I was an invited participant at the “Transdisciplinary Metrics Workshop” hosted by Belmont Forum at National Science Foundation headquarters in Alexandria, VA. In this 2.5 day workshop, we defined criteria for evaluation of transdisciplinary science projects, and then created evaluation guidelines for use by both national and international funders.
With major funders from around the world represented in the Belmont Forum, a focus on transdisciplinary approaches for science is a courageous and noteworthy milestone. It signifies a push in science to apply its results more directly toward societal benefits, a breaking down of silos across science disciplines and for the institution of science itself, and increasing value for scientists to develop better collaborative and information sharing skills.
Trandisciplinary is a generally defined by:
– The participation of natural science, social science, and a practitioner
– Development of solutions for complex problems
– A co-development process
There are many benefits from transdisciplinary work, which by definition seeks to transcend beyond the limitations of conventional disciplines, leading to the creation of innovative and much-needed new disciplines. The process of Community Activation can be an important tool for transdisciplinary work. Community activation provides ways for people from different domains and sectors to intersect and convene in common spaces, with the flexibility of empowering these groups to pursue the topics of interests that they think are most important.
Photo: Workshop participant group at NSF HQ, Alexandria, VA, including Arika Virapongse, founder Middle Path EcoSolutions