Within the topic of transdisciplinarity for sustainable development, the ENHANCE Universities seek to reveal common aspects and to lead to an understanding of diversity of practices, university cultures and methodologies, which is essential for creating synergies among them. Beyond the definition of a shared broad understanding on transdisciplinarity and as part of the mutual learning environment, we integrated a concept of good practices to highlight specific aspects of transdisciplinary research for sustainable development in creativity and innovation. The type of research initiative, its focus regarding e.g. methods or structure building and its specific topics as well as the factor of societal impact and the levels of engagement play a crucial role in selecting good practice examples. The “ENHANCE good practices” have been identified and characterised as key initiatives by exemplifying elements of the potential for institutionalising transdisciplinary approaches for sustainable development projects. They also include identified triggers to create the right supportive environment for transdisciplinary work, as well as barriers that can hinder the development of such collaborations with society. The good practice examples illustrate how different kinds of transdisciplinary initiatives at various university levels – spanning strategy, research and education – can be successfully developed, how they are interconnected, and how they contribute to institutional transformation.
By referring to our concept as “good practice” rather than “best practice”, we attempt to be more responsive to the real situation, including these challenges, barriers and triggers for creating a favourable institutional environment to foster transdisciplinary research. Our concept also aims to engage at the level of university governance and policy within ENHANCE universities in order to facilitate long-term knowledge exchange between academia and society. Following the example of the ENHANCE Alliance, these bodies use the term “good practice” in guidelines to create environments of mutual learning. Good practices, instead of best practices, also provide approaches to possible solutions and enable continuous development. Regarding transferability, this way of conceptualising the work offers a more cautious path with greater flexibility.
According to the framing of the umbrella organisation of European alliances (SwafS Alliances)
With our concept of the “ENHANCE good practices” we follow this line of thinking. It includes formats for sharing knowledge and experiences and building capacities to support transdisciplinary research for sustainable development. It also addresses the need to generate a common ground in terms of methodologies for developing shared capacities and services supporting transdisciplinarity. Furthermore, selecting good practices leads to the extraction of possible transferable formats, tools and processes for creating a favourable academic environment for long-term cooperation between science and society and for knowledge integration. The “ENHANCE good practices” are an essential part of creating a mutual learning ecosystem and an integrative learning process for all partners in this European university alliance.
ENHANCE materials
Discussion, comparison and analysis of transdisciplinary approaches in ENHANCE partner universities by Kathrin Wieck
Catalogue of joint advisory for supporting transdisciplinary research by Sarah Fowkes and Kathrin Wieck