On Tuesday 3 March and Wednesday 4 March a group of researchers from the University of West England, University of Gloucestershire, Linköping University and Karlstad University got together in a workshop at Karlstad University, Sweden under the theme of transdisciplinary research in collaboration with actors outside Academia.
The purpose of the workshop was to provide an opportunity for the researchers to meet and share research as a source of learning and inspiration but also to, in an informal way, explore possibilities for deepened collaboration.
The background of the workshop is that professor Margareta Dahlström, Human geography and director of the Centre for Research on Sustainable Societal Transformation at Karlstad University, met with Dr. Daniel Keech, researcher at the Countryside and Community Research Institute at University of Gloucestershire; at the international research conference the 8th Nordic Geographers Meeting (MGM) in Trondheim, Norway, in June 2019.
– Dan Keech held a very interesting presentation titled Circular Economy and Living Labs – potentials for a CE model of rural-urban governance in Gloucestershire, UK, and as I myself has been inspired by Living Labs in several transdisciplinary projects we immediately found a platform for discussion where the wish for and opportunities of collaboration quickly became clear to us, says Dahlström.
Following the conference more researchers have joined with what today might perhaps be best described as a network where the key element is that everyone shares an interest in this type of research, based in their different perspectives.
During two days in Karlstad the researchers have presented their own research and research environments within fields of knowledge such as sustainability transformation, climate adaptation and risk reduction and then used this as point of departure to identify links between what everyone is doing and for a wider discussion on issues of transdisciplinarity and collaboration.
"The workshop as such has been very inspiring and one additional result that we bring with us is a clear intention to arrange a special session in the field of transdisciplinarity at the next Nordic Geographers Meeting that will take place in Finland. We will also continue to explore opportunities for continued collaboration and networking", Dahlström concludes.
The workshop was arranged by the Centre for research on Sustainable Social Transformation at Karlstad university as part of a strategical focus on method development for transdisciplinary research. The workshop was arranged in collaboration with the Centre for Societal Risk Research, also at Karlstad University.
Participants
Dr. Daniel Keech, Senior Research fellow at the Countryside and Community Research Institute, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, Great Britain
Dr. Mike Ricketts, Associate Head of Department – Art, University of the West of England, Bristol, England
Professor Brita Hermelin, the Centre for Local Government Studies, Linköping University
Associate Professor Sara Gustafsson, Environmental Technology and Management, Linköping University
Professor Lars Nyberg, Risk- and Environmental Studies, Head of research at the Centre for Societal Risk Research at Karlstad University.
Dr. Nina Christenson, Researcher, Geography, Karlstad University.
Professor Margareta Dahlström, Human Geography, Director of the Centre for Research on Sustainable Social Transformation at Karlstad University.
