Daniel J. Lang

Transdisciplinary research in sustainability science: practice, principles, and challenges

There is emerging agreement that sustainability challenges require new ways of knowledge production and decision-making. One key aspect of sustainability science, therefore, is the involvement of actors from outside academia into the research process in order to integrate the best available knowledge, reconcile values and preferences, as well as create ownership for problems and solution options. Transdisciplinary, community-based, interactive, or participatory research approaches are often suggested as appropriate means to meet both the requirements posed by real-world problems as well as the goals of sustainability science as a transformational scientific field. Dispersed literature on these approaches and a variety of empirical projects applying them make it difficult for interested researchers and practitioners to review and become familiar with key components and design principles of how to do transdisciplinary sustainability research. Starting from a conceptual model of an ideal–typical transdisciplinary research process, this article synthesizes and structures such a set of principles from various strands of the literature and empirical experiences. We then elaborate on them, looking at challenges and some coping strategies as experienced in transdisciplinary sustainability projects in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia. The article concludes with future research needed in order to further enhance the practice of transdisciplinary sustainability research.

Leverage points for sustainability transformation

Despite substantial focus on sustainability issues in both science and politics, humanity remains on largely unsustainable development trajectories. Partly, this is due to the failure of sustainability science to engage with the root causes of unsustainability. Drawing on ideas by Donella Meadows, we argue that many sustainability interventions target highly tangible, but essentially weak, leverage points (i.e. using interventions that are easy, but have limited potential for transformational change). Thus, there is an urgent need to focus on less obvious but potentially far more powerful areas of intervention. We propose a research agenda inspired by systems thinking that focuses on transformational ‘sustainability interventions’, centred on three realms of leverage: reconnecting people to nature, restructuring institutions and rethinking how knowledge is created and used in pursuit of sustainability. The notion of leverage points has the potential to act as a boundary object for genuinely transformational sustainability science.

Transformational Sustainability Research Methodology

Sustainability science can roughly be differentiated into two distinct research streams – a “descriptive-analytical” and a “transformational” one. While the former is primarily concerned with describing and analyzing sustainability problems, the latter aims at developing evidence-supported solution options to solve these problems. This chapter presents relevant methodological guidelines and requirements as well as five exemplary research frameworks for transformational sustainability research. The frameworks are for (1) complex problem-handling, (2) transition management and governance, (3) backcasting, (4) integrated planning research, and (5) the transformational sustainability research (TRANSFORM framework). The TRANSFORM framework aims at synthesizing key components of the other frameworks. The frameworks provide guidelines for transformational sustainability research; yet, willingness and capacity of academic, governmental, private, and nonprofit organizations to use them for knowledge-generating operations are still fairly low. To truly support sustainability transformations, much more of this solution-oriented sustainability research is needed.

Many pathways toward sustainability : not conflict but co-learning between transition narratives

Sustainability transitions aim to comprehensively address key challenges of today’s societies through harmonizing ecological integrity and social viability. During the last decades, increasing attention has focused on the conceptual development and identification of trajectories that navigate societies toward sustainability. While a broad agreement exists with regard to the need for mainstreaming sustainability into the core of decision-making and everyday practices, different transition pathway narratives are advocated to foster urgently needed structural and societal changes. In this article, we describe four archetypes of present transition narratives, examining the system properties (from underpinning intent to mechanistic parameters) that each narrative seeks to transform. We review the articulated critiques of, and provide exemplary case studies for, each narrative. The four transition narratives are (1) the green economy, (2) low-carbon transformation, (3) ecotopian solutions and (4) transition movements. Based on our analysis, we argue that despite the assumption that these narratives represent competing pathways, there is considerable complementarity between them regarding where in a given system they seek to intervene. An integrative approach could potentially help bridge these intervention types and connect fragmented actors at multiple levels and across multiple phases of transition processes. Effectively mainstreaming sustainability will ultimately require sustainability scientists to navigate between, and learn from, multiple transition narratives.

Plausibility indications in future scenarios

Quality criteria for generating future-oriented knowledge and future scenarios are different from those developed for knowledge about past and current events. Such quality criteria can be defined relative to the intended function of the knowledge. Plausibility has emerged as a central quality criterion of scenarios that allows exploring the future with credibility and saliency. But what exactly is plausibility vis-a-vis probability, consistency, and desirability? And how can plausibility be evaluated and constructed in scenarios? Sufficient plausibility, in this article, refers to scenarios that hold enough evidence to be considered ‘occurrable’. This might have been the underlying idea of scenarios all along without being explicitly elaborated in a pragmatic concept or methodology. Here, we operationalise plausibility in scenarios through a set of plausibility indications and illustrate the proposal with scenarios constructed for Phoenix, Arizona. The article operationalises the concept of plausibility in scenarios to support scholars and practitioners alike.

An experience-based learning framework: Activities for the initial development of sustainability competencies

Purpose This paper aims to present an experience-based learning framework that provides a bottom-up, student-centered entrance point for the development of systems thinking, normative and collaborative competencies in sustainability. Design/methodology/approach The framework combines mental mapping with exploratory walking. It interweaves mapping and walking activities with methodological and theoretical inputs as well as with reflections and discussions. The framework aligns experiential activities, i.e. mental mapping and walking, with learning objectives, i.e. novice-level sustainability competencies. The authors applied the framework for student activities in Phoenix/Tempe and Hamburg/Luneburg as part of The Global Classroom, a project between Arizona State University in the USA and Leuphana University of Luneburg in Germany. Findings The application of the experience-based learning framework demonstrates how students started developing systems thinking (e.g. understanding urban systems as functional entities and across different domains), normative (e.g. using different sustainability principles) and collaborative (e.g. learning across disciplinary, social and cultural differences) competencies in sustainability. Originality/value The experience-based learning framework contributes to the development of curricular activities for the initial development of sustainability competencies in introductory-level courses. It enables students from different disciplinary, social and cultural backgrounds, e.g. in international education, to collaboratively start developing such competencies. The framework can be adapted to different educational contexts.

Utilizing international networks for accelerating research and learning in transformational sustainability science

A promising approach for addressing sustainability problems is to recognize the unique conditions of a particular place, such as problem features and solution capabilities, and adopt and adapt solutions developed at other places around the world. Therefore, research and teaching in international networks becomes critical, as it allows for accelerating learning by sharing problem understandings, successful solutions, and important contextual considerations. This article identifies eight distinct types of research and teaching collaborations in international networks that can support such accelerated learning. The four research types are, with increasing intensity of collaboration: (1) solution adoption; (2) solution consultation; (3) joint research on different problems; and (4) joint research on similar problems. The four teaching types are, with increasing intensity of collaboration: (1) adopted course; (2) course with visiting faculty; (3) joint course with traveling faculty; and (4) joint course with traveling students. The typology is illustrated by extending existing research and teaching projects on urban sustainability in the International Network of Programs in Sustainability, with partner universities from Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. The article concludes with challenges and strategies for extending individual projects into collaborations in international networks.

Problem-Based and Project-Based Learning for Sustainable Development

Universities hold a crucial responsibility and role to contribute to sustainable development, also in their education task. The concept of competencies for sustainable development and the idea of using real-world sustainability issues in education are promising approaches to transform sustainability programmes at universities into student-centred learning environments. Especially the educational formats of problem-based learning and project-based learning foster such a process of educational innovation towards student-centred learning. Moreover, hybrid forms of problem-based and project-based learning offer added value, but challenges for PPBL courses in sustainability remain salient.

Nuclear accidents call for transdisciplinary nuclear energy research

The consequences of nuclear accidents touch many aspects of society, and thus lead to challenges for multiple actors across spatial and temporal scales. Here, we highlight unused potential of communication, collaboration and knowledge co-production for response after nuclear accidents. This potential can be harnessed by a transdisciplinary research approach including all relevant actors on a regional scale such as nuclear industry, government officials, civil society and scientific researchers. Transdisciplinary research approaches on regional scale could enhance implementation of proper mid- and long-term remediation measures and build capacity to cope up with the impacts after nuclear accidents.

Methoden und Methodologie in den Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaften

Wie in den vorhergehenden Kapiteln dargelegt, setzen sich die Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaften mit gesellschaftlich relevanten, komplexen Problem- und Fragestellungen auseinander und verfolgen dabei das Ziel Beitrage zur Losung dieser Probleme zu leisten. Mit diesem Ansatz unterscheidet sich dieses Wissenschaftsgebiet ganz fundamental von anderen, starker disziplinar verorteten Wissenschaftsansatzen, die i. d. R. auf ein klar definiertes Set an Methoden zuruckgreifen bzw. sich haufig zu einem gewissen Grad durch das jeweilige methodische Instrumentarium definieren. Trotz dieses Unterschieds ist es auch in den Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaften entscheidend, klar festzulegen auf welche Art und Weise Problem- und Fragestellungen bearbeitet werden, um gezielt und nachvollziehbar Erkenntnisse zu deren Losung bzw. Beantwortung zu erarbeiten. Methoden sind somit als Mittel zu einem bestimmten Zweck zu verstehen und nicht als „Selbstzweck“. Dies deckt sich mit der ursprunglichen Herkunft des Begriffs, der dem griechischen methodos entlehnt ist, was wortlich ubersetzt‚ ‚der Weg auf ein Ziel hin’ bedeutet (Kluge 1989).