Change

Moving from epistemic paternalism to transformative transdisciplinarity

By David Ludwig and Charbel N. El-Hani.

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1. David Ludwig (biography)
2. Charbel N. El-Hani (biography)

How can we overcome the epistemic paternalism that has long shaped relations between science and society? How can a transformative vision of transdisciplinarity emerge from the interplay between epistemic diversity and epistemic decolonization? 

Demands for transdisciplinary research reflect an intricate politics of knowledge that can be described through a triad of paternalism, diversity, and decolonization. Epistemic paternalism has become widely criticized in many debates about development and modernization. For example, international development projects are often deeply paternalistic by assuming that science and technology of the “developed world” should be simply exported into the “underdeveloped world,” where they are imagined as generating economic growth and societal progress.

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Navigating power: A partial pragmatic map

By Katie Moon.

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Katie Moon (biography)

In research, how can we start to appreciate unexamined assumptions about what power is, where it resides, how it works, and who holds it, especially how these assumptions influence not only the problems we recognize, but the solutions we pursue? And importantly, who decides? How can we get a better idea of how power informs how we act: what interventions we attempt, whose knowledge we value, whose interests we centre, and what consequences we anticipate?

In this i2Insights contribution I provide an intentionally simplified orienting map that disaggregates power into six dimensions that mirror the ways researchers tend to separate and locate power into distinct domains to rationalise and evaluate interventions. I match these dimensions to three onto-epistemological frames—objective, constructionist, and relational—which were described in a previous i2Insights contribution A guide to ontology, epistemology, and philosophical perspectives for interdisciplinary researchers.

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Lessons for transformative research from co-creating a conference without a fixed plan

By Thomas Bruhn.

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Thomas Bruhn (biography)

In developing a conference, what does it take for people to leave their comfort zones to co-design something new? What possibilities does this open up for more meaningful conference designs? What are the broader lessons for transformative research?

In 2023–2024, I worked with the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to develop a conference format for the German sustainability research community – something to help re-establish connection after the isolating COVID pandemic years, and to strengthen interdisciplinary exchange. The Ministry wanted something new and innovative.

Early in the conversation, I sensed hesitation when unconventional, interactive conference formats were suggested.

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Combining subjectivity and objectivity in systems thinking: The SOS sandwich

By James Stauch and Daniela Papi-Thornton.

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1. James Stauch (biography)
2. Daniela Papi-Thornton (biography)

In seeking to understand, map, and then act to intervene in a system, how can we make the best use of both subjectivity and objectivity? How can we effectively toggle between facts and norms, between what is true (or at least broadly verifiable) and what is valued (or valuable)?

In the book that this i2Insights contribution is based on (Stauch et al., 2025), the case is made for people to spend far more time understanding a problem, and proportionally less time acting to “solve” the problem. To help frame this approach, the SOS (subjective-objective-subjective) sandwich is used as a simple heuristic to show where subjectivity and objectivity can be taken into account when dealing with a system.

In this work, objectivity is considered as a vector, not a destination, with true objectivity always out of reach, as we can never be completely objective in our approach to research. That said, we can strive for it by recognizing our biases and seeking diverse viewpoints.

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Principles for place-based community participation

By James A. Turner.

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James A. Turner (biography)

How can a community’s sense of connection and responsibility to care for their place be strengthened? How can this lead to ground-up change, driven by communities, to tackle complex social, economic, and environmental issues? How can such change draw on the deep sense of care and belonging people feel for their communities and environments to tailor solutions to the unique needs and context of a place?

We identified eleven key principles associated with successful place-based community-led projects. These are the first principles to be developed in-country, rather than being imported from overseas and, because these are place-based, they are specific to Aotearoa New Zealand. We share them here to illustrate what specific place-based principles look like.

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What roles do you play in inter- and transdisciplinary projects?

By Hanna Salomon, Benjamin Hofmann and Sabine Hoffmann.

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1. Hanna Salomon (biography)
2. Benjamin Hofmann (biography)
3. Sabine Hoffmann (biography)

What roles do researchers typically play in inter- and transdisciplinary projects? How can they be made transparent in order to reflect on them?

Inter- and transdisciplinary projects typically require different roles and the researchers involved may play one or more of them. There is a plethora of literature describing various ideal-typical roles and we used the literature on researchers’ roles in sustainability science to develop a reflection tool on researcher roles in inter- and transdisciplinary projects.

A Role Reflection Tool

The reflection tool consists of a role survey for individual researchers, a spider web graph for immediate role visualization on the individual and project team level, and a set of questions for individual and project team reflections.

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An approach for operationalizing and sustaining systems improvements

By Dintle Molosiwa.

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Dintle Molosiwa (biography)

How can we develop more effective interventions that address root causes of insufficient system performance? How can systems-informed interventions achieve and sustain more impactful system improvements? What strategies ensure multisectoral collaboration in systems improvement initiatives?

This i2Insights contribution is based on experience in improving health systems in South Africa, Senegal, Zambia, Botswana and Chemonics global health supply chain portfolio, but is likely to have wider relevance for other systems and countries.

Colleagues and I (Chemonics Health Practice and SYSTAC Africa Hub, 2024) distilled existing system thinking frameworks into a four-step cycle: examine; co-create; implement and adapt; and adopt and scale.

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Dealing with imperfection in tackling complex problems

By Gabriele Bammer.

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Gabriele Bammer (biography)

Why is an appreciation of imperfection and its inevitability important for those seeking to understand and act on complex societal and environmental problems? Which traps can imperfection lead to and what are the most effective ways of dealing with it?

The inevitability of imperfection

Imperfection is inevitable both in attempting to develop a comprehensive understanding of complex societal and environmental problems and in acting on them. The multiple underpinning reasons include:

● Complex problems are systems problems, and all systems views are partial, so that the whole system cannot be taken into account. Even then, boundaries need to be set to effectively deploy available resources and these artificial boundaries further constrain understanding of the whole system.

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Transforming North-South academic collaborations through collective reflexivity

By Adriana Moreno Cely, Kewan Mertens and Viola Nilah Nyakato.

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1. Adriana Moreno Cely (biography)
2. Kewan Mertens (biography)
3. Viola Nilah Nyakato (biography)

How can we challenge entrenched colonial dynamics in North-South academic collaborations and foster meaningful transformation? How can we move away from power asymmetries where Northern partners assume roles as donors and agenda-setters, leaving Southern collaborators as recipients and implementers? How can we promote equitable knowledge production, allowing diverse voices to speak while being open to listening to them?

In grappling with these challenges in our own collaborations, we used collective reflexive dialogues to unpack our complicity in reproducing problematic power dynamics.

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From networks to systems of influence: The role of emergence in change

By Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze

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1. Margaret Wheatley (biography)
2. Deborah Frieze (biography)

How can people turn a common cause and vision of what’s possible into change? Can networks and communities of practice turn into systems of influence? How can we best prepare conditions for emergence of systems of influence?

We propose a three-stage lifecycle model of emergence and change, moving from networks to communities of practice to systems of influence.

Stage One: Networks

Networks are essential for people finding like-minded others, the first stage in the lifecycle of emergence and change. It’s important to note that networks are only the beginning. They are based on self-interest: people usually network together for their own benefit and to develop their own work.

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The role of frames and framing in communication and change

Edited by Gabriele Bammer

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What are frames and framing? What roles do they play in making change happen? What are some essential principles of framing? Can framing be used to manipulate people?

This editor’s addition draws on the 2014 updated edition of George Lakoff’s classic work “Don’t think of an elephant.” Lakoff provided these ideas in the US context of the contest between progressive and conservative ideas, and here they are adapted to be more general, including highlighting issues relevant to dealing with complex problems.

What are frames?

There is no simple definition of frames, with key elements including that they are embedded in neural circuits, that they are linked to morals or values, and that they are evoked by language. Lakoff highlights that:

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Integration and Implementation Sciences (i2S) 3.0: An updated framework to foster expertise for tackling complex problems

By Gabriele Bammer

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Gabriele Bammer (biography)

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.

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