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Struggles in connecting theory and practice: a townhall debate on dilemmas in creating societal impact
Time:
Wednesday, 25/Oct/2023:
10:30am - 12:00pm
Location:GR 1.136
Session Conference Streams:
Adaptiveness and Reflexivity, Inter- and Transdisciplinarity for Sustainability Transformations
Presentations
Struggles in connecting theory and practice: a townhall debate on dilemmas in creating societal impact
Chair(s): Igno Notermans (Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT), Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Presenter(s): Mara de Pater (Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT), Erasmus University Rotterdam), Gijs Diercks (Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT), Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Addressing the societal challenges of today requires transdisciplinary approaches and co-production of knowledge for transformative change (Norström et al., 2020). Shifting the locus of knowledge production away from academia, it still plays an important role by researching what interventions are needed and how fundamental change can be set in motion, but more importantly by supporting societal actors in addressing these major sustainability challenges (Caniglia et al. 2021).
How such sustainability knowledge feeds into societal processes of change and results in societal impact varies due to fundamental differences in the generation of knowledge between academia and other actors (Blythe et al. 2017). Much of the scholarly work on co-creative interactions describe ideal-type contexts for these to take place: e.g., by convening stakeholders in an inclusive and ‘safe space’, or allowing for ‘triple loop learning’ between stakeholders. However, working in ‘real life’ societal transitions means one is often confronted with situations that divert from this ideal-type context, which sometimes presents dilemmas.
In this innovative session, we aim to probe salient issues that surface when connecting scientific theory and sustainability practice. We will build on experiences from our work at the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions, where our advisory, education and research approach depart from the understanding that co-creation between science and societal actors is essential for the generation of societal impact (Hebinck et al. 2022).
This session invites ESG participants to take part in a town hall-style debate on connecting theory and practice. This moderated debate is structured around anecdotes drawn from ‘real life’ cases, used to illustrate dilemmas, such as ensuring inclusive participation; staying ‘radical’ when interacting with the regime; and generating ‘simple solutions’ in a complex world. It will probe the cross-cutting questions that underly these dilemmas and discuss the balancing act that comes with connecting theory and practice.
