Transdisciplinary Training Collaboratory: Building Common Ground

应对当今的环境和可持续发展挑战需要以解决方案为导向的可操作科学，也称为参与式科学。这种方法是由两个从传统的科学方法的转变定义的。首先，它需要协作，以团队为基础的科学专注于解决现实世界的问题。其次，这些团队由广泛的社会合作伙伴组成，与学科专家密切合作。虽然通过地方到区域范围的研究和案例研究分析，人们对参与性科学的指导原则有了更好的理解，但可持续性科学家缺乏一种共同的语言，以及一套可用于许多不同地区和情况的共同做法和方法。该项目旨在利用来自世界各地的可持续发展科学研究人员和领导力培训师的集体智慧，从而形成可在世界各地使用和调整的最佳实践和培训产品。这种以解决方案为导向、可操作的科学培训将用于学术和非正式学习机会，提高研究人员与政府机构、非营利组织和私营部门有效合作的潜力，以应对紧迫的可持续性挑战。该项目将使培训和研究社区能够合作，分享知识，比较最佳实践，评估方法并开发和测试有效参与科学的培训材料。该项目将对使面向解决方案的可行研究或跨学科研究取得成功的核心要素建立更一致的理解，并为该领域的培训提供一个共同框架。研究人员计划组建一个由开拓性研究人员和培训人员组成的团队，这些人在他们的地区被公认为思想领袖。该方法将反映跨学科研究的过程，即共同设计，共同制作和共同实施，以创建可用的培训产品。这些产品将在区域和全球讲习班上由经验丰富的培训小组在各种情况下进行测试。在测试之后，组织者将为跨学科培训员编写一份设计指南，并附上相关资源，在研究人员和培训员工作的整个区域以及通过全球可持续性会议和网络广泛传播。这项工作将最终导致跨学科研究的共同语言，并将建立新的知识和培训产品，重点是什么作品在跨学科研究。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

Addressing today's environmental and sustainability challenges calls for solutions-oriented, actionable science, also known as engaged science. This approach is defined by two shifts from conventional ways of doing science. First, it requires collaborative, team-based science focused on problem solving of real-world problems. Second, the teams are comprised of a wide range of societal partners working closely with disciplinary experts. Although an improved understanding of guiding principles for engaged science are emerging through research and case study analysis at local to regional scales, sustainability scientists lack a common language and a common set of practices and approaches that can be used in many different regions and situations. This project aims to harness the collective wisdom of sustainability science researchers and leadership trainers from around the world, leading to aligned best practices and training products that can be used and adapted in regions around the world. This solutions-oriented, actionable science training will be used in academic and informal learning opportunities, improving the potential for researchers to partner effectively with government agencies, non-profit organizations, and the private sector to tackle pressing sustainability challenges.This project will enable a collaboration of training and research communities that will share knowledge, compare best practices, evaluate approaches and develop and test training materials for effective engaged science. The project will build a more coherent understanding of the central elements that allow solutions-oriented actionable research or transdisciplinary research to succeed, and provide a common framework for training in the field. The investigators plan to assemble a team of pioneering researchers and trainers who have been recognized in their region as thought leaders. The approach will be to mirror the process of transdisciplinary research—that of co-design, co-produce, and co-implement in order to create usable training products. These products will be tested in regional and global workshops in a variety of contexts by the experienced training team. After testing, the organizers will create a design guide accompanied by resources for transdisciplinary trainers and disseminate them widely throughout the regions where the researchers and trainers work as well as through global sustainability conferences and networks. This work will ultimately result in a common language for transdisciplinary research and will build new knowledge and training products focused on what works in transdisciplinary research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.