Moderator note: We are aware that the ‘Select date range’ field in the search box below is not currently working. We are seeking a solution and once obtained, will remove this warning box. All other fields in the advanced search box below are working correctly. Last updated 6 November 2025.
Results from your search will be shown on this page below the search form – you may need to scroll down to the results if the page does not automatically take you there after you submit your search.
Instructions:
- All blog posts are searched (pages from the menu are not searched)
- Search outputs are weighted by relevance.
- If searching with two or more words, the system uses an AND operator.
- Selecting a tag, author tag and/or category binds the search to only those posts which have those taxonomy term/s.
- A search output can be obtained by filling out any one field (ie., the search box; or, categories; or, tags; or, authors; or, date). If all fields are left blank, then the search returns the blog scroll.
- Exact word combinations can be searched for by using quotation marks (eg., “transdisciplinary learning”).
- Keyword matching is on partial words.
- The reset button (beneath the ‘Submit search’ button) will clear all entries in the search form, as will clicking on the ‘Advanced search…’ link in the top of the right sidebar.
- For more information on how advanced search works, see the ‘in-detail’ instructions below.
The search function checks all blog posts but not pages (ie., it does not check the ‘About’, ‘Index’ and other pages listed in the main menu).
For posts, search checks within titles, body text, category and tag text, and comments.
Searches are weighted by relevance, with affects the order in which posts appear, with titles and content getting the most weighting, tags and categories lesser weighting, and comments the least weighting.
Increasing the number of search terms and selections generally focuses the search output (ie., decreases the number of outputs).
Keyword matching is based on partial word/s, ie., the search will find any word containing the term you are searching on, provided the word begins or ends with the search term (eg., searching for ‘ion’ will not only find the word ‘ion’ but will also find ‘caution’ or ‘ionized’, but not “cautionary’).
If you enter two or more words into the search box, the relationship between the words is based on an AND operator (meaning the more words you add, the tighter (less content is returned in) the search output).
- For example, entering transdisciplinary learning into the search box would provide an output that lists all posts with both the word transdisciplinary and the word learning anywhere in the text, Posts with only transdisciplinary in the text or posts with only learning in the text would not be included in the output.
To find a specific word combination (eg., critical systems), wrap in quotation marks (ie., “critical systems“).
When you open a post that was found by your search, you can find where your specific word or word combination appears by using your computer’s search function (eg., on a computer running Microsoft Windows, Control ‘F’ will allow you to search the post (as well as anything else in the active screen)).
Restrict searches to particular tags, categories and/or author tags by using the dropdown selectors.
- Eg., if you choose the tag Advocacy, the search will only be conducted within posts that have that tag assigned to them.
- If you added the category Cases to that search, then only posts that had both the tag Advocacy and the category Cases assigned to them would be searched.
An alternative to selecting categories, tags or authors from their respective long drop-down list is to type the term or author name you are looking for in the relevant selector field. Typing one letter will jump to the lead word in the alphabetical listing (ie, typing ‘s’ takes you to the first tag or category in the list of those starting with ‘s’). Further addition of letters will home in on a tag, category or author until it is found or until the choice of letters exhausts the possible set of tags, categories or authors (in which case that tag, category or author is not in our list). NOTE: all authors are also available in reverse name order under ‘Authors‘ in the menu bar.
In the category, tag and author dropdown list, the number in brackets after each entry indicates the number of posts with that category, tag or author assigned to them.
Tags or authors with a zero in brackets “(0)”, placed after the tag or author text, are not currently linked to any blog posts. In the case of tags, most of these tags identify alternative tags, which, if searched, will yield a result. For example, “Assumptions – see ‘Mental models’ tag (0)” signifies that blog posts about ‘assumptions’ are tagged with ‘mental models’ and not ‘assumptions.’ Occasionally there will be a tag (or author tag) with “(0)” which refers to a new tag (or author tag) on a blog post which has not yet been made public. This tag (or author tag) will be searchable once the blog post is public (usually within a week).
For the category selector, choosing one of the two parent categories (main topics or resource types) searches all blog posts, as all blog posts are assigned a main topic and a resource type.
Eight tips for collaborations between researchers and visual artists
By Erin Walsh and Alice Wetherell
2. Alice Wetherell (biography)
Visual abstracts, media releases, infographics, posters, and publications….
More and more often, to enhance their outreach, engagement and impact, researchers need to present their work in a visual way. For some, this can feel like being asked to present their work in a different language. Not everyone has the time or the skills to translate their research into visual form. Working with visual artists can help, but sometimes the barrier between metaphorical text and visual language can make effective collaboration difficult.
What are some easy steps for both researchers and visual artists to make this collaborative process work smoothly?
We are, respectively, a scientific illustrator and multimedia artist. Between us, we have over twenty years of experience helping researchers illustrate their work.
Here are eight tips that we’ve found can make collaboration between researchers and visual artists more efficient, productive, and enjoyable. Seven of the eight tips apply to researchers; five of the eight to visual artists.
Integration and Implementation Sciences (i2S) 3.0: An updated framework to foster expertise for tackling complex problems
By Gabriele Bammer
How can researchers interested in tackling complex societal and environmental problems easily find and draw on what they need from inter- and transdisciplinary approaches, systems thinking, action research, post-normal science and a range of other ways of combining disciplinary and stakeholder perspectives in order to bring about improvements? How can the necessary expertise be fostered and supported in a systematic way?
These are the questions that I have been addressing for more than 20 years in considering whether a new discipline – Integration and Implementation Sciences or i2S – could provide a way forward. i2S 3.0 is the third conceptualization of this discipline and the current version is summarised in the figure below.
At this stage in its development, i2S is focused on providing a framework and conduit for sharing concepts, methods, processes and other tools that are currently fragmented across inter- and transdisciplinarity, systems thinking, action research, post-normal science and other approaches.
Improving how we do research with indigenous and local communities
By Roxana Roos
How can we best include the perspectives of indigenous and local people in global change research? What are the major challenges in doing research with and within local and indigenous communities? How can we best deal with such challenges?
More and more, global challenges like climate change are being felt locally, and indigenous peoples are often the most vulnerable. The inclusion of the perspectives of indigenous and local people when developing ways to respond to societal challenges is increasingly the norm in the scientific world. For response strategies to be effective, communities need to be involved in their development. This is true for a whole range of topics, from social justice to climate adaptation. But getting local communities involved in research by ‘outsiders’ can be a challenge for a multitude of reasons.
I propose eight important barriers to the participation of local and indigenous communities, along with potential solutions, based on the experiences of practicing researchers who have worked with such communities in the Philippines, Mexico, Russia (Siberia), Greenland, Norway (Svalbard), Canada, Germany, Greece, Colombia, Vietnam, Mongolia, Bangladesh, France, and New Zealand.
Change planning: Dreamer, realist, critic
Edited by Gabriele Bammer
How can change be planned for in an effective way that creatively develops new ideas, plans the practicalities of their implementation and assesses risks?
The process described here is also referred to as Walt Disney circle, Disney creative strategy, and Disney brainstorming method, and is adapted from Nauheimer (1997).
Planning change involves four phases. The first three phases, in turn, are to 1) create new ideas, 2) plan the practicalities of their implementation and 3) assess the risks. Phase 4 is an iterative phase that reviews further input needed in each of the first three phases.
The process is conceived as involving three roles: dreamer, realist and critic. The idea of separating the process into these three roles is to ensure that each is fully considered without interference from the others. For instance the aim is to allow the creative ideas to be fully developed, without being stymied by criticism. One person or a group could take all three roles in turn or different people could take different roles. What is important is that all three roles are fully brought into play.
Five questions for considering political context
Edited by Gabriele Bammer
How can researchers rapidly assess the political and institutional environment in which they are trying to exert influence? Why does understanding context matter?
Developing a rich, detailed understanding of the political environment in which a problem needs to be addressed can be a never-ending research project, not only because of the depth of scholarship that can be brought to bear, but also because political environments are often unstable and rapidly-changing. Few research projects have the luxury of large budgets and long time horizons in which to fully comprehend the environments that they seek to influence. Instead, practical rapid assessment tools can be valuable and improve the effectiveness of research input and actions.
One such tool for rapidly assessing political context was published in 2014 as part of the Rapid Outcome Mapping Approach: A Guide to Policy Engagement and Influence by John Young and colleagues and a modified version is reproduced here.
Not just in our heads: Embodied and creative practices for creating connection
By Corinne Lamain and Jillian Student
2. Jillian Student (biography)
How can embodied and creative practices, such as dance and poetry, be used to bridge different forms of knowledge?
Transdisciplinarity requires crossing many boundaries, including knowledge fields, perspectives, languages, personalities, and geographic areas. This is often somewhat uncomfortable. Arts-based and embodied approaches can support creative thinking, perspective-taking and communication. For some, these art-based methods feel more natural than for others, but we suggest that the willingness to leave our comfort zone (‘embracing the discomfort’) opens up space for shared vulnerability that is much needed for integrating perspectives. Moreover, doing these practices under time pressure helps remove the tendency to self-criticise and strive for perfection in artistic expression. To be fair, creative practices are not everyone’s style. It is important to note that the effort is not about co-creating beautiful artwork, but rather to facilitate alternative means of expression.