Thread by @FlurinaSch

Check out our latest publication on
how context affects #transdisciplinary research (TDR) with insights from #Asia, #Africa and #LatinAmerica
🧵 1-6
rdcu.be/cUdWE
@r4d_programme @R4Telecoupling @CDEunibe @isoewikom @tdnetCH

1: TDR theories, principles and methods have been largely governed by researchers from the global North. To enable more context-sensitive TDR framing, we investigated contextual conditions impacting TDR in 6 case studies in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

2: Our results revealed several challenges that should be considered when conducting TDR in these contexts—though many may also be relevant in global North contexts:

3: Common challenges related to unstable social, political, and environmental conditions, as well as science systems themselves.

We conclude that TDR must (a-d):

4:
a) become more adaptive, flexible, and resilient in its design;
b) acknowledge local ways of communicating, researching, and learning in its methods;

5:
c) be embedded in long-term partnerships that facilitate trust building and familiarization with local cultures and socio-political dynamics;
(d) involve explicit theories of change that reflect local
conditions.

6: However, avoiding the reproduction of power relations while considering different research cultures is a tightrope act. When core principles of TDR, like open deliberation, are at risk, researchers need to reflect their own roles and epistemological values.

@Clara_L_Diebold @labypat @Jorge_Geopis @lara_lundsgaard @PeterMesserli @julie_gwen @JacobiJohanna @RavakaAndriami @NtsivaA @alelu_frankfurt @tdAcademy_org @itd_alliance