Five priorities to advance transformative transdisciplinary research
Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
Authors
In response to the climate and biodiversity crisis, the number of transdisciplinary research projects in which researchers partner with sustainability initiatives to foster transformative change is increasing globally. To enable and catalyze substantial transformative change, transformative transdisciplinary research (TTDR) is urgently needed to provide knowledge and guidance for actions. We review prominent discussions on TTDR and draw on our experiences from research projects in the Global South and North. Drawing on this, we identify key gaps and stimulate debate on how sustainability researchers can enable and catalyze transformative change by advancing five priority areas: clarify what TTDR is, conduct meaningful people-centric research, unpack how to act at deep leverage points, improve engagement with diverse knowledge systems, and explore potentials and risks of global digitalization for transformative change.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 101438 |
| Journal | Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability |
| Volume | 68 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| ISSN | 1877-3435 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 01.06.2024 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:
DPML was supported by the project ‘tdAcademy — Platform for Transdisciplinary Research and Studies’, funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (grant number Fkz 01UV2070A). AIHM acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (ERC) for the project LEVER (2022 Starting Grant GA 101077855). LCJ's work is based on research supported in part by the Transformations to Sustainability Programme, which was co-ordinated by the International Science Council and funded by the Swedish Development Cooperation Agency, and implemented in partnership with the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The Transformations to Sustainability Programme represented a contribution to Future Earth. LCJ's study has been developed in the North America Sustainability Hub, hosted by Arizona State University working in partnership with the National Laboratory for Sustainability Sciences (LANCIS), housed at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). It is part of the STEPS Pathways to Sustainability Global Consortium (https://steps-centre.org/global/). TK was supported by the project ‘Zukunftsstadt Lüneburg 2030+ Phase III — Ein urbanes Reallabor für die lokale Umsetzung der Sustainable Development Goals (LG2030PLUS)’, funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (grant number Fkz 13ZS0058B). MMS was supported by the project ‘Diversification for sustainable food systems in the Stockholm region’, funded by the Swedish research agency Formas within the national research program for ‘Food’ (grant number 2019-02026).
Funding Information:
DPML was supported by the project “tdAcademy - Platform for Transdisciplinary Research and Studies”, funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (grant number Fkz 01UV2070A). AIHM was supported EU by a Marie Sklodowska–Curie Individual Fellowship (grant number 840207). LCJs work is based on research supported in part by the Transformations to Sustainability programme, which was coordinated by the International Science Council and funded by the Swedish Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and implemented in partnership with the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The Transformations to Sustainability Programme represented a contribution to Future Earth. LCJs study has been developed in the North America Sustainability Hub, hosted by Arizona State University (ASU) working in partnership with the National Laboratory for Sustainability Sciences (LANCIS), housed at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). It is part of the STEPS Pathways to Sustainability Global Consortium (https://steps-centre.org/global/). TK was supported by the project “Zukunftsstadt Lüneburg 2030+ Phase III - Ein urbanes Reallabor für die lokale Umsetzung der Sustainable Development Goals (LG2030PLUS)“, funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (grant number Fkz 13ZS0058B). MMS was supported by the project “Diversification for sustainable food systems in the Stockholm region”, funded by the Swedish research agency Formas within the national research program for “Food” (grant number 2019-02026).
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