Sustainability and Collaboration: Crossdisciplinary and Cross-Sector Horizons

Julie Thompson Klein

doi:10.3390/su12041515

Abstract

The title of this article signals increasing collaboration across boundaries aimed at understanding and solving complex scientific and societal problems. The article is a reflective analysis of five intersecting keywords in discussions of sustainability and boundary crossing. This genre of discourse studies interprets language use, drawing in this case on a representative sample of authoritative definitions, case studies, and state-of-the-art accounts. The Introduction situates the discussion around the increasing number and size of teams as well as research across both academic disciplines and other sectors, followed by the five keywords that structure the overall argument. Section 2 examines the first of the five keywords, defining interdisciplinarity by marking its alignment with integration, confluence, interdependence, interaction, and balance. Section 3 considers the second keyword—transdisciplinarity—by tracing evolution of a problem-focused connotation, links to sustainability, inclusion of stakeholders, the imperative of critique, and transdisciplinary action research. Section 4 brings together insights on inter- and trans-disciplinarity in a composite “crossdisciplinary” alignment with collaboration, factoring in the nature of teamwork, public engagement, and translation. Section 5 then turns to learning, noting the difference between education and training then emphasizing transformative capacity, double- and triple-loop learning, reflexivity, and a transdisciplinary orientation. Section 6 takes up the final keyword—knowledge—by calling attention to inclusion, indigenous and local perspectives, nomothetic versus idiographic perspectives, the question of fit, and the nature of crossdisciplinary knowledge. The article concludes by identifying future research needs.

Highlights

Two developments frame this exploration of the relationship of sustainability and collaboration: the growing number and size of inter- and trans-disciplinary research teams and the growing focus on cross-sector research
The first development is amply documented in a 2015 state-of-the-art report from the US-based National Research Council (NRC) on Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science
The recent ascendancy of transdisciplinarity is a major development in the history of the keyword interdisciplinarity, raising the question of what that term means and its relationship to sustainability

Summary

Introduction

Two developments frame this exploration of the relationship of sustainability and collaboration: the growing number and size of inter- and trans-disciplinary research teams and the growing focus on cross-sector research. The second development is an increase in cross-sector research bridging academic disciplines and fields and occupational professions, government, industry, and communities in the North and Global South. It is documented in accounts of engaging stakeholders and end-users in the actual research process. Lack of familiarity with pertinent literature is a major reason, though institutional barriers and disincentives continue to curb efforts Beyond these limits, core terms are often used imprecisely as well. Discourse analysis is not a typical method in sustainability literature but offers valuable insights by identifying patterns of meaning It does so by combining humanistic and social scientific understanding of language use in written, oral, and other forms of communication.

Sustainability and Interdisciplinarity

Sustainability and Transdisciplinarity

Sustainability and CrossDisciplinary and Cross-Sector Collaboration

Learning

Knowledge

Conclusion—Toward The Future