On the road to research municipalities : Analysing transdisciplinarity in municipal ecosystem services and adaptation planning

Abstract

Transdisciplinary research and collaboration iswidely acknowledged as a critical success factor for solution-oriented approaches that can tackle complex sustainabilitychallenges, such as biodiversity loss, pollution, andclimate-related hazards. In this context, city governments'engagement in transdisciplinarity is generally seen as a keycondition for societal transformation towards sustainability.However, empirical evidence is rare. This paper presentsa self-assessment of a joint research project onecosystem services and climate adaptation planning(ECOSIMP) undertaken by four universities and sevenSwedish municipalities. We apply a set of design principlesand guiding questions for transdisciplinary sustainabilityprojects and, on this basis, identify key aspects for supporting university–municipality collaboration. Weshow that: (1) selecting the number and type of projectstakeholders requires more explicit consideration of thepurpose of societal actors' participation; (2) concrete,interim benefits for participating practitioners and organisationsneed to be continuously discussed; (3) promotingthe 'inter', i.e., interdisciplinary and inter-city learning, cansupport transdisciplinarity and, ultimately, urban sustainabilityand long-term change. In this context, we found thatdesign principles for transdisciplinarity have the potentialto (4) mitigate project shortcomings, even when transdisciplinarityis not an explicit aim, and (5) address differencesand allow new voices to be heard. We proposeadditional guiding questions to address shortcomings andinspire reflexivity in transdisciplinary projects.