthropo- merged and formed the Network of Applied Anthro- logical Associations. pologists of the Association of Social Anthropologists A clarification of what the search for ‘European ap- (ASA) of the U.K. and Commonwealth (Sillitoe 2006, plied anthropologists’ encompassed is needed at this 2007; see also Pink 2006; Wright 1995, 2006). In some point. The overview includes individuals with anthro- countries, endeavours of applied anthropologists re- pological training (either a bachelor’s, master’s, or main to be referred to by different names. In Poland, PhD degree, even if combined with other disciplines for example, ‘engaged anthropology’ – carrying a or subjects) who apply their anthropological skills and slightly more activist connotation – is more common knowledge outside the ‘conventional’ academic and than applied anthropology (see e.g. the special issue research institutions2 as well as those who declare of Prace Etnograficzne, published in 2010). In some themselves as doing something applied or non-acad- other contexts, business anthropology is understood emic as anthropologists. This encompasses both an- as an umbrella term for ‘applied, development, eco- thropologists who work exclusively outside academia nomic, corporate, industrial, organizational, and so and academics who either teach or write about ap- on’ (Moeran and Garsten 2012: 14; cf. plied anthropology or cooperate with non-academic van Marrewijk 2010). This clearly shows that the is- institutions. While our search resulted in identifying sues related to the discipline’s naming persist. a few anthropologists based in some of the more con- ventional applied anthropology areas such as devel-

| 55 AiA | Dan Podjed, Meta Gorup and Alenka Bezjak Mlakar opment and , we predominantly Based on these definitions, our review identified focused on anthropologists employed in or forming around 300 European anthropologists who practice partnerships with the private sector. Another criterion applied anthropology. Of those, approximately one was related to origin and location. We included an- third are business anthropologists, around one fifth thropologists educated in Europe as well as those who development anthropologists, a similar number are have spent a big part of their lives in Europe, whether design anthropologists, about 10 per cent organisa- they currently operate in Europe or abroad. tional anthropologists, about the same number are Common fields of interest covered business, design those who belong to a general field of research and and organisational anthropology, anthropology of practice, and slightly less than 10 per cent are medical work, policy-making and anthropological consulting. anthropologists. A small percentage of anthropolo- We used ‘applied anthropology’ as an umbrella term gists identified could not be placed in any of the encompassing all the above-mentioned anthropolog- ‘boxes’ or could simultaneously be put in two of them. ical sub-disciplines. Besides individual applied an- Before presenting our findings, let us emphasise again thropologists, the overview also contains the main that our search was by no means exhaustive and our educational and research establishments, private com- findings should be treated as a sample aimed at giving panies, public institutions and non-governmental or- the impression of the general state of European ap- ganisations that recognise anthropology as an applied plied anthropology rather than a complete overview discipline or put anthropological skills into practice. of applied anthropologists in Europe. We included higher-education institutions with bach- elor’s and master’s programmes in applied anthropol- ogy and its sub-branches and associations active Current Situation either on the European or national scales. Using a simplified van Willigen’s (2002) typology Based on the results of our search, we present our of applied domains (see also Kedia and van Willigen findings according to – loosely defined for the pur- 2005), applied anthropologists were ‘labelled’ accord- poses of this overview – geographical regions of Eu- ing to different fields or sub-disciplines, such as rope: Northwestern Europe, Nordic countries and the business, organisational, design, development and Baltic states, Mediterranean region, Central Europe, medical anthropology. The label ‘general’ was used and Eastern and Southeastern Europe. for those who write and teach about broader applied topics or practice in several fields. We understand Northwestern Europe business anthropology as a direct application of an- We estimate that more than half of European applied thropology during (cultural) organisational change, anthropologists – as defined earlier in this article – op- product and service development, and business con- erate in Northwestern Europe, especially in the U.K., sulting (Baba 2006). Organisational anthropology is Ireland and the Netherlands. In the U.K., business an- understood as the study of organisations. While its thropology holds an important position. It is practiced findings are not necessarily directly applicable, it by several companies, such as Experience Research, deals with broader, conceptually elaborated issues Stripe Partners and ESRO. The following fields are that can be used for improving an organisation, such also well-represented: design anthropology with one as change perceptions, or identities and diversity in of its pioneers Lucy Suchman, who carried out re- organisations (see e.g. Garsten and Nyqvist 2013). search in Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center, and Sarah Design anthropology refers to improving the design Pink, currently one of the leading European re- of or designing and developing products and serv- searchers (although at the moment partly based at ices, such as tools, infrastructure and technological RMIT University in Australia) working on design in devices (see e.g. Clarke 2011; Gunn et al. 2013). De- relation to engineering, media and technologies; de- velopment anthropology is involved with issues such velopment anthropology practiced by organisations, as sustainable development or and social such as Substance and Anthrologica, and several an- services, be it in ‘developed’ or ‘developing’ countries thropologists-academics; and medical anthropology (see e.g. Nolan 2001). Lastly, medical anthropology with, among others, Rachael Gooberman-Hill, Mary focuses on health and healthcare. It aims at improv- Adams and Christine McCourt, who are also active in ing medical conditions, enhancing patient experience the ASA Network of Applied Anthropologists. or identifying health problems through research, in- Applied anthropology in the U.K. is supported by tervention and policy-related initiatives (see e.g. a number of study programmes. University College Singer and Baer 2012). London, for instance, provides a master’s programme

56 | Applied Anthropology in Europe | AiA in Materials, Anthropology and Design. Goldsmiths innovation research with industry and training in University offers a master’s programme in Applied areas such as design . Anthropologists Anthropology and Community Development, and the were also identified at the Applied Research for Con- University of Kent a module in Anthropology of Busi- nected Health (ARCH), based in Dublin. This is a ness. Durham University has developed a multidisci- research initiative where a multi-disciplinary team plinary master’s programme in Energy and conducts innovative and applied research to support focusing on global environmental issues. The U.K. is the deployment and adoption of connected health also one of the rare European countries to have solutions. formed a strong network of applied anthropologists. In the Netherlands, the most important branches Within the ASA, the Network of Applied Anthro - are business and organisational anthropology. Alfons pologists was established, which, among others, pub- van Marrewijk has successfully combined academic lishes the journal Anthropology in Action. (For a detailed and consultancy careers, and has, among others, overview of British organisations promoting ‘anthro- worked for KPN (a Dutch telecommunications com- pology in policy and practice’ in the 1980s and 1990s, pany), the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the see Wright 2006). Environment, and the Dutch railways. Deciding to The British anthropology’s notable orientation to- pursue a career outside academia, Jitske Kramer (Hu- wards application is particularly interesting to ob- manDimensions) and Danielle Braun (Danielle Braun serve in the context of the recent developments in the Organisatiecultuur & Leiderschap) work in the field U.K.’s higher education. While university research of cultural diversity in organisations and corporate units have been assessed and funds have been allo- anthropology, respectively. Together they run the cated to them based on the quality of their research Academy of Organisational where they offer outputs for over two decades in the context of the Re- training in corporate anthropology. One of their visi- search Assessment Exercise, it is only since 2014 that ble graduates is Walter Faaij, who works as a sustain- the impact of their research outside academia was ability consultant. A few anthropologists also work in added to the equation, in the so-called Research Ex- public institutions such as the local government (for cellence Framework. Simpson (2015) assesses that further analysis of the Dutch situation, see Cohen and many anthropologists have regarded this develop- Sarphatie 2007; van Marrewijk 2010). Some branches ment as yet another performance management tool of applied anthropology are supported within higher- characteristic of the increasingly managerialised uni- education institutions. Utrecht University runs a mas- versities, the direction of which goes against the gen- ter’s programme – Sustainable Citizenship – which eral spirit of anthropology. However, it has to be explicitly focuses on putting the theory into practice. admitted that – particularly because anthropology de- VU University Amsterdam offers a master’s pro- partments scored very well according to the impact gramme – Culture, Organization and Management. criterion – some anthropologists were pleased to see Though based at the Department of Organization Sci- that their work has been acknowledged and re- ences, several lecturers involved in running the degree warded. It is expected that the importance of impact have anthropological training. will grow in the future assessment exercises and it will be intriguing to see the influence that this might have Nordic Countries and the Baltic States on anthropology as a discipline (Simpson 2015; see In terms of our working definition of applied anthro- also Page 2016). pology, the Nordic countries have been particularly Irish applied anthropology became particularly rel- strong in design, business and organisational applica- evant due to the headquarters of the European branch tions. There are several individual researchers and of Intel Corporation located in Leixlip. Intel’s Technol- organisations focusing on participatory design and ogy Research for Independent Living (TRIL) is the ethnographic approaches in product development. A largest research centre in the world focusing on tech- well-known example is Anna Kirah, the Chief Expe- nology to help the elderly live at home independently. rience Officer (CXO) of the consulting company Mak- Intel’s Innovation Value Institute (IVI) in Maynooth ing Waves, based in Oslo, Norway, and operating collaborates with Maynooth University, which re- worldwide. She is an internationally recognised pio- searches, develops and diffuses new models and neer of human-centred innovation in the design of methods for IT management and innovation. Maynooth services, products and organisational change, who has University’s Department of Anthropology and De- worked with leading companies, such as Microsoft partment of Design Innovation now deliver a master’s and Boeing. Another consulting company in the field programme in Design Innovation, combining applied of design anthropology is the Swedish Innovations-

| 57 AiA | Dan Podjed, Meta Gorup and Alenka Bezjak Mlakar antropologerna. Several Danish higher-education in- ior Futures Specialist in the Consumer Trends and Ex- stitutions – also non-anthropological – offer curricula periences group of Nokia Design. linked to design and business anthropology, for exam- The Baltic States have recently seen a boost in ap- ple the Business Academy SouthWest in Sønderborg, plied anthropology. In Estonia, the Department of Eth- Aarhus University, Southern Denmark University, nology of the University of Tartu has established a University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen School of master’s programme in applied anthropology. Also Design and Technology, and Royal Danish Academy based in Tartu is the recently founded Centre for Ap- of Fine Arts. plied Anthropology of Estonia, which has worked on Another important applied anthropological activ- community engagement, environmental and educa- ity – often tightly connected to design anthropology – tion-related projects. Based in Riga, the Department is business consulting. It is carried out by, for example, of Anthropology of the University of Latvia has paid Antropologerne, a consultancy based in Copenhagen, increased attention to developing students’ applied re- Denmark, specialising in the areas of healthcare, edu- search skills and has engaged them in several projects. cation, technology, employment, social welfare, work Until now, they have developed partnerships with environment and well-being, food, gender, energy some of the Latvian banks and the parliament. and consumption. It has worked on several projects in the public and private sectors, including the Danish Mediterranean Region Regions and Young Doctors’ association, DONG Apart from a few exceptions, the Mediterranean re- Energy Distribution, Siemens Wind Power, Precise gion, in which we include France, Italy, Spain and Por- Biometrics, Arla Foods, and several municipalities, tugal, is lagging behind the Northwestern European ministries and universities. A similar Copenhagen- and Nordic countries. In this respect, Italy seems to be and New York-based consultancy is ReD Associates. a special case as it is home to Experientia, a user- The company has collaborated, among others, with experience design company located in Turin. Another Adidas, Beiersdorf, Carlsberg, DONG Energy, Intel, company with a similar focus is Nuxdata, based in Novo Nordisk, Pernod Ricard and Samsung. Also in Bologna. Italy has also been the base of a world- Denmark, the University of Copenhagen’s Depart- famous anthropologist and an expert in sustainable ment of Anthropology runs AnthroAnalysis, a collab- development, Dipak R. Pant. An important anthropol- orative platform aiming at creating links between the ogist working in the field of the anthropology of law department and external business, non-governmental is Antonio Luigi Palmisano, based at the University of and public-sector partners. Under the guidance of Salento, who has worked as an advisor on over fifty Steffen Jöhncke, both staff and students have con- international agencies’ and states’ missions in Africa, tributed to projects involving work with some of the Latin America and Asia. Additionally, four associa- Danish ministries as well as private companies. tions supporting applied anthropology have been In Sweden and Norway there is also an important identified: National Observatory of Applied Anthro- stream of organisational anthropology (for an over - pology based at the University Campus CIELS in view, see Garsten and Nyqvist 2013). Two of the most Padua, SIAA Italian Association of Applied Anthropol- visible individuals are Christina Garsten (Sweden) ogy, ANTROCOM Onlus Association for Anthropo- who, among others, conducted research at Apple, and logical Promotion and Research, and ANPIA National Carla Dahl-Jørgensen (Norway). Organisational an- Professional Italian Association of Anthropology. thropology is also present at universities such as According to Baré (1997), in France there is a pre- Stockholm University and University of Gothenburg vailing opinion among anthropologists that applying (Sweden), and the University of Oslo and Trondheim scientific knowledge in practice is absurd. However, Norwegian University of Science and Technology such a perception has apparently changed in recent (Norway). The latter is also the seat of the Community years; there are several state agencies cooperating of Organizational Anthropology, which aims at pro- with anthropologists (e.g. the French Institute of Re- moting the role of anthropologists in studies of private search for the Development). In addition, several and public organisations. small enterprises and other private institutions have In Finland, research and academic institutions are arisen that are constituted by anthropologists, for ex- traditionally oriented towards ethnology and folklore ample ‘small cooperative companies’ (SCOPs) and as- studies. However, some applications of anthropology sociations for promotion of social sciences (including outside these fields can be found. For instance, Nokia anthropology) as a means of popular education. (now part of Microsoft) cooperated with the anthro- Our review of applied anthropology in Spain and pologist Timo Veikkola, who held the position of Sen- Portugal was impaired by our linguistic drawbacks.

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Two examples of applied anthropological activities disciplinary project, DriveGreen, which resulted in have been pointed out to us by our colleagues. In development of a smartphone application for promo- Spain, the University of Salamanca runs a master’s tion of sustainable mobility. programme in Applied Anthropology, Health and At a first glance Eastern and Southeastern Euro- Community Development. In Portugal, the Institute pean applied anthropology appears to be underdevel- of Art, Design and Enterprise – University (IADE-U) oped, though we have to stress that our search has established the ID:CO.LAB, which is an applied re- been somewhat limited due to language barriers. search group that uses creative methods, explores the Drawing on English secondary sources, we are only collaborative design process, and user-centred inno- able to offer an assessment of the situation in Russia. vation to design sustainable products and services. Since the end of the communist era, the applications in an institutional or formally named sense have Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe stalled (Yamskov 2006). One of the reasons is resource As the Mediterranean region, Central Europe is also scarcity in academic and research institutions. As a re- lagging behind, though there are a few promising ex- sult, many academic anthropologists and ethnologists ceptions. In Austria, business anthropologist Stephanie have involved themselves in non-academic projects. A. Krawinkler is dedicated to researching the issues The current situation is very interesting because of trust in organisations (see Krawinkler 2013). In Ger- ‘[s]ince project work usually has an “applied” charac- many, we found a trace of : ter, there has been a further blurring of demarcations betterplace.org, the biggest German online platform between academic and “applied” anthropology’ (Baba for social initiatives, was co-founded by the anthro- and Hill 2006: 184). pologist Joana Breidenbach. In the field of consul- tancy, the company Insight Europe, co-founded by the anthropologist Jeanne Carré, offers international mar- Future Challenges keting research and consulting. According to our analysis, applied anthropology in Switzerland has In his overview of applied anthropology in the U.K., mainly been marked by Martin Ortlieb, a user-expe- Paul Sillitoe (2006: 15) remarks: ‘[T]here is apparently rience researcher at Google Zurich. something about the state of the discipline that in- In Czechia, we identified the Centre for Applied hibits engagement’. To encourage applied anthro - Anthropology and Field Research, which was estab- pological activities, we should identify and deal with lished at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, the inhibiting factors such as the enduring and and is oriented towards applying anthropological unhelpful split between applied and academic an- knowledge in the government, municipalities and thropology, disagreements over the definition of an- NGOs. The independent anthropological organisation thropology and problems with the public appearance Anthropictures based in Prague has a similar orienta- of the discipline (ibid.: 15–16). After carrying out an tion and has even received the Social Impact Award overview of the current situation in Europe, we iden- in 2013, which promotes social entrepreneurship among tified similar challenges and asked ourselves about students in Europe. The private company IdeaSense, the crucial steps to be taken to consolidate European also based in Prague, focuses on developing innova- applied anthropology in the fields that lack anthro- tion ecosystems and innovative product, service and pological engagement. customer experience concepts. In Slovakia there have First, we need a clear and inclusive definition of also been some steps made towards applied anthro- applied anthropology. Not surprisingly, current defi- pology (Tužinská 2008), which is reflected in ethnol- nitions are very vague. Anthropology has lost the sub- ogy curricula, for example at the Comenius University ject of its research due to particularisation and lack of in Bratislava. any general theoretical framework many times in his- In Slovenia, the course Applied Anthropology and tory, leaving us empty-handed and asking the ques- Cultural Management has been available for several tion, ‘Where did anthropology go?’ (see Bloch 2005). years at the University of Ljubljana. Slovenia is also Applied anthropology similarly appears to be repeat- the home of Ergo Institute, founded in 2010 by two of edly losing its subject and consequently potential the authors of this article (Alenka Bezjak Mlakar and customers, users and recipients, since it deals with vir- Dan Podjed). Ergo Institute is the first Slovenian com- tually everything connected to humans – ‘from A for pany applying anthropological and ethnographical “aging” to Z for “zoos”’ (Singer cited in Rylko-Bauer knowledge in business. Dan Podjed has also been the et al. 2006: 186). Once a straightforward definition is principal investigator of an industry-oriented inter- established, applied anthropology will be able to con-

| 59 AiA | Dan Podjed, Meta Gorup and Alenka Bezjak Mlakar solidate itself as a strong brand to be grasped quickly Eriksen put it, ‘the bad news is that anthropology is and understood easily (see Hannerz 2011). never going to solve the global crisis but the good Second, applied anthropology has to adapt and news is that without us, nobody is going to because improve its research approaches to ‘transform knowl- our knowledge is a crucial piece of the jigsaw puzzle’ edge gained in more pragmatic contexts into theoret- (cited in Gorup and Podjed 2016; emphasis in the orig- ical intelligence and not become disillusioned that inal). Several applied anthropologists have already ac- such engagement is automatically “impure” or repre- cepted the need to work and live as ‘intellectual sents a “sellout” to the system’ (Baba and Hill 2006: hybrids coexisting simultaneously in anthropology 197). Dynamic careers of applied anthropologists pre- and in other professional realms’ (Baba and Hill 2006: sented here already point to the necessity to adjust 197). In doing so, it is crucial for applied anthropolo- ‘traditional’ research approaches to contemporary gists to participate in interdisciplinary projects not time and expectations. We are aware that ethnography only as ‘marginal observers’ but also to take leader- is the foundation of our discipline, but we also believe ship roles that would enhance anthropology’s contri- it should be pragmatically adapted to different envi- butions beyond the discipline and academia (Peacock ronments and requirements. Further, new research 1997: 13–14). Consequently, anthropology will not be approaches specifically adjusted to applied studies considered an ‘appendix’ of applied projects but should be implemented. Van Marrewijk, Veenswijk rather its driving force. Similarly important is the cre- and Clegg (2010), for example, propose an ‘ethno- ation of new opportunities for the work done by an- ventionist’ approach for intervention-oriented organ- thropologists in private, public and non-governmental isation researchers. Sillitoe (2012: 192) emphasises a organisations. The ‘usefulness’ of a discipline is de- necessary move from participatory observation to cided and propagated by employers, by those who more collaborative approaches, which ‘engage people commission scientific work and by those whom an- meaningfully in the research process as partners thropologists assist in developing and improving rather than informants’ and take into account the so- products and services, in establishing intercultural called ‘indigenous knowledge’ and ‘citizen science’, connections within private organisations and in con- which assure a place for local perspectives (see also tributing to development projects of government in- Sillitoe and Marzano 2009; Sillitoe 2015). stitutions and NGOs. Third, applied anthropology has been historically Fifth, we need more awareness-raising and promo- a target for accusations of ethical misconduct, some- tion activities to improve the public image of anthro- times based barely on the basis of its involvement pology, and show its potential benefits for society, with ‘the system’. Because of applied anthropology’s economy and environment. Only in doing so can we intervention in the researched and potential change the still too common opinion in some parts of emerging collaborative approaches – and this media- Europe that anthropology is a useless discipline deal- tion occasionally being related to corporate environ- ing with ‘exotic peoples’ or ‘ethnographic remnants’. ments – ethical considerations are of even higher One such event is the Ethnographic Praxis in Industry importance than in the purely ‘academic’ anthropol- Community (EPIC) annual conference, which has ogy. Nevertheless, we argue that this should not stop taken place at several locations worldwide. Another anthropologists from applying their knowledge and event promoting applied anthropology in Europe is approaches outside academia. We stress the signifi- called Why the World Needs Anthropologists, and cance of attending to ethical concerns when deciding has been organised annually by the EASA Applied on the research, practices or recommendations to be Anthropology Network. undertaken. ‘One size fits all’ rules are problematic (cf. Finally, we need a Europe-wide hub of applied an- Bainton 2012) and we call for individual assessments thropology, which will enable the transfer of informa- to be made. Applied anthropologists should share tion and research approaches between East and West, their experiences, allowing them to learn from each North and South. We hope and believe that the EASA other’s good practices and bad examples. This could Applied Anthropology Network will operate as the greatly contribute to lowering the ethical unease main platform for European applied anthropologists among both applied anthropologists and their audi- as well as work towards establishing solid links with ences or customers. other national or continental networks outside Europe Fourth, crossing disciplinary boundaries and inter- in the near future (Gorup and Podjed 2015, 2016; Pod- disciplinarity become inevitable. As Thomas Hylland jed and Gorup 2014a, 2014b).

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Conclusion … and a New Beginning and contributed valuable remarks: Carla Guerrón Montero (University of Delaware), Mark Maguire This article analysed the current state of European ap- (Maynooth University), Florian Mazzocut (University plied anthropology, with a focus on the private and Lumière Lyon 2), Rajko Muršič (University of Ljubl- for-profit endeavours. We tried to pinpoint some of jana), Paul Sillitoe (Durham University), Beata Świtek the main trends and activities of applied anthropology (University College London), and two anonymous re- and anthropologists in Europe. However, identifying viewers of Anthropology in Action. We also thank EASA individual applied anthropologists as well as organi- Applied Anthropology Network members for provid- sations which – very sporadically – employ anthro- ing information about their activities. pologists was particularly demanding. In the latter case, anthropologists would often not ‘label’ or ‘brand’ DAN PODJED is the convenor of the EASA Applied An- themselves as anthropologists and use titles like ‘pro- thropology Network, a Research Fellow at the Re- ject manager’ or similar ones instead. We are aware search Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences that our overview is far from being complete. It has and Arts, and an Assistant Professor for anthropology not, for example, specifically mentioned situations in at the University of Ljubljana. He leads the DriveG- several countries (e.g. Hungary, Lithuania, Bulgaria, reen project, the main goal of which is to develop a Romania, Greece and others), mainly due to linguistic culture-sensitive and user-friendly smartphone appli- barriers. Nevertheless, we hope that it will raise cation for promotion of sustainable mobility. E-mail: awareness and attract anthropologists to help us get [email protected] connected and learn about each other’s experiences – and thus contribute to developing the discipline. META GORUP is the co-convenor of the EASA Applied We started this text with Marx’s quotation about a Anthropology Network and PhD candidate at necessary move from interpretation to creating real CHEGG – Centre for Higher Education Governance change. Anthropologists, with their unusual training, Ghent at the Department of Sociology, Ghent Univer- undoubtedly carry the potential to do so. Joana Brei- sity, Belgium. Her PhD project focuses on university denbach (2015), an anthropologist and social entrepre- management and explores the intersection between neur, has argued that anthropologists are producers anthropology, organisation sciences, and higher edu- of original knowledge, they are good storytellers who cation research. E-mail: [email protected] can offer orientation in complex times – without elim- inating any shades of grey, they can potentially build ALENKA BEZJAK MLAKAR is the Director of Ergo Insti- bridges between academic knowledge and the general tute, which integrates anthropological and business public, and they focus on the broader contexts as well approaches to design and improvement of products as observe the local behaviours. In short, anthropolo- and services, and carries out research of organisa- gists could be excellent trend setters because they are tional . Alenka received her PhD at the Uni- guided by multiperspectivity, which allows them to versity of Ljubljana, in the framework of which she make sense of the world from the point of view of var- carried out an ethnographic study of information and ious different actors – and that is an asset that very communication technologies in a telematics company. few, if any, other disciplines have. As a member of the DriveGreen research team, she is However, if European applied anthropology wants interested in anthropological approaches to the devel- to change and improve social realms, it first has to opment of technologies for promotion of sustainable reinvent itself. We have to reinterpret our past and mobility. E-mail: [email protected] strengthen our present position through national and international networking, global promotion and ex- change of ideas with other disciplines. Only in that Notes way will the applied branch of anthropology become – and remain – an indispensable part of anthropology. 1. Both ethnology and anthropology are mentioned here since ethnology (or sometimes ethnography) remains a commonly used designation in several Acknowledgements European countries. Though ethnology usually refers to the study of one’s national culture, university Our thanks go to colleagues who provided additional departments often combine the study of ethnology information on applied anthropologists across Europe and anthropology, thus blurring the lines between the two.

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