Knowledge Co-Production and Integrative Design
Aim of this session
There are two aims for this session. The first aim is to explore how multiple forms of knowledge (e.g. scientific, local, practical, political…) must be meaningfully combined in transdisciplinary research in order to address real world problems through generating ‘actionable knowledge.’ It proposes ‘knowledge co-production’ as a means to synthesize knowledge that may be undertaken through different approaches and degrees of interaction (participation; integration; learning; negotiation), and emphasizes that knowledge co-production processes must be sensitive to power-relations between involved actors.
The second aim is to present – and critically discuss – an approach to ‘integration’ for transdisciplinary research. The emphasis of this approach is how real-world practical problems may be approached through the combination of the practical knowledge of actors facing the problem with scientific research. This requires the interaction of multiple epistemologies, conceptual frameworks, and the social and natural sciences. The intention here is also to enable a critical discussion on the opportunities and challenges of such an approach when undertaken in the context of the participants’ countries.
Links to transdisciplinary research and teaching
This session is relatively applied and asks what strategies researchers can take to formulate transdisciplinary research projects, as well as the benefits and challenges of doing so. It adopts a heuristic approach to thinking about different types of knowledge, and aims towards transdisciplinary research that generates ‘actionable knowledge’.
In terms of teaching, it encourages the participants to think reflexively on their own experience, and in particular how their experience in conducting research has been successful or not in influencing ‘real world’ policy and practice and why. There are questions to ask the participants throughout the presentation (see the notes under the slides) to encourage participant reflection.
The session also offers a role play as a means to experientially explore the challenge of designing a transdisciplinary research project. It will enable the participants to practice within the classroom the initial stages of creating a transdisciplinary project, with a focus on generating a shared understanding of the research problem across the multiple actors involved and aiming towards agreeing upon a research question that satisfies the range of actors invited to participate.
Summary of main points
Multiple forms of knowledge are required to address real world problems through transdisciplinary research
There are numerous approaches towards ‘knowledge co-production’ that entail differing degrees of interaction between actors. In evaluating the potential for undertaking these approaches, power asymmetries between actors and each actor’s legitimacy must be carefully accounted for.
Integrative methods emphasizes the combination of a real-world and scientific focused approaches to solve a practical problem through transdisciplinary research.
Use of reading material
The overall framing of the panel draws principally onvan Kerkhoff and Lebel (2006) and Bergmann et al (2012). The trainer should be thoroughly familar with these materials, and they can also be provided as background readings to the participants. Other materials mentioned throughout (Lebel et al, 2005; Middleton et al, 2017; Scurrah, 2013; Schuttenberg and Guth, 2015; van Kerkhoff and Lebel, 2015) form the basis of individual slides, including on case studies. The trainer should review these materials, but it is not necessary for the participants to do so unless they are particularly interested in the case studies.
Additional comments to the presentation
Overall, the session encourages discussion with the participants, and the trainer should be prepared to facilitate this discussion as well as contribute their own experience.
The overall assumption is that the participants are principally researchers coming from academic institutions. The focus of the materials is on building the capacity of researchers to engage in transdisciplinary research. The materials would require adapting to be presented to practitioners if the intention is to build their capacity to engage in transdisciplinary research.
Regarding the role play:
The trainer should take on the role of a ‘facilitator’ who works for an organization whose mandate is to promote transdisciplinary research, and is funded by a Foundation that also holds this goal. In this sense, the facilitator is not directly involved in the problem at hand (i.e. is neutral in regard to the specifics of the problem), but does have an interest in furthering the application of transdisciplinary research (hence explaining why they are taking on the role of facilitator).
The specifics of the role play may need to be adapted according to the particular experience and political and cultural context of the participants. For example, in less politically open societies, the role of ‘activist civil society’ groups or may be constrained community leaders may be constrained.
Before beginning the role play, the trainer should explain how a role play works. i.e. each participant takes on the role of an actor and represents their interest and strategy to the best of their ability. It is a way of simulating a problem within the classroom, and learning from it. It is not to imply that the participant holds the beliefs of the role in real life. Participants should play their role realistically.
The role play need not reach a shared understanding of the problem and identify a shared research question if sufficient common ground cannot be found. This is also an important lesson highlighting the need for mutual trust and understanding amongst the participants.
It is suggested that the role play be introduced one day earlier from conducting the role play to allow for each participant to research their allocated role and prepare their position. There are two PPT files: the first is to introduce the problem and roles; the second recaps the problem and then structures the role play itself.
A role play analysis tool is also provided that can be provided to the participants to help them keep track of each actors positions, and to identify shared/ divergent interests and viewpoints amongst them
Concluding remarks
There are many resources nowadays available on conducting transdisciplinary research. As a first step, the participants could read the full book of Bergmann et al (2012).
Reflections
Overall, participants found this session useful because it encourages them to think about how they might design and undertake transdisciplinary research in their own work. However, it is often discussed in the groups about the importance of accounting for local social and political context regarding how transdisciplinary research might be undertaken. Therefore, on the part of the trainer, it would be useful to prepare by identifying specific case studies to which the participants can relate to from their country.
The role play has the potential to help participants understand the potential opportunities and obstacles to developing a transdisciplinary research project. Here, it is found that clearly explaining the principles of undertaking a role play (as noted above), and thoroughly preparing participants in their roles beforehand, increases the likelihood of a useful learning experience. It is also important to consolidate the lessons from the roleplay, by stepping outside of the roles at the end of the exercise to discuss the insights gained.