Individual competencies
Inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability researchers find themselves developing a set of individual competencies, some of which are not always recognised and rewarded in disciplinary- based evaluation frameworks used by research institutions when making decisions about recruitment, promotion and leadership appointments.
Multi-stakeholder facilitation skills
It is not uncommon for diverse stakeholders in deliberative process to feel uneasy due to several factors, including: the unfamiliarity of the process; the uncertainty and ambiguity about future outcomes; the presence of others with conflicting values and interest; and perceived power dynamics.
There are many skills required in facilitating engagement of multiple knowledges, perspectives and views in multi-stakeholder setting. A facilitator’s comportment matters, tailoring behaviours and interactions to best support diverse individual needs in engagement, sharing and learning activities. Facilitators who are highly attuned to group dynamics are empathetic, inclusive, encouraging, and appreciate the importance of positive social interactions for sharing and learning in order to be well placed to support diverse group interactions and realise transdisciplinary outcomes.
Effective facilitation typically involves process facilitation and content facilitation; these two roles need not be held by the same individual, but unless facilitation roles and skills are explicitly recognised, planned for and resourced it is more common for researchers to be undertaking both content and process facilitation at the same time.
Inter- and transdisciplinary listening skills
- Recognising the different knowledge systems and world views that people are speaking from and being open and appreciative of others’ values, knowledge, skills and worldviews
- Reflecting back to check understanding of what has been communicated, and also so that the person speaking may even gain new clarity about their own perspective for having had the chance to engage with a listener who is acting as an intelligent ‘sounding board’
- Recognising terms that may have different meanings by different stakeholders (e.g. ‘model’, ‘scenario’, ‘resilience’, ‘sustainable’) and seeking clarity on meaning where necessary; listening with respect and without judgement (it is possible to fully hear a person without expressing agreement or disagreement or trying to influence them)
- Hearing unspoken content, such as emotional tenor or implicit held values
Operating at the edges of disciplinary boundaries
It can be very uncomfortable working at the boundaries of one’s core discipline (or belonging to a core discipline). Much of a sense of worth and identity in researchers can come from their specialist knowledge and expertise within a discipline. There are arguments that interdisciplinarity could itself be a discipline, but the reality is there will be situations where that expertise is not recognised or valued by specialists in other disciplines. Common criticisms of interdisciplinarity offer valuable perspectives that are useful for interdisciplinary researchers to be attuned to.
Adaptive learning skills
Decisions and actions need to be made without full knowledge of their consequences, and so it is important to foster awareness, curiosity, flexibility and openness to learning from failure in oneself and support others to do the same.
Suggested reading
Bammer, G., 2013. Disciplining Interdisciplinarity: Integration and Implementation Sciences for Researching Complex Real-World Problems. ANU Press.
Grigg, N.J., K. Mokany, E. Woodward, R. Pirzl, C. S. Fletcher, M. E. Ahmad, and D. Lemon. 2020. CSIRO’s integrated national prediction, foresighting and scenarios capability. CSIRO, Australia.
Meharg, S. Critical change agent characteristics and competencies for ensuring systemic climate adaptation interventions. Sustain Sci (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01250-8