In response to contemporary societal challenges, universities and funders increasingly call upon researchers to generate both scientifically and societally relevant knowledge by conducting inter-and transdisciplinary (ITD) research. While the ambition to bridge scientific and societal relevance can produce tensions during the research process, we argue that such tensions should not be viewed merely as barriers. Drawing on empirical insights from three recent ITD research initiatives in Switzerland, we demonstrate how tensions embody potentials and can serve as productive catalysts for reflection, integration, and innovation. Rather than striving to eliminate tensions, our analysis highlights strategies and conditions that enable research teams to harness them constructively. We conclude that a multi-level approach and concerted efforts by various actors are needed to create the conditions which enable the generation of both societally and scientifically relevant knowledge in ITD initiatives.
Societal transformation processes, such as the energy transition, accompanied by fundamental social, economic, and political changes require research approaches capable of capturing complex sociotechnical interactions. Integrating regulatory sandboxes and Real-world Laboratories provides a methodological foundation for such interactions by incorporating scientific and nonscientific perspectives through transdisciplinary cooperation. This design report reflects the first Real-world Lab for the energy transition, SmartQuart, which was funded by the Bundesministerium f & uuml;r Wirtschaft und Energie. It focuses on evaluating research and communication strategies in a consortium of science, industry, and municipalities, with a qualitative online survey of the project participants forming the empirical basis. The results show that an open communication culture, personal encounters, and flexible exchange formats contributed to successful cooperation. However, staff turnover, unclear definitions of objectives, and the lack of independent project management posed challenges. Based on the analyzed experiences, the report derives design-relevant lessons for future real-world labs for the energy transition.
Ideal-typical transdisciplinary research (TDR) aims to generate impacts both in science and society. This results in challenges for everybody who is involved. This article sheds light on this ambivalent field of TDR and introduces a Special Section of two articles addressing the tensions that may emerge when aiming for impacts in both realms. With this opening article, we present institutional, individual, and project strategies that enable and support TDR, and we reveal ambivalences that arise from their interplay with the current academic system.
Interdisciplinary collaboration is fundamental to address sustainability problems in transdisciplinary projects. In this contribution, sociologists and hydrologists reflect on the effects and challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration in transdisciplinary processes for early-career researchers, as well as for the design process itself. Based on their experiences in a transdisciplinary project, they discuss how interdisciplinary negotiation and method development affect the careers of early-career researchers. Challenges for researchers arose due to disciplinary qualification regulations influencing research modes, and due to the different paradigms of natural and social scientists. To satisfy the paradigms and meet the needs of stakeholders simultaneously, methods were developed and applied that effectively support knowledge integration. Boundary concepts and objects facilitated the inter-and transdisci-plinary collaboration. Overall, reflexive interdisciplinary collaboration in transdisciplinary processes offers opportunities for personal development and career advancement, and improves the design of transdisciplinary processes.
The One Health approach is crucial for addressing complex environ mental and health issues by considering the interdependencies between human, animal, and environmental health. The T!Raum alliance "One Health Region Western Pomerania" aims to implement One Health principles in the region of Western Pomerania in the northeast of Germanythrough transdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge transfer. In this article, we explore the transformation processes necessary to establish a One Health Region from the perspectives of local stake holders. Qualitative interviews with 32 regional stakeholders from various sectors revealed a range of issues. Key objectives identified include the promotion of regionality, enhancement of collaboration and networking, raising awareness and imparting knowledge, advancement in medical care and general health services, and improvement of local public transport and related transportation infrastructure.
Earth system sciences are insufficient for providing political guidance on societal change as they cannot adequately grasp social barriers to transformation, such as political power claims, vested interests, and the persistence of socio-technical regimes and social practices. Mathematical models can hardly cover human behaviour and social interaction based on values. The concept of Planetary Health reaches its full potential when combined with the biopsychosocial model of health for a critical mode of knowledge integration. Each individual's health is interrelated with social settings and the global biosphere. We should therefore regard planet Earth as a vital system of diverse species working together to stabilise its habitability.
Scientific organizations have long been committed to sustainable development in research and teaching. N & ouml;lting et al. (2025) also describe these organizations as important drivers of social transformation toward sustainability. The example of a university in Switzerland shows the opportunities that arise from a consistent focus on socially effective, transdisciplinary, and transformative research, but also the hurdles that need to be overcome. Universities can only accomplish this task if sufficient resources are available, the scientific culture provides the right incentives, and the university succeeds in opening itself up to society.
The global demand for corneal tissue far exceeds supply, revealing disparities between countries that can meet domestic needs and those lacking infrastructure. While the World Health Organization promotes national self-sufficiency to prevent unethical practices, debates on transnational corneal exchange, especially among Australian clinicians and researchers, have intensified. This article situates these discussions within the broader context of anthropocenic health and planetary interdependencies. By analyzing recent scholarship on corneal export and import, we show how notions of scarcity and transparency shape eye banking policy and practice. The article highlights tensions between self-sufficiency and global solidarity as well as challenges of commodification and biopolitical governance. We argue that these debates expose the entanglements of ethics, agency, and resource allocation in the Anthropocene, extending Global Health perspectives through a more relational, planetary lens.
The concept of Planetary Health is based on the premise that the vitality of ecosystems is fundamental to human health. It calls for a profound restoration of the relationship between humans and nature across all areas of society. Using the example of urban planning, we explore its practical implications. We draw on normative principles derived from the integration of traditional Indigenous, spiritual, and modern bodies of knowledge and suggest pathways forsystems thinking and integrated action in cities.
This article aims to show how a geographically informed concept ofsocial innovation can contribute to current debates on both the health and care crisis in peripheral regions and on Planetary Health. It does so by highlighting social resources and novel governance arrangements emerging within the care sector. In this way, it supports the formation and organisation of coalitions that enable or strengthen care work. Our argument builds on selected empirical insights from research conducted in East Brandenburg, Germany, as well as on social-science and geographical literature on health, care, innovation, and governance arrangements.
The climate crisis poses significant threats to human and planetary health, leading to increased demands for health services due to both direct and indirect impacts on health outcomes. This work explores the role of primary healthcare providers in addressing climate-sensitive health challenges in urban Ghana, beginning with a scoping review of the existing literature to identify the role of healthcare providers as responders and change agents. Following preexisting frameworks, we propose an adapted framework for climate-sensitive health counselling, which was complemented through stakeholder consultations. The framework fulfils two functions: first, it outlines primary healthcare consultation needs regarding climate-sensitive health challenges and healthcare resource demands in Accra. And second, it supports healthcare providers and educators in conceptualising approaches and interventions to respond to intensifying climate injustice on various systemic levels and support planetary health understanding.
Nolting et al. (2025) have presented valuable guidelines for scientific organizations to better align research with the support of sustainable transformations and to address key concerns of transdisciplinary research. The critique formulated here focuses on a blind spot: the inevitable conflicts that accompany any transformation. In a world marked by polycrises, populism, and polarization, goal conflicts are unavoidable and cannot be resolved through consensus-building processes alone. Transdisciplinarity must not be understood as a "feel-good" or "peace-and-harmony" approach. Science is not meant to settle societal conflicts. Rather, its role lies in providing systemic knowledge about complex interconnections, revealing the trade-offs of possible options, and catalytically supporting discourse processes as a mediator.
How to design an educational, serious game on sustainable development that continues to be used after its release? In this article, we reflect on the design of such a serious game, namely Foodscape. We used the Triadic Game Design framework to structure our reflections. We formulate key lessons for the future design of serious games with subject-matter experts, game designers, and education experts. We emphasize the importance ofteam members being willing to compromise in situations where they have conflicting views, and of building a mutual understanding of the game's purpose and each participant's roles in the design process. Finally, placing the user at the center of the development contributes to the promotion of the game. Future teams designing a serious game might benefit from the awareness ofthe trilemma that can occur in the design process.
Transformationsraum N (Transformation Space Sustainability) is an open initiative that invites rethinking: How can we decisively accelerate the transformation towards a sustainable society-especially at the local level? The progress made so far, including in our own work, is not sufficient. What is lacking is a systematic approach that bridges the gap from research to implementation and adequately addresses the complex challenges. Transformationsraum N outlines an approach based on eight guiding principles-open to discussion and development with everyone who wants to contribute to a greater impact.
Sustainable development in school education is a key research area with significant political and pedagogical relevance. This study examines the perspectives ofteachers, who are central to implementing education for sustainable development (ESD). It focuses on their self-efficacy regarding ESD and how it is shaped by personal, institutional, and contextual factors. In an online survey, 299 teachers from primary and secondary schools in Germany reported on perceived obstacles, concerns, and their school communities' attitudes towards sustainability. The results highlight the importance of a collaborative school culture and shared values for successful ESD implementation. Students' interest, shaped by parents, media, and the broader social environment, emerged as a decisive factor influencing teachers' beliefs. Reducing structural and emotional barriers was identified as essential for bridging the gap between policy goals and practical implementation. The study provides an in-depth exploration of individual teachers' perspectives, emphasizing how their personal beliefs, emotional engagement, experiences, and perceived barriers shape ESD implementation in everyday school life. By considering both subjective and emotional dimensions, this research offers unique insights that can help identify practical levers for supporting teachers.
Against the backdrop of populist attacks on science and sustainable development, the Sustainability Science Summit 2025 focused on advancing sustainability transformations. With over 30 sessions structured around three high-level panel discussions, it addressed global challenges in sustainability science, the transformation of research practices, and the science-policy interface.
As one component of the EU project, REAL-DEAL, the authors conducted a Group Delphi involving experts from economics and consumer research. Group Delphi processes represent participatory formats aimed at providing a more accurate, fair, and complete representation of expert judgments regarding a specific topic. During the Delphi process in Berlin, twelve experts, representing different schools of economic thought, were asked to assess and evaluate economic instruments and measures to implement the Green Deal objectives with a focus on transport, housing, nutrition, and overarching economic issues related to climate protection. The results of the Delphi revealed a large diversity among the experts, in particular on the issue of state interventions into the economy. However, there was broad consensus on rejecting subsidies that encourage non-sustainable practices, and on recommending effective carbon pricing. The outcome of the Delphi was used as information for a subsequent Citizen Forum with randomly selected citizens.
Achieving inclusive and equitable development requires interventions that account for diverse and sometimes conflicting human perspectives. Q methodology offers a structured approach to exploring human subjectivity, revealing how values align and differ across groups on sustainability issues. When combined with participatory approaches, the method supports the integration of diverse perspectives into planning and decision-making processes, promoting more inclusive and equitable outcomes. This toolkit demonstrates how Q methodology can be used to study participatory processes.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories are essential tools for guiding emission reduction measures. Here, we present the development of ETH Zurich's inclusive all-scope GHG inventory and reflect on remaining challenges and uncertainties. We aim to promote greater transparency, comparability, and collaboration among higher education institutions.
The relational valuation of nature, as practiced in the Global South, is explored to identify how Global North actors can build on this form of knowledge to strengthen sustainable development in the agricultural sector. The modern, mainstream Global North focus is based on instrumental, ratherthan relational, values. Relational values of nature are introduced with the IPBES life frames of "living from/in/with/as nature" and integrate Global South visions. The study considers the case of agroecological smallholder farmers in Tanzania on the slopes of Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro. Based on qualitative research, two ways of valuing nature are identified: "nature as basis for survival" and "nature as subject and basis for being a farmer". Global North actors can build on Global South perspectives, regarding ideas of interactions with their environment and both can mutually inform their perspectives when it comes to recognizing the interdependencies of (non-)human life and animal rights, and linking academic and local knowledge. Research is needed to determine whether the globalized economic perspective ofthe Global North could be broadened with these perspectives.
