This page curates a series of the concepts and theories underpinning our approach through commentaries and perspective pieces that we have contributed to in recent years.
Shortcuts for accelerating food system transitions
Focuses on the key idea that drawing on existing evidence and transferable lessons can offer practical shortcuts from theory to practice and help us accelerate sustainability transformations by learning from real-world examples and empirical evidence.
Complexity-aware principles for agri-food system interventions
Discusses why it is important to acknowledge the complexity of agri-food system transitions and proposes six principles to help projects respond to the changing circumstances and unpredictable turns of agri-food systems contexts in a different way. This flexibility is essential in an age of uncertainty and transformation.
Achieving sustainability through transdisciplinary local innovation
Proposes a research agenda to build capacity for achieving sustainability in an era of uncertainty through locally grounded, transdisciplinary innovation. It argues that local sustainability initiatives relying on static interventions and limited monitoring, especially those based on fixed future predictions, are unlikely to deliver their intended outcomes and may lead to unintended consequences. Instead, it advocates for an adaptive approach grounded in ongoing evaluation and monitoring of change over time, enabling stakeholders to identify when plans begin to diverge from targets and take timely action to respond.
Transitions and Transformations
Depending on disciplinary context and etymological origins, such change is referred to as sustainability transitions or transformations. While the two terms may stem from different areas of research, they both emphasise and enrich each other’s perspective on achieving inclusive human development and Earth system stability.
