The Beyond Sustainability project launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, hindering important in-person interactions for the transdisciplinary nature of the research. Face-to-face communication, vital for knowledge mobilization, was not possible during this time. The project team was quick to pivot to a virtual setting, however, and were able to maintain the intended focus: to integrate radical transformation, systems thinking and transdisciplinary research to find common ground.
Sounds easy!
It is already difficult enough to define terminologies in person and get a common understanding — the virtual meetings made it even more complicated. The varied viewpoints and working styles across disciplines proved to be both an enriching and challenging experience. Collaborating across multiple academic fields demanded time and patience in order to navigate the complexities arising from diverse perspectives. It became evident that individuals operate at different paces and levels of detail, illustrated even in tasks as seemingly straightforward as defining “sustainability”.
For example, the research team philosopher conceptualizes sustainability as the measure of a system’s capacity to withstand transformation. They propose that sustainability is achieved when these transformations do not significantly diminish the system’s complexity or its capacity for affective potentiality. They argue that a sustainable system thrives when the transformations it undergoes enhance its complexity or affective potentiality, thereby positively contributing to its constituent powers and relational capacity.
Conversely, the research team biologist defines sustainability as the maintenance of the ecosystem, encompassing both human and socio-economic activities, in a manner that ensures the long-term protection and sustenance of all biotic and abiotic components of the planet. This perspective emphasizes the holistic preservation of ecological balance and biodiversity to safeguard the well-being of all life forms.
In contrast, the research team engineer views sustainability as enabling people to live socially just lives within ecological limits. This simple perspective highlights the importance of achieving a balance between human and environmental needs.
Amidst these diverse perspectives, the research team encountered predictable hurdles often encountered in interdisciplinary collaboration. Researchers from different disciplines often possess different research strategies and methodologies, leading to potential misunderstandings and difficulties in appreciating the value of interdisciplinary perspectives. This challenge is particularly pronounced between the social and natural sciences. But by the end, however, all team members were able to find the common ground needed to produce highly collaborative blogs and reflection pieces. Students were also able to publish their work.
The project was intended to be of high risk, and this became more obvious with the pandemic. It was supposed to also lead to high reward. This might have been somewhat limited for the team itself, but the think tank at the end of the project brought new perspectives and possibilities. There is an idea of a second life but with a more focused direction. Approaches such as Nature-based Solutions (the weaving of Indigenous ways of knowing with other scientific approaches) are strongly related to systems thinking and reconnecting nature and humans. This approach leads to more concrete solutions and actions that can engage in the path for radical transformation. This remains high risk with great potential for high rewards.
Despite challenges, the project utilized digital platforms and solutions to broaden its reach globally. Empowering youth and fostering unconventional discourse, the project underscores the collective potential for impactful change, emphasizing the importance of collaboration in reshaping humanity’s relationship with the planet.
