Integrative research and transdisciplinary knowledge production : a review of barriers and bridges

摘要

Contemporary policies about use of natural resources clearly pronounce sustainabledevelopment towards the goal sustainability as a focal objective. A key challenge forresearch is to support improvements and management by evaluation of sustainability policyimplementation, i.e. outcomes on the ground and the social process in actual landscapes.However, while a landscape consists of integrated social and ecological subsystems andshould thus be treated as a holistic unit or system, most research and postgraduate trainingis disciplinary. This means that very few researchers are equipped to solve problems orcontribute to solutions in the non-academic world. There is thus a need for universities tolearn integrative (interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary) research and knowledgeproduction that meets complex challenges related to sustainable development andsustainability issues as for example management and governance of natural resources. Inthis paper I review the background, concepts and the barriers and bridges to integrativeresearch and knowledge production. As a base for evaluation and development ofintegrative research projects I propose a normative model for integrative knowledgeproduction processes. This was done through a literature review and a study of anintegrative research project. I discuss how transdisciplinary research about landscapes andto solve complex sustainability issues can be designed, viz. (1) there is a need for acommon understanding of different types of integrative research, (2) an outspoken aim todevelop socially robust knowledge, (3) a model for transdisciplinary collaborative learningprocesses, and (4) a funding scheme that include academic and non-academic participantsand matches the long process of partnership building during the full knowledge productionprocess, from problem identification/definition to an improvement or a managementsolution.