Developing a programme theory for a transdisciplinary research collaboration: Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health

Abstract

Background: Environmental improvement is a priority for urban sustainability and health and achieving it requires transformative change in cities. An approach to achieving such change is to bring together researchers, decision-makers, and public groups in the creation of research and use of scientific evidence. Methods: This article describes the development of a programme theory for Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH), a four-year Wellcome-funded research collaboration which aims to improve capacity to guide transformational health and environmental changes in cities. Results: Drawing on ideas about complex systems, programme evaluation, and transdisciplinary learning, we describe how the programme is understood to “work” in terms of its anticipated processes and resulting changes. The programme theory describes a chain of outputs that ultimately leads to improvement in city sustainability and health (described in an ‘action model’), and the kinds of changes that we expect CUSSH should lead to in people, processes, policies, practices, and research (described in a ‘change model’). Conclusions: Our paper adds to a growing body of research on the process of developing a comprehensive understanding of a transdisciplinary, multiagency, multi-context programme. The programme theory was developed collaboratively over two years. It involved a participatory process to ensure that a broad range of perspectives were included, to contribute to shared understanding across a multidisciplinary team. Examining our approach allowed an appreciation of the benefits and challenges of developing a programme theory for a complex, transdisciplinary research collaboration. Benefits included the development of teamworking and shared understanding and the use of programme theory in guiding evaluation. Challenges included changing membership within a large group, reaching agreement on what the theory would be ‘about’, and the inherent unpredictability of complex initiatives.

Evidence-informed urban health and sustainability governance in two Chinese cities

“…This study has highlighted the dynamic and diverse sustainability and health issues affecting Chinese cities, and the complex interconnections between national policy agendas, the public and evidence. Evidence-based policy is rarely linear and the clash of health evidence with economic objectives is a well-known challenge (Moore et al 2021). City leaders in China, including those in the focus areas of Beijing and Ningbo, must manage the often-competing requirements of the public and other local actors, with the targets and mandates of state policies.…”

“…The aims and objectives of the present research are informed by the CUSSH programme theory (Moore et al 2021), which sets out multiple assumptions regarding the value of evidence for policymakers to be tested through the research. The aim is to understand urban health and sustainability actors' perspectives and influences on the use of scientific evidence in policy and decision-making.…”

Climate change projections for sustainable and healthy cities

“…The six CUSSH partner cities were selected to represent cities with different socio-political, geographical, environmental and city-size contexts, all with stakeholders willing to engage in participatory work with the CUSSH research partners (Belesova et al 2018;Moore et al 2021;Zimmermann et al 2020). The general characteristics of these cities are summarised in Table 1.…”

“…Similarly, to increase the use of models about the health effects of climate mitigation, Hess et al (2020) advocate stakeholder engagement with policymakers. The need to engage end users in modelling processes recognises that achieving effective change is contingent upon the active involvement of city decision-makers, planners and other actors-formal and informal-who affect implementation (Moore et al 2021). Corburn (2009) provides one such example, describing a co-production framework to 'localise' climate research of global climate scientists working with city planners to devise contextually relevant strategies to address the UHI.…”

“…2 CUSSH is a five-year research collaboration aiming to improve capacity to guide transformational health and environmental changes in cities. The programme seeks to promote city transformation for improved environmental quality, sustainability and health by bringing together groups of researchers, decision-makers such as policymakers, public health and built environment professionals, and public groups in the development and use of research evidence (Belesova et al 2018;Moore et al 2021;Zimmermann et al 2020). Six partner cities were selected to represent larger and smaller cities with diversity in income, governance systems, geography and environmental challenges: London (UK) and Rennes (France) in Europe, Nairobi and Kisumu (Kenya) in Africa, and Beijing and Ningbo (China) in Asia (Table 1).…”