Thanks to those who were able to join the Transdisciplinary Approaches Series webinar, Reviewing and Evaluating Transdisciplinary and Engaged Research Projects: Perspectives from Funding Programs. For those who weren’t – we’ll share the recording link as soon as it’s posted.

Next Transdisciplinary Webinar:

Webinar Title: Transdisciplinary approaches for sustainable landscapes: International perspectives

Registration: You can register here

Date: March 25, 2025

Time: 7am to 8:30am Pacific Daylight time (etc.), 3pm – 4:30pm CET and 4pm – 5:30pm SAST

Description:

This panel will explore challenges and opportunities for transdisciplinary engagement to achieve sustainability on diverse landscapes that incorporate agricultural productivity and other ecosystem services. Panelists will provide opening statements focused on their recommended best practices and lessons learned with examples. Follow-up questions will invite panelists to discuss what is involved in identifying stakeholders and specialists to address problems collaboratively, achieving common understanding and problem definitions, co-creating solutions that incorporate scientific and local knowledge, and executing projects collaboratively and sustainably.

Speakers:

Marianne Penker, PhD  marianne.penker@boku.ac.at

• Professor of Rural Sociology and Rural Development at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna, Austria. Her research focuses on sustainability science, emphasizing inter- and transdisciplinary approaches to foster transformative solutions in rural areas across Europe and beyond

Sabine Hoffmann, PhD sabine.hoffmann@eawag.ch

• Leads the Inter- and Transdisciplinary Research Group at Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology. She specializes in integrating diverse perspectives across scientific disciplines and sectors to address complex environmental challenges

Dr. Jakob Zinsstag-Klopfenstein jakob.zinsstag@swisstph.ch

• Veterinarian and epidemiologist specializing in the intersection of human and animal health. He leads the Human and Animal Health Unit at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) in Basel, Switzerland

John van Breda, PhD jrvb@sun.ac.za

• Research associate at Stellenbosch University's Centre for Sustainability Transitions (CST) in South Africa. He has developed the concept of "methodological agility," advocating for flexible research strategies that integrate mono-, multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary approaches to effectively tackle sustainability transitions.

Links to Resources

One of the requests during the webinar was for panelists to share resources. Here are the links that the panelists shared – we hope you find them useful!

• Link to webpage of peer-reviewed publications about the Lenfest Ocean Program: https://www.lenfestocean.org/en/about-us/resources
• Link to paper describing the guidance criteria applied to a project proposal:  https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.809953/full
• Link to Guidance Criteria, directly: https://www.lenfestocean.org/en/about-us/research-focus
• Link to the Fire Science Exchange Network website: www.firescience.gov
• Link to the latest Fire Science Exchange Network annual report: https://www.firescience.gov/ords/prd/jf_jfsp/jf_jfsp/r/134/files/static/v167/FSEN-2023-Final-508.pdf
• Links to papers that highlight some formal evaluation of our program elements:
• • https://www.publish.csiro.au/wf/wf15202
  • https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/sir20225052
  • https://academic.oup.com/jof/article/116/4/328/5001408
• Link to a paper by Alison Meadow on planning and evaluating the societal impacts of climate change research projects: http://doi.org/10.2458/10150.658313
• Link to the NERRS Science Collaborative guide to collaborative science: https://nerrssciencecollaborative.org/guide
• Tips to applicants: https://nerrssciencecollaborative.org/tips-collaborative-research-proposals
• Navigating convos with potential partners: https://nerrssciencecollaborative.org/sites/default/files/resources/Navigating%20Conversations%20with%20Prospective%20Grant%20Partners.pdf