Tensions in Transdisciplinary Research : A study of a climate research group

Sammanfattning: In a time of sustainability predicaments and ‘grand challenges’, transdisciplinarity has been put forward as an approach through which researchers can engage with societal transformation for a better world. This study examines tensions that arise in the on-the-ground efforts of researchers to establish and manage a transdisciplinary research group within a Norwegian university. Tensions have been of interest in both studies of science and studies of organizations, pointing to ways in which tensions between interrelated, divergent demands influence work of scientific knowledge production and organizational life. Transdisciplinary research groups, centers and institutes are proliferating, yet studies of the tensions and challenges they face at the micro-level remain nascent. Drawing on intermittent fieldwork over a two-year period, this dissertation analyses a local case in which climate and energy researchers took a transdisciplinary approach in establishing a “societally engaged” research group and research center in a social sciences department. Key questions are: which tensions do they encounter? How do they respond to them? The study makes use of concepts on tensions and paradox developed in organization and management studies to inform discussions on challenges in inter- and trans-disciplinary research in practice. The case study identifies, illustrates, and analyses several tensions salient for researchers: between the need for both consolidation and interrelation; between the need to grow and formalise the group while also maintaining its closeness and values; between ideas of researchers’ relationship to societal change as both distant and engaged; and between the need to maintain academic autonomy while providing usefulness to non-academic actors. Various responses to these tensions are identified and explored, including defending against, and actively embracing them. The findings allow for rethinking transdiscipclinary research in practice, with implications for research managers, practitioners, and policy makers.