Creating Inspiring Workshops and Courses in Transdisciplinarity: A Guide - Manual / Resource - Page 72
Fundamental concepts in transdisciplinary research theory
Co-design
The first phase in TDR projects is often
referred to as co-design, in which
researchers and other societal actors
create partnerships, jointly develop
a research process, and frame the
problem and research questions that
meet their collective interests and
needs. The goal of co-design is to
shape a societally relevant TDR project
that addresses an agreed upon issue
collaboratively with multiple disciplines
and diverse societal actors.
What happens during co-design?
Co-design includes team building and setting joint research agendas and questions
through the collaborative definition of the problem, goals, research questions, a strategy
for collaborative knowledge production, as well as scientifically and societally useful
outputs, and maybe even strategies to implement identified solutions in practice. As
co-design advances, the goals and questions are gradually shaped and refined. Over
time, the research team – including societal partners – can change, as some actors may
decide not to be part of the project, while others join.
Co-design is critical for the success of TDR projects. It ensures that the research
endeavor is academically rigorous, includes the necessary disciplines and types of
knowledges, and is relevant and impactful to the societal actors involved and to the
broader community.
One challenge of the co-design phase is balancing the necessary openness to the
interests and needs of different societal actors and researchers, while navigating
institutional and financial constraints. Usually, you need several rounds of interaction to
co-design project goals and approach, specific research questions, and a sense of needed
outputs. An essential element is a shared understanding of the theory of change: What
will be the impact of the project, what pathways is the project envisaging to reach the
desired impact, and what are the assumptions about how and why the desired change
happens?
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Concepts Co-design
