Transdisciplinary research focuses on finding solutions to societal problems with the cooperation of both science and practice. It operates in, and is strongly influenced by, different contexts. Various barriers to collaboration shape the choice of context-sensitive formats and methods. To develop the desired solutions collaboratively, integrative processes are required. We shed a light on “transdisciplinary literacy” as one prerequisite to overcome these barriers and discuss how transdisciplinary research can be improved.
Arts-based approaches, through participatory and co-creative processes, offer particular ways to engage with challenges associated with inter- and transdisciplinary research projects.Arts-based approaches (ABA) are increasingly used in transdisciplinary research to complement traditional ways of knowledge production as well as to strengthen the public communication of scientific knowledge. However, a practice-oriented, methodological framework is still lacking. This article aims to strengthen the basis for meaningful systematization and integration of ABA into transdisciplinary research processes by suggesting a framework for arts-based methods (ABM) currently used or described in the community of inter- and transdisciplinary research. The article explores relevant epistemological foundations of ABA before suggesting a framework of ABM with four conceptual dimensions: 1. levels of bodily involvement, 2. artistic role constellations, 3. project phases, 4. artistic media. We complement this with an exemplary application of this framework to two instances of ABM within a transdisciplinary research project. The article provides both conceptual insights and an initial framework for the reflective use of ABM in transdisciplinary contexts.
Im transdisziplinären Forschungsprojekt Klimafreundliche Mobilität im Sportverein entwickeln Forschende der Universität Bern gemeinsam mit dem Schweizerischen Fussballverband, Swiss-Ski und dem Schweizer Alpen-Club partizipativ Maßnahmen zur Reduktion sportbezogener CO 2 -Emissionen, um nachhaltige Praxis im Breitensport zu fördern.
Nachhaltigkeitsprobleme erfordern transdisziplinäre Arbeitsweisen. Die damit verbundenen Anforderungen an interdisziplinäre Integrationsprozesse werden häufig unterschätzt. Am Beispiel eines transdisziplinären Forschungsprojekts analysiert der Beitrag förderliche und hemmende Faktoren interdisziplinärer Integrationsprozesse im Hochschulkontext. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Integrationsfähigkeit wissenschaftlicher Teams erheblichen Einfluss auf den Erfolg transdisziplinärer Arbeitsprozesse hat. Erfolgreiche Integrationsprozesse entstanden insbesondere dort, wo individuelle Voraussetzungen, kollektive Wirksamkeit sowie integrative Führung und Kooperationspraktiken zusammenwirkten. Daraus leitet der Beitrag Empfehlungen ab, wie Hochschulen und Forschungsteams die Voraussetzungen für erfolgreiche transdisziplinäre Arbeitsprozesse gezielt stärken können.Sustainability challenges require transdisciplinary approaches. The demands that interdisciplinary integration processes place on such work are frequently underestimated. Using the example of a transdisciplinary research project, this article analyzes factors that promote or hinder inter-disciplinary integration processes in a higher education context. The findings show that the integrative capacity of scientific teams has a substantial influence on the success of transdisciplinary work processes. Successful integration processes emerged particularly where individual prerequisites, collective efficacy, and integrative leadership and cooperation practices interacted effectively. Based on these findings, the article derives recommendations for how universities and research teams can specifically strengthen the conditions for successful transdisciplinary work processes.
Given the combination of still increasing greenhouse gas emissions and growing challenges to climate policies worldwide, it is necessary to adopt a reasonable worst-case risk management perspective to adaptation. We consider the risks of high-end climate change to Germany by varying its societal and political adaptive capacity (AC) and we develop different adaptation pathways in selected sectors through the year 2100 under the assumption of both high and low ACs. Results show that under a high-end climate change scenario, Germany might experience severe sector-specific breakdowns even before 2050 in the unfavorable, but also soon after 2050 in the favorable case. While there is no alternative to deep and rapid de-carbonization, Germany’s AC needs to be strengthened substantially in order to implement the needed transformative adaptation measures and to avoid early disasters and unmanaged retreats.
Mit der Hightech Agenda Deutschland verfolgt die Bundesregierung das Ziel, die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Innovationskraft der deutschen Wirtschaft durch technologiezentrierte Forschung zu steigern. Die dort fokussierten Schlüsseltechnologien bieten ein hohes Lösungspotenzial zur Erreichung der Nachhaltigkeitsziele, wenn Innovationsprozesse konsequent an Nachhaltigkeit ausgerichtet und gesellschaftlich eingebettet werden. Dies kann insbesondere die gesellschaftsbezogene transdisziplinäre Nachhaltigkeitsforschung leisten, indem sie soziale Innovationen und Technologieentwicklung in einer soziotechnischen Perspektive integriert.
In this paper, we explore the multifaceted role of context in transdisciplinary research, anthropology, and science and technology studies. Context should be understood as dynamic and constitutive, and not merely as a static background for research. This paper explores the multifaceted role of context in transdisciplinary research (TDR), anthropology, and science and technology studies (STS), concluding that context should be understood as dynamic and constitutive, not merely as a static background for research. While the notion is often addressed in TDR in relation to context-dependency and -sensitivity, especially concerning knowledge transfer, ethnographic approaches stress its iterative, relational, and performative character. Three concepts from anthropology and STS are introduced along with their potential to think about and work with context in TDR: 1. situated knowledges, 2. friction, and 3. partial connections. Perceiving context as supported by these concepts in TDR may contribute to 1. navigating different sets of knowledge to address real-world problems, 2. addressing friction between actors, not only as obstacles for innovation but also as a chance, and 3. grasping the potential and limits of comparison and generalization, moving beyond linear notions of knowledge transfer through partial connections.
Sustainability science is a field defined by the problems it addresses and its commitment to bridging knowledge and action. We observe a tendency in the field to overemphasize problem solving while neglecting theory building as a scientific pursuit. We explore this tension through Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) research, identify three problematic tendencies, examine their scientific and practice-facing implications, and propose directions for strengthening theoretical work. We address this invitation to ESD researchers and the wider sustainability science community.
In Südtirol ist der Platz knapp: Weil die alpine Landschaft die nutzbare Fläche stark einschränkt, ist der Nutzungsdruck auf die verbleibenden Flächen hoch. Der Forschungsbereich für transdisziplinäre Orts- und Regionalplanung (FORort) begegnet diesen Herausforderungen mit Forschung, transdisziplinärer Zusammenarbeit und baukulturellen Leitlinien. Er unterstützt Kommunen bei der nachhaltigen Raumentwicklung und beim Kompetenzaufbau.
Participatory methods can enhance shared understanding, capacity, and collaboration in sustainability science. Drawing on insights from the GAIA participatory toolkit series, published between 2022 and 2026, we observe that the most consistently achieved impacts include the shared understanding and awareness of complex issues and the establishment of spaces for dialogue and collaboration. Success depends on trust, inclusivity, flexible design, and sustained engagement. Overall, participatory research is best understood as a process that builds foundations for longer-term sustainability transformations.
The current polycrisis requires a recognition that no single knowledge system is sufficient for generating solutions. Bridging knowledge systems is central to inter- and transdisciplinary research. Yet, it remains challenging with academic structures still characterised by disciplinary silos. Doctoral education can train early-career academics to overcome these divisions and work across knowledge boundaries. We analyse 37 theses conducted in three consecutive sustainability doctoral schools at BOKU University, Vienna, focusing on how students managed to bridge knowledge systems. We find that most students were able to incorporate elements of interdisciplinarity and experiential knowledge, yet the depth and intensity of integration varied considerably. Knowledge co-production and reflexive engagement with inter- and transdisciplinary approaches were the exception rather than the rule. While bridging knowledge systems is extensively addressed in the doctoral curricula, it may have been sidelined by other factors such as publication requirements, time pressure and project contexts.
Aktuelle Krisenphänomene fordern auch die Humanökologie heraus, Stellung zu beziehen und, basierend auf ihren Wissensund Erfahrungsbeständen, Vorschläge zu deren Analyse und künftiger Vermeidung aufzuzeigen. Im Beitrag werden aktuelle Entwicklungen in einen historischen Kontext gestellt, der einige interessante Schlussfolgerungen erlaubt.
Das UrbanLab Viererfeld in Bern versteht sich als langfristig angelegter Lernort für Wissenschaft, Politik und Gesellschaft. Damit leistet das Projekt einen Beitrag zur Weiterentwicklung transdisziplinärer Forschungsansätze und zur Frage, wie urbane Transformationsprozesse evidenzbasiert, reflexiv und inklusiv gestaltet werden können .
Onshore wind power development in Norway has intensified disputes over land use, Indigenous rights, and democratic legitimacy. Through a qualitative case study, this article examines how two such conflicts unfold over time: first, Fosen, where the 2021 Supreme Court ruling found that wind turbines in key winter pastures violated the human rights of Indigenous South Saami reindeer herders, and second, Fr & oslash;ya, where wind power development faced intense pushback from the rural community. Drawing on chron politics, I develop the concept of time grabbing, the governmental redonfiguration of temporal horizons, rhythms, and deadlines, as a complement to land grabbing. Empirically, I draw on field observations and semi-structured interviews with South Saami herders, residents at Fr & oslash;ya, and public officials to identify three chronopolitical mechanisms, acceleration, protraction, and epistemic exclusion, and trace how they shape participation and rights across the two cases. By juxtaposing Foson's colonial context with Fr & oslash;ya's non-colonial rural setting, the article demonstrates how local temporalities, rhythms, and decision-making practices become subordinated to national energy agendas across the cases. I conclude that these temporal dynamics displace local temporal agency and weaken democratic legitimacy in the energy transition.
Sustainability management can realize its full potential when an organization understands how and where it creates impact and which dependencies exist. This is also true for universities. Mapping the value chain turns implicit knowledge about activities and interdependencies into explicit descriptions and supports the identification of impacts, risks, and opportunities. By presenting the value chains of two Austrian universities, we share key lessons learned.
Municipalities as key actors in the planning and implementation of renewable energy often face issues with social acceptance. Community engagement is a model for building active acceptance (i. e., community support). The concrete role of municipalities in fostering community support is less well understood. Looking at Denmark, we evaluate the role of public participation and community engagement in the current planning model. We then apply a qualitative research approach to explore how three Danish municipalities have worked with community engagement. The approaches range from a good collaborative practice to a new planning model institutionalizing engagement. Engagement before and during project initialization is emphasized in contrast to the official model that often starts with projects pre-defined by developers. We recommend modifications to the planning model that place the responsibility for strategic planning and project initialization with the municipality and local communities. There is a need to recognize such planning and engagement efforts required before project initialization, followed by eventual integration into the regulatory framework
Reaktion auf Nölting et al. in GAIA 34/2 (2025): Wissenschaftsorganisationen als Impulsgeber einer Nachhaltigkeitstransformation, und Mayer in GAIA 34/4 (2025): Universitäten in der Nachhaltigkeitstransformation: Es braucht Willen und ZeitDie Leistungsmessung in der Wissenschaft wird oft als einseitig kritisiert. Aktuelle Reformbewegungen von research assessments wollen hier Abhilfe schaffen. In Österreich bieten erste Änderungen bei Förderprogrammen, in der Leistungsbewertung an Universitäten und neue Karrierepfade Chancen für transformative sozial-ökologische Forschung. Die Herausforderungen aufseiten der Universitäten, Fördergeber und einzelner Wissenschaftler(innen) bleiben aber groß.Research performance assessment in academia is often criticized as being one-sided. Current reform movements in research assessment seek to remedy this. In Austria, initial changes in funding programmes, in performance evaluation at universities, and new career paths offer opportunities for transformative socio-ecological research. However, major challenges remain for universities, funding bodies, and individual researchers.
