Exploring the promises of transdisciplinary research: A quantitative study of two climate research programmes

Jong, Stefan de; Wardenaar, Tjerk; Horlings, Edwin

doi:10.1016/j.respol.2016.04.008

Cited by 69 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 63 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Rossi et al 2003;Stokols et al 2003;Bergmann et al 2005;Enengel et al 2012;De Jong et al 2016). A number of challenges come along with these types of cooperation and their evaluation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been found that intensive communication between the project participants and opportunities for informal exchange support mutual understanding. Having a variety of products and involving all parties in writing the project proposal from the beginning enhance the chances that a collaborative project will have a satisfactory outcome for all participants (Klein 2008;Gaziulusoy et al 2016;De Jong et al 2016;Hessels et al 2014). Several studies (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

How transdisciplinary projects influence participants’ ways of thinking: a case study on future landscape development

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Transdisciplinary (TD) approaches have increasingly been promoted in the field of land-use research. However, the theoretical discourse about transdisciplinarity is far more advanced than its implementation in practice. In particular, empirical studies about the effects of concrete TD projects on the participants are rare. We evaluated joint knowledge generation among researchers and non-academics in a TD research programme on urban and landscape development. For the assessment we used standardised questionnaires, our own observations, and a simplified implementation of the 'most significant change' method. The evaluation revealed that the participants gained considerable TD knowledge through encountering different thought-styles and problem owners. They together developed a feeling of companionship, broadened their views on the issue and, consequently, attributed increased legitimacy to it. The following aspects of TD research were found to be successful as the programme: offered opportunities for enthusiasm; used a form of communication that promotes mutual trust; and provided boundary objects. Similar to other studies, we observed the creation of hybrid spaces and communities of research and practice where the participants could build up mutual trust, interact with other thought-styles, and jointly develop their TD knowledge.

show abstract

“…Rossi et al 2003;Stokols et al 2003;Bergmann et al 2005;Enengel et al 2012;De Jong et al 2016). A number of challenges come along with these types of cooperation and their evaluation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How transdisciplinary projects influence participants’ ways of thinking: a case study on future landscape development

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In sustainability research, transdisciplinary (TD) approaches that incorporate practitioners and their expertise into the research process have emerged as promising tools for ensuring relevant research agendas, 1 producing 'robust' knowledge and engendering societal change towards desirable futures [7][8][9]. Societal goals commonly associated with TD research relate to the empowerment of certain ideas as well as the participating practitioners ('power to') [10,11] or to the stimulation of societal learning ('power with') [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Whose knowledge, whose values? An empirical analysis of power in transdisciplinary sustainability research

Fritz

Binder

2020

Eur J Futures Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The participation of practitioners in transdisciplinary sustainability research has been heralded as a promising tool for producing 'robust' knowledge and engendering societal transformations. Although transdisciplinary approaches have been advanced as an effective avenue for generating knowledge positioned to question and transform an unsustainable status quo, the political and power dimensions inherent to such research have hardly been discussed. In this article, we scrutinise the constitution of participation in transdisciplinary research through a power lens. Guided by social theories of power and a relational understanding of participation, we analyse how diverse actors equipped with a variety of material and ideational sources wield power over the subjects, objects, and procedures of participation. We applied a qualitative meta-analysis of five transdisciplinary projects from a major German research funding programme in the field of sustainability to unveil the ways in which the funding body, researchers, and practitioners exercise instrumental, structural, and discursive power over (i) actor selection and (re-)positioning, (ii) agenda setting, and (iii) rule setting. We found that researchers primarily exert instrumental power over these three elements of participation, whereas practitioners as well as the funding body wield primarily structural and discursive power. By elucidating tacit and hidden power dynamics shaping participation in transdisciplinary research, this article provides a basis for improving process design and implementation as well as developing targeted funding instruments. The conclusions also provide insights into barriers of participatory agenda setting in research practice and governance.

show abstract

“…The key characteristic of knowledge co-production is the involvement of non-academics (Hegger et al 2012a, b;McNie 2007;Pohl et al 2010). Knowledge co-production involves collaboration among a wide array of actors, ranging from traditional knowledge producers-academic and non-academic-to companies, regulators, users, and special interest groups, in all stages of research (de Jong et al 2016;Rosenfield 1992). It combines formal scientific knowledge with local experiential knowledge and demands, which is assumed to increase societal robustness of knowledge production (Boon et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Creating the right conditions to facilitate effective knowledge co-production is thus a major challenge for climate adaptation and environmental program managers (de Jong et al 2016;Rosenlund et al 2016). One way to encourage knowledge co-production is by locating it in a protective space, i.e., a niche in which knowledge or innovations can be pursued insulated from the pressures of the prevailing regime.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge co-production in protective spaces: case studies of two climate adaptation projects

2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Knowledge co-production, a mode of research including contributions both from academic and non-academic actors, is a promising approach for climate adaptation research in order to produce knowledge that supports the development of local and regional adaptation policies. However, such a local and practical focus may be ill-aligned with the global ambitions of academic participants. The differences between performance criteria of academic and non-academic partners make knowledge coproduction unlikely to emerge and survive without protection. This paper aims to understand how different participants in knowledge co-production for climate adaptation can be protected from the norms, values, and performance criteria of their own respective organizations and communities. We found that combinations of shielding (moderating pressures from the selection environment), nurturing (supporting knowledge development), and empowerment (increasing influence over the contexts) activities lead to more successful knowledge co-production. Moreover, our analysis shows that there is no silver bullet for the protection of knowledge co-production. An effective protection strategy should be tailored to the research problem and the social network of a given program.

show abstract

Exploring the promises of transdisciplinary research: A quantitative study of two climate research programmes

Cited by 69 publications

References 63 publications

How transdisciplinary projects influence participants’ ways of thinking: a case study on future landscape development

How transdisciplinary projects influence participants’ ways of thinking: a case study on future landscape development

Whose knowledge, whose values? An empirical analysis of power in transdisciplinary sustainability research

Knowledge co-production in protective spaces: case studies of two climate adaptation projects

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About