Global trends in sustainability science - From academic ... · Adomßent / Sustainability science –from academic advances to public policy 14.09.2016 2 Global initiatives and structures

Global trends in sustainability science - From

academic advances to application in public policy

COPERNICUS Alliance Conference 2016: Sustainability Transformation of Science Systems,

September 14th-15th 2016, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna

Maik Adomßent

Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany

14.09.2016 1Adomßent / Sustainability science – from academic advances to public policy

http://en.unesco.org/sdgs


Global initiatives and structures

The High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development is United Nations central

platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and

the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted at the United Nations Sustainable

Development Summit on 25 September 2015.

The Forum, which adopts a Ministerial Declaration, is expected to provide political

leadership, guidance and recommendations on the 2030 Agenda’s implementation and

follow-up; keep track of progress of the SDGs; spur coherent policies informed by

evidence, science and country experiences; as well as address new and emerging issues.

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How to identify intervention

points and develop strategies

to enable fundamental

transformation processes in

socio-environmental / socio-

technical systems?

Key issues in Sustainability Science

What are the underlying

epistemological assumptions that

sustainability research is based

on?

How can central competencies for

shaping a sustainable society be

communicated and imparted

effectively?

How can mutual learning

processes between science

and other social groups of

actors be realized to foster

sustainable development?

How can analytical-descriptive

knowledge about global

interrelations and context-

specific, solution-oriented

research to be made mutually

utilisable?

Lang (2016)


Scientific Sustainability Science Community Higher Education for Sustainable Development

(Science) Policy Transfer Addressees

qualifies young scientists

generation of

new knowledge

societal

relevance

innovation

qualifies

multiplicators

(HE) teachers,

T-o-T)

capacity

buildingAgenda setting and

transdisciplinary exchange

provides relevant insights for education

evaluation

scientific

counselling

Figure modified according to Mevissen & Simon (2013)


Current projects addressing some ‚hot topics‘ at Faculty of Sustainability, Lüneburg

� Complexity or control? Paradigms for sustainable Development.

What are the fundamental conceptual, theoretical, methodological, epistemological and

social/cultural dimensions for a science of sustainable development, one that takes all the

complexities of the problem into account?

� Leverage Points for Sustainability Transformation.

Understanding how changes in interconnected social-ecological systems facilitate the

transformation to sustainability represents one of the key challenges of sustainability science.

Drawing on insights from systems thinking and solution-oriented transdisciplinary research, this

project will focus on hitherto under-recognized leverage points—system properties where a

small shift can lead to fundamental changes in the system as a whole.

� Challenges of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary knowledge production: Institutions,

Cultures and Communities (ICC).

Research objectives: epistemic objectives aiming at a deeper understanding institutions, (epis-

temic) cultures, communities related to interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary knowledge pro-

duction, and transformative objectives that aim at contributing to transform cultures of know-

ledge production and support institutional changes.


Initiative 2042: A transformative longitudinal study

Transformation processes can only be understood by looking at them in a long term per-

spective. Therefore the initiative 2042 wants to analyze progress of sustainability trans-

formation at local, national, and international levels over a period of 50 years (1992-2042).

Furthermore the initiative 2042 wants to contribute to societal transformation proces-

ses through focused transformative research projects. Therefore a network with cooperati-

on partners from the academic and non-academic fields is being established.

transformation via a “Transformation Radar"

Aims of the 2042 initiative

Deepen the understanding of sustainability transformations

Develop, test, and implement a longitudinal study that documents and communicates

Contribute to societal, technological, and other transformation processes through focused

transformative research projects and case studies.

Network building with national and international actors from academic and non-academic

fields which like to shape/collaborate within the initiative or like to use the initiative as

creative collaboration space.

http://www.leuphana.de/en/research/leuphanas-knowledge-

initiatives/sustainability-research/initiative-2042.html


Characteristics of a Community-of-Interest in contrast with those of a

Community-of-Practice (after Fischer & Ostwald, 2005)

Community-of-Interest

Common task across

multiple domains

From different domains

(stakeholders)

Exchange of knowledge

between domains; integration

of multiple knowledge

systems

Reaching shared

understanding

Resolving a complex

problem

No real communication

Creative and robust solutions

by making all voices heard

Characteristic Community-of-Practice

Nature of

problems

Different tasks in the same

domain

Members From the same domain

(novices and experts)

Knowledge

development

Exchange of knowledge

within the practice;

refinement of domain-specific

knowledge system

Learning Growing from novice to

expert

Major

objective

Growth in domain-specific

knowledge

Threat group think

Opportunity Fast progress due to shared

background


Scientific Sustainability Science Community Higher Education for Sustainable Development

(Science) Policy Transfer Addressees

qualifies young scientists

generation of

new knowledge

societal

relevance

innovation

qualifies

multiplicators

(HE) teachers,

T-o-T)

capacity

buildingAgenda setting and

transdisciplinary exchange

provides relevant insights for education

evaluation

scientific

counselling

Figure modified according to Mevissen & Simon (2013)


https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?page=view&nr=1101&type=230&menu=2059


few EU transnational projects explicitly aim at fostering sustainability science

VISION RD4SD project (VISION Research and Development for Sustainable

Development), supported by the European Commission 7th Framework Program



Available online:

http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/publikationen/policy-

relevant-sustainability-research


Broadening the Application of the Sustainability Science Approach

Overall purpose of the project

� foster dialogues and disseminate concrete policy messages that will assist Member

States to introduce the approach of sustainability science when responding to global

challenges in which science and other relevant knowledge has a critical role to play.

The operational objectives of the project are:

To formulate a series of policy messages, regional and global, in the form of conceptual

and methodological guidance on sustainability science, for consideration by Member

States;

To identify the main elements of a possible UNESCO initiative on sustainability

science (work plan, expected outputs and outcomes, timeline for implementing the

activities, related budget, and strategic partnerships), as a common output from the three

symposia, to be presented to the General Conference of UNESCO in the fall of 2017; and

To establish a steering committee to act in an advisory role in the selection of target

audiences for the symposia, provide scientific quality advice to UNESCO in the execution

of the project, and in the dissemination of findings and results of the three symposia

2-year joint project of UNESCO and Japan/MEXT (Ministry

of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

Adomßent/Aricò (2016)


Three symposia will showcase inputs and know-how of several stakeholders

including policymakers, academia and scientists

Symposium 1 “Inception Symposium”

explored ways to bridge academic work on sustainability science with the growing interest

for this approach on behalf of the policy-making community

also considered a pioneer platform through the demonstration of scientific perspectives

and successful case studies on sustainability science

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Three symposia @ (continued)

Symposium 2: Thematic/Regional Symposium 19-21 December 2016 at Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia.

Start assessing the tailored applicability of the sustainability science approach,

thematically and at the regional level, by organizing one regional symposium involving all

of UNESCO’s five regions

Symposium 3: Global policy symposium at UNESCO Headquarters in 2017

Pave the ground to attaining consensus on global policy messages from UNESCO

Member States by organizing a global policy symposium to design a UNESCO initiative on

sustainability science

Framework for action, consisting of

� policy guidelines resulting from the previous two symposia, as well as next steps related to

the

� establishment of an initiative on sustainability science in UNESCO


The Inception Symposium ended with some key questions:

What kind of knowledge is needed to inform the 2030 Development Agenda?

How can natural and social sciences engage in a dialogue with each other as well as

with other relevant knowledge such as indigenous and local knowledge in producing

the required knowledge basis?

Can co-design of research questions based on the involvement of multiple

stakeholders be scaled-up from local realities to address national and international

challenges?

How can the education sector adapt to promote inter- and transdisciplinarity?

What are the new institutional settings that may be required for mainstreaming

knowledge on sustainability issues?

Adomßent/Aricò (2016)


Broadening the Sustainability science approach: Challenges and required steps

With the success of sustainability science, the focus is now shifting from academic questions

of definitions and methods

to the challenge of how it can be applied to transforming society,

and how a scientific approach can solve real problems in society.

Key issues to be addressed:

� Moving beyond the interdisciplinary to a transdisciplinary approach. How to better link

processes of research planning, monitoring and assessment, and decision support, to build

systems for adaptive management and societal learning.

� Education and capacity building. Applying sustainability science requires special social

competencies, particularly the ability to build and coordinate multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Effective educational programs are needed to develop in students the skills necessary for

engaging with these varied stakeholders and acting in a coordinated manner.

� Networking and North-South collaboration. The innovative approach of sustainability

science requires networks and partnerships. North–South collaboration is of particular

importance, and for these capacity development and funding initiatives is essential to build

research capacity. Local and regional networks must be linked with global networks, such as

the Future Earth Initiative.Adomßent/Aricò (2016)


PD Dr. phil. Maik Adomßent

email: [email protected]

phone: +49.4131.677 2924

Leuphana University of Lüneburg

Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication

UNESCO Chair „Higher Education for Sustainable Development“

Scharnhorststrasse 1

D - 21335 Lüneburg

Germany

www.leuphana.de/en/institute/infu.html


Adomßent, M. (2013): Exploring universities' transformative potential for sustainability-bound learning in changing landscapes of

knowledge communication. In: Journal of Cleaner Production 49: 11-24

Adomßent, M. & Aricò, S. (2016): Broadening the Application of the Sustainability Science Approach. IAU Horizons, vol. 22, no.1 & 2 (in

press).

Adomßent, M. & Michelsen, G. (2016): Leuphana University Lüneburg and the sustainability challenge: a review and a preview. In: Franz-

Balsen, A. & Kruse, L. (Eds.): Human Ecology Studies and Higher Education for Sustainable Development: European Experiences

and Examples. Oekom, S. 57-86.

Adomßent, M., Fischer, D., Godemann, J., Herzig, C., Otte, I., Rieckmann, M., & Timm, J-M. (2014). Emerging Areas in Research on

Higher Education for Sustainable Development: Management education, sustainable consumption and perspectives from Central

and Eastern Europe. Journal of Cleaner Production, 62 (1), 1-7. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.09.045

Beringer, A. & Adomßent, M. (2008): Sustainable university research and development: inspecting sustainability in higher education

research. In: Environmental Education Research 14 (6), 607-623.

Clark, W.C. (2007): Sustainability science: A room of its own. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104 (6): 1737-1738.

http://www.pnas.org/content/104/6/1737.full?ck=nck

Fischer, G. & Ostwald, J. (2005): Knowledge Communication in Design Communities. In: R. Bromme, F. W. Hesse, & H. Spada (Eds.),

Barriers and Biases in Computer-Mediated Knowledge Communication, Springer, New York, N.Y., pp. 213-242.

Kajikawa, Y (2008): Research core and framework of sustainability science. Sustainability Science 3: 215-239; DOI 10.1007/s11625-008-

0053-1

Komiyama, H. & Takeuchi, K. (2006): Sustainability science: building a new discipline. Sustainability Science 1: 1-6; DOI 10.1007/s11625-

006-0007-4

Lang, D. (2016): presentation of 9 March 2016 at Leuphana University (unpublished)

Mevissen, N.; Simon, D. (2013): ‚Vielfältige‘ Organisationen. Der Wissens- und Technologietransfer als Herausforderung für die

außeruniversitäre Forschung. In: Soziale Welt – Zeitschrift für sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung und Praxis 64 (4), 361–380.

Michelsen, Gerd, Adomßent, Maik, Martens, Pim; von Hauff, Michael (2016): Sustainable Development – Background and Context. In:

Heinrichs, Harald; Marten, Pim; Michelsen, Gerd; Wiek, Arnim (Eds.): Sustainability Science. An Introduction. Springer, pp. 5-29.

References

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Global trends in sustainability science - From academic ... · Adomßent / Sustainability science –from academic advances to public policy 14.09.2016 2 Global initiatives and structures