Transdisciplinary co-production of knowledge and sustainability transformations: Three generic mechanisms of impact generation

Schneider, Flurina; Giger, Markus; Harari, Nicole; Moser, Stephanie; Oberlack, Christoph; Providoli, Isabelle; Schmid, Leonie; Tribaldos, Theresa; Zimmermann, Anne

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2019.08.017

Cited by 125 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In contrast to a linear view of change and measurement approach to impact, the approach argues for a combination of inductive and deductive reasoning-through reflecting on underlying assumptions about how change happens that have been made explicit at the outset (double loop learning)-it is possible to build middle range theory of how change happens, as it happens. We begin to see now a new trend of this application of theory of change also within the sustainability science domain (e.g., [73,74]). The experience of the TKN provides instructive learning on the opportunities and challenges we face as we navigate the tension between a linear view of project management and evaluation that is aimed mainly at accountability and the need for more complexity-aware approaches that can help us understand how transdisciplinarity enables real impact.…”

Section: Transformation Emergence and Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structured Collaboration Across a Transformative Knowledge Network—Learning Across Disciplines, Cultures and Contexts?

et al. 2020

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Realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require transformative changes at micro, meso and macro levels and across diverse geographies. Collaborative, transdisciplinary research has a role to play in documenting, understanding and contributing to such transformations. Previous work has investigated the role of this research in Europe and North America, however the dynamics of transdisciplinary research on ‘transformations to sustainability’ in other parts of the world are less well-understood. This paper reports on an international project that involved transdisciplinary research in six different hubs across the globe and was strategically designed to enable mutual learning and exchange. It draws on surveys, reports and research outputs to analyse the processes of transdisciplinary collaboration for sustainability that took place between 2015–2019. The paper illustrates how the project was structured in order to enable learning across disciplines, cultures and contexts and describes how it also provided for the negotiation of epistemological frameworks and different normative commitments between members across the network. To this end, it discusses lessons regarding the use of theoretical and methodological anchors, multi-loop learning and evaluating emergent change (including the difficulties encountered). It offers insights for the design and implementation of future international transdisciplinary collaborations that address locally-specific sustainability challenges within the universal framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

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Section: Transformation Emergence and Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structured Collaboration Across a Transformative Knowledge Network—Learning Across Disciplines, Cultures and Contexts?

et al. 2020

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“…The City, Food, and Policy Lab processes also contribute to transformative competence building among the lab coordinators and the different stakeholders involved. The development of transformative competences is considered an important leverage point for creating a sustainable impact [36] and it is important for stimulating actors to adopt different actor roles (see Section 4.3).…”

Section: Multilevel Boundary Intervention: Labs As Instruments For Trmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such transformative second-order research, according to Fazey et al [35] (p. 54), "includes mode 2, transdisciplinarity, post-normal, participatory, sustainability science, and action research". Though it is increasingly recognized that such approaches might contribute effectively to societal transformations by generating societal impact [36], doing transformative research is not a straightforward endeavour and involves many challenges. For transformative second-order research, the challenges are especially problematic and relate to R&I processes, as well as to the associated systemic environments in which these processes are embedded [37][38][39][40].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transforming Research and Innovation for Sustainable Food Systems—A Coupled-Systems Perspective

Kok¹,

Boer²,

Cesuroğlu³

et al. 2019

Sustainability

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Current research and innovation (R&I) systems are not equipped to fully serve as catalysts for the urgently needed transformation of food systems. Though research on food systems transformation (first order: ‘what?’) and transformative research (second order: ‘how to’) are rapidly gaining traction in academic and policy environments, current efforts fail to explicitly recognize the systemic nature of the challenges associated with performing transformative second-order research. To recognize these manifold and interlinked challenges embedded in R&I systems, there is a need for a coupled-systems perspective. Transformations are needed in food systems as well as R&I systems (‘how to do the “how to”’). We set out to conceptualize an approach that aims to trigger double transformations by nurturing innovations at the boundaries of R&I systems and food systems that act upon systemic leverage points, so that their multisystem interactions can better support food system transformations. We exemplify this coupled-systems approach by introducing the FIT4FOOD2030 project with its 25 living labs as a promising multilevel boundary innovation at the cross-section of R&I and food systems. We illustrate how this approach paves the way for double systems transformations, and therefore for an R&I system that is fit for future-proofing food systems.

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“…To overcome the challenges of climate information for policy-making and action, recent studies increasingly advocate a transdisciplinary knowledge integration approach (Daniels et al, 2020) where "...researchers and knowledge users meaningfully interact to co-create knowledge that is actionable in decisionmaking" (Mach et al, 2020, 30). Such an approach has been shown to be useful not only for adaptation decisionmaking (Vaughan and Dessai, 2014), but for fostering mutual understanding and learning, enhancing the perceived saliency, credibility, and legitimacy of research outcomes; empowering users, motivating them, and increasing their sense of ownership; building trust, creating networks, and boosting institutional capacity (Bremer et al, 2019;Cvitanovic et al, 2019;Gerger Swartling et al, 2019;Schneider et al, 2019;Daniels et al, 2020) However, it has been challenging to scale up knowledge co-production, learn from practice, and improve approaches because of a lack of reflection and clarity on how the concept is interpreted and applied (Norström et al, 2020); even the terminology is inconsistent. As a first step, there is a need for increased reflexivity and transparency among scholars adopting co-production approaches about how and when they should be used (Bremer and Meisch, 2017;Jagannathan et al, 2020); as well as how to move beyond learning within projects to capture lessons learned across contexts (Lang et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Quality of Knowledge for Adaptation–Experiences From Co-designing Climate Services in Sweden

et al. 2021

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Adaptation to climate change is becoming more urgent, but the wealth of knowledge that informs adaptation planning and decision-making is not used to its full potential. Top-down approaches to knowledge production are identified as one important reason for the gap between science and practice and are criticized for not meeting the needs of intended users. In response to this challenge, there is a growing interest in the creation of user-oriented and actionable climate services to support adaptation. At the same time, recent research suggests that greater efforts are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of knowledge co-production processes and the best criteria by which to gauge the quality of knowledge outcomes, while also considering different stakeholder perspectives. This paper explores these issues through a critical assessment of the quality of knowledge for adaptation generated from a climate services co-design process in two case studies in Sweden. The study draws on experiences from a 5-year research collaboration in which natural and social science researchers, together with local stakeholders, co-designed climate services to support climate adaptation planning and decision-making. The well-established knowledge quality criteria of credibility, legitimacy, saliency, usability, and usefulness remain relevant, but are not sufficient to capture factors relating to whether and how the knowledge actually is applied by climate change adaptation planners and decision-makers. We observe that case-specific circumstances beyond the scope of the co-design process, including the decision-making context as well as non-tangible outcomes, also play crucial roles that should be accounted for in the knowledge assessment processes.

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Transdisciplinary co-production of knowledge and sustainability transformations: Three generic mechanisms of impact generation

Cited by 125 publications

References 31 publications

Structured Collaboration Across a Transformative Knowledge Network—Learning Across Disciplines, Cultures and Contexts?

Structured Collaboration Across a Transformative Knowledge Network—Learning Across Disciplines, Cultures and Contexts?

Transforming Research and Innovation for Sustainable Food Systems—A Coupled-Systems Perspective

Assessing the Quality of Knowledge for Adaptation–Experiences From Co-designing Climate Services in Sweden

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