
Transdisciplinary research and knowledge co-production are transforming the way IIASA addresses complex societal challenges. Susanne Hanger-Kopp reports on behalf of the participants of an IIASA-wide workshop that highlighted the potential of and hurdles to these approaches.
Given IIASA’s mandate to conduct policy-oriented research addressing complex societal problems, it is no surprise that transdisciplinary research and knowledge co-production have become important approaches across the Institute.
While IIASA has substantive and growing expertise in this regard, there is still significant room for growth in terms of institutional capacity (knowledge and skills). There is also a need to mainstream these potentially transformative approaches into scientific practice and science-diplomacy. Several IIASA Strategic Initiatives, notably FairSTREAM and TRUST, have recognized this and are working towards a strengthened grounding of transdisciplinary research and other participatory co-production approaches.
What does transdisciplinary research and co-production entail?
Transdisciplinary research is a way of creating knowledge that goes beyond just combining different academic fields. It also brings in perspectives from people outside of science, like community members and other stakeholders, to work together on real-world problems. This approach has evolved over decades as researchers thought about how to combine expertise from different areas to create new knowledge and, more importantly, how to connect science with society to make knowledge more useful, trustworthy, and relevant.
Transdisciplinary research focuses on blending social and scientific knowledge throughout the research process, with everyone involved learning from each other. To do this well, processes must be designed to ensure fairness, inclusivity, and diversity, so that all voices are heard and valued.
This approach can be instrumental in building trust between society and science, and also help (some) scientists to trust and use alternative forms of knowledge. This comes at no small cost. It requires not only a reconsideration of our science diplomacy strategies, but also strategic decisions on when and where we can usefully design projects to fulfill transdisciplinary research criteria, such as the inclusion of non-scientific partners early in the research process to allow for joint problem framing and process design. In this regard, close attention should be paid to boundary work, which entails recognizing and valuing different ideas and terms, being open-minded, adaptable, and humble, to name just a few.
Key themes, discussions, and challenges
A group of 20 colleagues from across all IIASA programs, research groups, and departments gathered in a strategic workshop, bringing together both transdisciplinary research experts and newcomers to the topic. The objective was to take stock of experiences, resources, and needs regarding transdisciplinary research and co-production at IIASA, and thereby reveal the meaning and relevance of this approach at the Institute. In addition, we dedicated ample time to explore the relevance of transdisciplinarity in different departments and projects, along with the potential structures and institutions for transdisciplinary research at IIASA and the type of direct guidance we can and should provide to colleagues and potentially the wider IIASA network.
From our discussion we learned that IIASA staff see transdisciplinary research as a bridging mechanism between society, policy, and science, with different nuances in focus in the different sectors. Co-production, co-creation, and co-design with stakeholders outside the safety of the ivory tower, in turn, provides a reality check of assumptions and can work with a variety of methods, including when trying out unfamiliar things.
The perceived benefits of knowledge co-production and transdisciplinary research are manifold. For example, such processes highlight the need for and dedicate time to agree on common language and create mutual understanding of problems and solutions in a given context. People across the board vastly underestimate the effort it takes and the benefits of understanding each other.
Transdisciplinary research has the potential to lead to fairer processes, and ultimately, to more relevant, credible, and legitimate outcomes. For this purpose, it requires careful identification of representative dimensions of key stakeholder groups, acknowledging cultural differences, differences in people’s capacity to contribute, and respective support needs. We also found that transdisciplinarity helps to broaden networks and may increase trust through better facilitated interaction while being mindful of the diversity of participants involved in a project. We feel that ultimately, this approach may be a pathway to amplifying the positive impact of science for society and vice versa.
While the perceived challenges that need to be overcome to achieve said benefits are fewer, they should not be underestimated. For example, traditional funding procedures and project design are typically linear and therefore not conducive to successful transdisciplinary research, which requires longer-term engagement and building partnerships from as early as the proposal writing stage. The approach also does not fit traditional scientific key performance indicators (KPIs), as it entails trade-offs with academic achievements such as publications due to the required time and effort needed for engagement activities.
Indeed, people often underestimate how much time and skill a transdisciplinary research project requires, and upscaling is difficult as such processes are highly context dependent. Finally, we often have to deal with stakeholder fatigue due to the sometimes high demands on their time, which may lead to reluctance or inability to join further processes.
How can we bolster transdisciplinary research and co-production at IIASA?
Several immediate ideas could be further developed to tackle the challenges mentioned above to reap the many benefits of this approach and achieve an overall improvement of transdisciplinary research application and capacity building at IIASA:
Promoting ongoing transdisciplinary research activities at IIASA
The IIASA network, including the Institute's Member Organizations are interested in transdisciplinary research and its potential. The Communications and External Relations Department (CER) offers a variety of services that support telling compelling stories about transdisciplinary research on different platforms, for instance, through IIASA Connect.
Improving communication about existing transdisciplinary research expertise and experiences
The Institute’s number of experts and expertise in transdisciplinary research is growing. It is crucial to keep making this expertise visible and connecting individuals involved by sharing methods, projects with transdisciplinary relevance, collaboration options, and the evaluation and assessment of transdisciplinary processes after a project ends. Better connections could be facilitated with a newsletter, shared drive, or dedicated Teams or Slack channels.
Providing transdisciplinary research specific guidance
This approach has specific features that distinguish it from other forms of participatory research. Yet, it is not necessarily a distinct approach, but rather involves specific design and facilitation criteria that can easily be applied in many existing processes. It is also valuable to know how to include transdisciplinary research components strategically. To help navigate the challenges of transdisciplinary research, IIASA staff could benefit from some cross-program high-level guidance on the principles of the approach.
Next steps
As a direct outcome of the workshop, the organizers will draft a guidance document providing a definition space, and design principles for transdisciplinary research processes. This guidance we will be jointly developed with workshop participants and other interested colleagues in a follow-up workshop tentatively scheduled for the spring of 2025. With the help of CER colleagues, we will create a repository of resources on IIASA Connect. Finally, we plan to pursue opportunities to promote these joint efforts in the Science Parliament and at the next IIASA Interaction Festival in the summer of 2025.
Participants left the workshop inspired and energized to strengthen transdisciplinary research and knowledge co-production capacities at IIASA. We will all be working to improve exchange between different departments on best practice, challenges, and solutions. On top of this, we have a set of specific tasks defined and assigned to make sure that we do not lose momentum.
If you find this dynamic approach interesting and would like to learn more or get involved, please get in touch!
Looking forward to collaborating more on transdisciplinary research at IIASA across the different programs: the workshop participants in a good mood after our productive meeting.
This text emerged from the workshop and contributions from all attendants. Thanks goes to Nikita Strelkovski, Teresa Deubelli-Hwang, Robert Sakic Trogrlic, Katya Perez Guzman, Jutta Beher, Matea Osti, Barbara Willaarts, Kimi Vu, Karl Scheifinger, Jenan Irshaid, Claudius Ströhle, Marie Franquin, Monika Bauer, Todd Harewell, David Campos Almeida, Anastasia Lijadi, Omkar Patange, and Carla Freund.
Note: This article gives the view of the author, and not the position of the Nexus blog, nor of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.