Workshop Report: Transdisciplinarity 101: Short-Term Training in Knowledge CoProduction to Face Global Environmental Change

Published in Journal of Science Policy & Governance Volume 22, Issue 02
Authors

Laila Sandroni (1), Fany Ramos Quispe (2), Lily House-Peters (3), Gabriela Alonso-Yanez (4), Maria Ines Carabajal (1,5), Marshalee Valentine (6), Sarah Schweizer (7), Mzime Murisa (8), Natasha Roy (9), Anne de Vernal (9), Nicole Arbour (2), Anna Stewart-Ibarra (1)
Publication year 2023
DOI https://doi.org/10.38126/JSPG220207
Affiliations
  1. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, Montevideo, Uruguay 
  2. Belmont Forum, Montevideo, Uruguay
  3. California State University, Long Beach, Department of Geography, California, USA 
  4. University of Calgary, Calgary, Canadá
  5. Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  6. Jamaican Women in Coffee, JAWIC, Kingston, Jamaica
  7. START International, Boulder, Colorado, USA
  8. START International, Harare, Zimbabwe
  9. Centre de recherche sur la dynamique du système Terre (Geotop), Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
IAI Program

Sustainability, Research, and Innovation Congress (SRI) in 2022
IAI Project Sustainability, Research, and Innovation Congress
Keywords
transdisciplinary
collective learning
training
collaborative science
participation
diversity and inclusion
knowledge co-production
PDFTransdisciplinarity 101 ShortTerm Training in Knowledge CoProduction to Face Global Environmental Change.pdf

Abstract

The Belmont Forum and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) organized an online training workshop on transdisciplinary (TD) approaches at the Sustainability, Research, and Innovation Congress (SRI) in 2022. The IAI is an intergovernmental organization that brings together 19 countries from the Americas to support adaptation to the world&rsquos changing environment. The Belmont Forum is a consortium of major funders and international science councils to promote knowledge about sustainability science. The workshop aimed to create a safe environment for participants to share their impressions of and experiences about transdisciplinary research, using the Americas (IAI mandate) as a launching point for TD approaches globally.  The workshop consisted of two online sessions: Transdisciplinary Approach 101 and Transdisciplinary Case Studies. The objectives of the current workshop report are: 1) to identify the key takeaways regarding common challenges and opportunities for transdisciplinary practice among workshop participants&rsquo experiences, upon which to base recommendations for best practices, e.g., managing power imbalances, conflicting priorities and timeframes, enhancing communication and consolidating contextual awareness.  2) to offer insights to build better strategies for &ldquotrain the trainers'' processes around transdisciplinarity, especially in congresses and short-term events, including using an experience-based approach, offering specific tools and increasing the participation of non-academic partners. This report encourages the implementation of other training processes by experienced transdisciplinary researchers, practitioners, and  funders, in order to build capacities for collaborative approaches in diverse scientific communities.