A political ecology of transdisciplinary research

Hali Healy

doi:10.2458/v26i1.23245

Abstract

Transdisciplinary research (TDR) is widely regarded as a promising, and even essential, means of addressing complex sustainability problems, whilst delivering beneficial outcomes for scientists and the non-academic actors with whom they engage. Premised on the 'ecological modernisation' of Europe, regional funding for TDR under Framework Programmes such as FP7 and more recently Horizon 2020 have sought to support academic engagement with a wide range of research stakeholders through calls for transdisciplinary research in order to better address Europe's "grand societal challenges" (EC 2013). This article, based on doctoral research, consists of an ex-post study of three European Union funded transdisciplinary projects (CREPE, EJOLT and GAP2) implemented under the Seventh Framework's (2007-2013) Science in Society program. Its focus is on how issues of power and governance permeate TDR projects, giving rise to tensions, challenges and ultimately struggles over the very meaning of official projects and their outcomes, despite the most egalitarian of intentions and underlying principles of mutual benefit. These tensions, this article argues, should be understood not merely as cultural, methodological or cognitive challenges, but as essentially political conflicts that manifest and flow across multiple scales. In light of these inherent challenges, the article argues that TDR is always conducted on a terrain of political ecology, and concludes by making recommendations for potential collaborators, as well as for European research policy makers, with the objective of enabling participants and funders alike to realise the transformative potential of this promising mode of research.<p><strong>Keywords</strong>: Political ecology of transdisciplinary research, power, governance, Science in Society, European research agenda, agro-ecology, environmental justice, fisheries </p>

Highlights

TDR offers new opportunities for knowledge production and decision-making (Lang et al 2012), ones that democratize processes of knowledge creation via the increased engagement of wider publics in research, identifying emergent challenges and thereby producing more effective strategies and policies for governing Europe (EC 2006, 2012a). This point has not been lost on research policymakers in Europe, as calls for transdisciplinary research have proliferated in recent Framework Programmes (FPs), first under the Sixth FP (FP6), and continuing under FP7, notably via the Science in Society sub-program, and Horizon 2020, through the Science With And For Society (SWAFS) sub-program, and the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) agenda and associated initiatives
This article draws from the findings of a doctoral thesis that examined, ex-post, three transdisciplinary research projects funded under Europe's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7):
I show to what extent participating academics feel TDR collaboration had improved their capacities for engaging with civil society organizations (CSOs), whether TDR cooperation produced "actionable" knowledge or opportunities for further collaboration, and how far projects contributed to the opening of academic discourses, processes, strategies, or agendas to the participation of non-research stakeholders

Summary

Introduction

Transdisciplinarity is defined by Lang et al (2012: 27) as "a reflexive, integrative, method-driven scientific principle aiming at the solution or transition of societal problems and concurrently of related scientific problems by differentiating and integrating knowledge from various scientific and societal bodies of knowledge." Born in the 1970s, transdisciplinary thinking grew out of a realization of the inadequacy of the compartmentalized and highly specialized disciplinary structure of science in terms of understanding, analyzing and addressing complex social problems, notably with regard to environmental degradation (Hadorn et al 2008). TDR offers new opportunities for knowledge production and decision-making (Lang et al 2012), ones that democratize processes of knowledge creation via the increased engagement of wider publics in research, identifying emergent challenges and thereby producing more effective strategies and policies for governing Europe (EC 2006, 2012a) This point has not been lost on research policymakers in Europe, as calls for transdisciplinary research have proliferated in recent Framework Programmes (FPs), first under the Sixth FP (FP6), and continuing under FP7, notably via the Science in Society sub-program, and Horizon 2020, through the Science With And For Society (SWAFS) sub-program, and the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) agenda and associated initiatives.

Methodology

The projects

Solutions

Conclusion