Research funding programmes aiming for societal transformations: Ten key stages

Schneider, Flurina; Büser, Tobias; Keller, R.; Tribaldos, Theresa; Rist, Stephan

doi:10.1093/scipol/scy074

Cited by 47 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…One of these factors could be the restricted knowledge that funding programs and institutions may have on TD. A further factor is that faced by program managers when trying to design and implement structures and processes that enable the production of TD within research-funding programs [75,76]. To overcome this, Schneider et al [76] developed a model with 10 relevant key stages to enable successful TD research within funding programs.…”

Section: Transdisciplinarity Definition and Approaches As A Challengementioning

confidence: 99%

Testing Analytical Frameworks in Transdisciplinary Research for Sustainable Development

et al. 2019

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This article discusses the concept and the practice of transdisciplinary research, including how it is conceived and implemented through the cooperation of different actors involved. With transdisciplinarity gaining recognition as an approach to addressing sustainable development challenges, the successful integration of various disciplines and actors in the process of knowledge generation becomes essential. Through the Cooperation and Development Center (CODEV), the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has promoted transdisciplinary research by proposing a space where North-South partnerships integrating academic and non-academic actors enable the expansion of appropriate technologies and innovations adapted to local societal contexts. This study examines five collaborative research projects conducted at the EPFL. By using an analytical framework consisting of design principles for ideal transdisciplinary research, we conducted semi-structured interviews with academic and non-academic members of the research projects to assess the degree of transdisciplinarity. This framework proved to be a useful tool for exploring transdisciplinary dynamics and assessing the effectiveness of joint knowledge generation. We found that the transdisciplinary cooperation involving different actors is not a linear process, as it depends on the social context in which the project is carried out and on the internal and the external organizational structure established for its implementation. We provide recommendations on how transdisciplinarity could be expanded through institutional support and its results could be effectively transferred into science and practice and discuss the implications for further studies in the conclusions.Sustainability 2019, 11, 4343 2 of 28 an ideal than as a reality [4,8,9]. Also, recent studies show that transdisciplinary research still faces a number of challenges that hinder the expansion of its practice and restricts its potential in addressing crucial matters of sustainable development [10][11][12][13].This article provides new empirical observations on the practice of transdisciplinary research, including how it is conceived and implemented and how the key actors involved are applying its results. The paper has two objectives. Firstly, it reviews the evolution of the definition of TD in sustainability science, differentiating it from the concepts of multi-and interdisciplinarity. Secondly, it contributes to the ongoing discussion on the added value of TD to research practice. The paper examines five projects conducted at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) based on evidence collected through semi-structured interviews with academic and non-academic team members using an adapted analytical framework with a set of design principles for ideal transdisciplinary research [11,14]. The study shows how the practice of TD depends on the context in which research is carried out, on the organizational structure established for its implementation, and on the specific way in which the expe...

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Section: Transdisciplinarity Definition and Approaches As A Challengementioning

confidence: 99%

Testing Analytical Frameworks in Transdisciplinary Research for Sustainable Development

et al. 2019

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“…In this article, we have shown that TD interactions of researchers and practitioners are pervaded by an interplay of different dimensions of power. The diverse manifestations of power identified in our analysis (Tables 4,5,6) illuminate discrepancies between the ideals of TD of shared control, ownership, and co-leadership [11,12] and actual practices in the five projects. Firstly, focusing on formal decision-making and the most visible form of power in its instrumental usage, researchers appeared as powerful actors across all three constitutive elements of participation.…”

Section: The Interplay and Simultaneity Of Different Dimensions Of Powermentioning

confidence: 90%

“…In practitioners' narrations, researchers were discursively constructed as idea-givers and advisors (BP2, BP3, CP1, DP2), facilitators, organisers and project responsible actors (BP1, BP2, BP3, EP1, EP2), distant observers, or unpleasant evaluators (AR2, AR4). The exercise of power in the ascription of roles and 5 For both practitioners and researchers (AR2, AR4, CR2), the support of powerful actors in their reference field such as professors and PIs appears as a source of power: One interviewee who was positioned at the interface to practitioners explained that more PI support in the beginning would have facilitated the TD process. This suggests that PIs have power based on their status as professors; such support would have given more weight to the collaboration with practitioners and motivated practitioners to engage more deeply (CR2).…”

Section: Practitionersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such proposals are generally rooted in the perspective that the monopoly of science over the production of trustworthy knowledge that should 'speak truth to power' is deficient in the face of complex problems [3]. In response to these 'grand' societal challenges [4], science policy and research funding programmes under the umbrella of 'responsible research and innovation' increasingly ask researchers to co-create knowledge with policymakers, businesses, and civil society actors [5,6], thus extending knowledge production to actors beyond the scientific realm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Fritz

Binder

2020

Eur J Futures Res

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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.

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“…Knowledge is co-produced through the combination of scientific perspectives with other types of relevant perspectives and experience from real world practice including policy-making, administration, business and community life". Schneider et al (2019) propose that transdisciplinarity is essentially a mode of knowledge production that can contribute to societal transformation. Due to often similar definitions of knowledge co-creation and knowledge co-production, we consider these two terms as interchangeable for the purpose of this article.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilization of research knowledge in sustainable development pathways: Insights from a transdisciplinary research-for-development programme

Jacobi

Llanque

Bieri

et al. 2020

Environmental Science & Policy

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This study contributes to the ongoing discussion on how to attribute and evaluate the contribution of transdisciplinary research to sustainable development. As co-created knowledge is a key product of transdisciplinary research, we tested the hypothesis that the extent to which this knowledge is utilized beyond the projects consortia, in different areas-from scientific methods and insights to policy decisions-and across a continuum of geographical scales can be used to identify potential impact pathways. With this aim we developed an analytical framework that links the transdisciplinary process to six possible utilization stages as indicators for usability of co-created knowledge and implemented it using a survey and semi-structured interviews in 22 research projects active in 36 countries. Our results show that even during the implementation of the projects, co-created knowledge is utilized by multiple actors at different stages, in all areas and scales simultaneously, suggesting multiple impact pathways. Utilization of project knowledge was predominantly indicated for national-level policymaking and research partners named co-creation of knowledge with key stakeholders as the most frequently used mechanism for promoting knowledge utilization. Closer analysis showed different understandings of and approaches to knowledge co-creation. These can be linked to weaker or stronger definitions of transdisciplinarity. The analysis shows that when using strong transdisciplinarity approaches researchers need to face challenges in encompassing multiple epistemologies and in facilitating dialogue. Some results suggest that inclusion and collaboration by co-created knowledge can empower actors otherwise excluded. Our research shows that although transdisciplinary projects have non-linear impact pathways, these can be partially assessed using the proposed analytical framework. Further, our results indicate interesting links between usability-through knowledge utilization-inclusion and collaboration regarding knowledge co-creation in transdisciplinary research. We conclude with the observation that transdisciplinarity and its requirements still need to be better understood by actors within and beyond the research community.

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Research funding programmes aiming for societal transformations: Ten key stages

Cited by 47 publications

References 40 publications

Testing Analytical Frameworks in Transdisciplinary Research for Sustainable Development

Testing Analytical Frameworks in Transdisciplinary Research for Sustainable Development

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

Utilization of research knowledge in sustainable development pathways: Insights from a transdisciplinary research-for-development programme

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