Characteristics, emerging needs, and challenges of transdisciplinary sustainability science: experiences from the German Social-Ecological Research Program

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Transdisciplinary sustainability science (TSS) is a prominent way of scientifically contributing to the solution of sustainability problems. Little is known, however, about the practice of scientists in TSS, especially those early in their career. Our objectives were to identify these practices and to outline the needs and challenges for early career scientists in TSS. To that end, we compiled 10 key characteristics of TSS based on a literature survey. We then analyzed research groups with 81 early career scientists against these characteristics. All of these research groups are funded by an ongoing federally funded German program for socialecological research whose main feature is to promote sustainability-oriented inter-and transdisciplinary research. We found that the practices of the 12 groups generally correspond with the characteristics for TSS, although there is ample variation in how they were addressed. Three major challenges were identified: (1) TSS demands openness to a plurality of research designs, theories, and methods, while also requiring shared, explicit, and recursive use of TSS characteristics; (2) researchers in TSS teams must make decisions about trade-offs between achievements of societal and scientific impact, acknowledging that focusing on the time-consuming former aspect is difficult to integrate into a scientific career path; and (3) although generalist researchers are increasingly becoming involved in such TSS research projects, supporting the integration of social, natural, and engineering sciences, specialized knowledge is also required.

Key features for more successful place-based sustainability research on social-ecological systems: a Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) perspective

“…Our study confirms a number of findings, both in early (Shaner et al 1982, Nicolescu 1996, Sharma et al 1996, Borda 2007, De Sousa Santos 2009) and more recent (Kueffer et al 2012, Lang et al 2012, Brandt et al 2013, Mauser et al 2013, Ruppert-Winkel et al 2015, Scholz and Steiner 2015b, Turner et al 2016 publications, on the particular challenges and opportunities faced by sustainability science. However, the perspective provided by the grouping of PECS-related projects offers a number of distinct contributions.…”

Integrating Ecological and Social Knowledge: Learning from CHANS Research

“…As observed elsewhere (e.g., Hahn et al 2006), our group of social scientists were initially wary of the use of their data for modeling purposes as well as how, and by who, it would be interpreted. Just as other research teams have noted in similar studies (e.g., Ruppert-Winkel et al 2015), the social scientists wanted to be sure that Envision's built-in decisionmaking routines were well anchored in recognizable social science theory. Fortunately, three team economists played a role in social scientists and modelers coming together to adequately bridge knowledge gaps.…”

“…This diversity of disciplinary backgrounds enhanced our ability to both investigate multiple actor groups and contribute to models that represented their actions. But as with other interdisciplinary teams (e.g., Ruppert-Winkel et al 2015), it is only after the research is funded and work begins that it becomes clear how well different team members actually fit in the evolving project.…”

“…Improving the ability of agencies and stakeholders to adapt to changing conditions requires more than information transfer and public outreach. As Ruppert-Winkel et al (2015) noted, multidisciplinary science that genuinely incorporates multiple parties can help address real-world sustainability problems. Yet, there is increasing complexity in communicating and coordinating such efforts.…”

Interlinking ecosystem services and Ostrom’s framework through orientation in sustainability research

“…Integrating knowledge between multiple concepts and frameworks is a challenge for building academic consensus that can inform sustainability (Spangenberg 2011, Fischer et al 2015, Ruppert-Winkel et al 2015. However, much of the SES literature continues to generate knowledge that is uncoupled from other research efforts.…”