Engaging in transformative spaces: a design perspective

Abstract

Transdisciplinary approaches are increasingly acknowledged as vital to addressing sustainability challenges for their ability to co-produce knowledge and generate transformative approaches. To overcome the fundamental differences in the shared generation and interpretation of knowledge between academia and actors outside the academic system, researchers and practitioners need to carefully consider the mutual design of ‘transformative spaces’. These spaces are collaborative environments that allow for transformative experimentation and ‘enable dialogue, reflection in action and reflexive learning’ towards transformative change. In this chapter, we unpack the notion of ‘transformative space’ by setting out key principles for its design and impact orientation. We focus on the three principles of (i) acknowledging context sensitivity, (ii) creating a safe space, and (iii) enabling transformative impact. We illustrate the principles in action based on a transdisciplinary case example conducted in different Global South contexts: The T-GroUP project. The case makes also clear how the design of transformative spaces calls for more awareness towards decolonised perspectives in transdisciplinary research.