TY - JOUR

T1 - Making mutual learning tangible

T2 - Mixed-method Delphi as a tool for measuring the convergence of participants’ reciprocal understanding in transdisciplinary processes

AU - Pfendtner-Heise, Jannis

AU - Ackerschott, Adriana

AU - Schwenck, Christoph

AU - Lang, Daniel J.

AU - von Wehrden, Henrik

N1 - Funding Information: Firstly, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our SUSTIL project partners who actively participated in the survey and interviews conducted for this research. Their valuable contributions and cooperation have been essential in the successful completion of this study. Furthermore, we would like to thank especially our former colleagues Esther Kohlhase and Annika Schmidt for their great support and engagement. We extend our sincere appreciation the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for their financial support. We would also like to acknowledge the friendly support and inspiration provided by the funding activity Stadt-Land-Plus. Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors

PY - 2024/5/1

Y1 - 2024/5/1

N2 - This paper proposes an approach to capture mutual learning within transdisciplinary research to develop future-oriented sustainability solutions to land use conflicts. While quality criteria for transdisciplinary research projects are increasingly discussed, there is still ample methodological potential to enable and better understand mutual learning as a key component of transdisciplinarity. Changes in the specific developments of perceptions of the participants are difficult to be tamed and tracked. To address this shortcoming we propose to apply the Delphi method for longitudinal tracking of mutual learning within transdisciplinary research. We present the application of the methodological approach as part of a transdisciplinary project on sustainable land use in the district of Lüneburg (Lower-Saxony, Germany). Evaluation of semi-structured interviews with seven participants translated into a three-round Delphi survey. A concluding round of semi-structured interviews was performed to validate and deepen the findings. The results showcase that the Delphi method can facilitate the operationalization of the convergence of understandings as a relevant outcome of mutual learning within transdisciplinary projects.

AB - This paper proposes an approach to capture mutual learning within transdisciplinary research to develop future-oriented sustainability solutions to land use conflicts. While quality criteria for transdisciplinary research projects are increasingly discussed, there is still ample methodological potential to enable and better understand mutual learning as a key component of transdisciplinarity. Changes in the specific developments of perceptions of the participants are difficult to be tamed and tracked. To address this shortcoming we propose to apply the Delphi method for longitudinal tracking of mutual learning within transdisciplinary research. We present the application of the methodological approach as part of a transdisciplinary project on sustainable land use in the district of Lüneburg (Lower-Saxony, Germany). Evaluation of semi-structured interviews with seven participants translated into a three-round Delphi survey. A concluding round of semi-structured interviews was performed to validate and deepen the findings. The results showcase that the Delphi method can facilitate the operationalization of the convergence of understandings as a relevant outcome of mutual learning within transdisciplinary projects.

KW - Delphi

KW - Land-Use

KW - Mutual Learning

KW - Sustainability Transitions

KW - Transdisciplinary Science

KW - Transdisciplinary studies

KW - Sustainability Governance

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85188606481&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/162dd4ad-2ed3-3a8e-9ab0-038d74c2b1e4/

U2 - 10.1016/j.futures.2024.103365

DO - 10.1016/j.futures.2024.103365

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85188606481

VL - 159

JO - Futures

JF - Futures

SN - 0016-3287

M1 - 103365

ER -