From attractive conceptual notion to real-world applied practice

Written by
Josephine Sassen – van Meer, Integrating Scientist, TNO
Corinne Lamain, Director, Centre for Unusual Collaborations (CUCo)
Frans van Gemerden, Program Manager Systems Innovation, TNO

Imagine you want to address an important but complex societal issue, a true wicked problem. And suppose you have access to the world’s finest academics of various disciplinary backgrounds. They are willing and able to think about this issue in hopes of finding solutions. Even better, you can physically bring them together in one room for a substantial amount of time. Wow! What do you think might happen?

Most likely? Not as much will happen as you may have assumed. Contrary to commonly held beliefs, bringing together a group of smart and motivated academics does not automatically lead to an integration of their views. Disappointing, yes. But it’s not surprising, nor difficult to explain.

In this article we argue for the importance of transdisciplinary research and a systems approach for addressing complex challenges. Mostly we want to discuss why it is so hard in real life and include you in the steps we are taking to bridge the gap between the inspiring theoretical concept of transdisciplinarity and putting it into practice.

Read or download the full article below. This article was originally published in the June 2023 newsletter of the Adviesraad voor wetenschap, technologie en innovatie (AWTI).