Abstract
Investigating the sustainability of social–ecological systems in the context of climatic, economic and social changes requires novel science practises. Transdisciplinary research (TDR) presents an interesting approach on how science can interact with society in finding meaningful answers to wicked problems. Social–ecological systems in mountain areas are particularly relevant not only because of their serious vulnerability to global changes but also because of their efforts to move towards sustainability. The researchers' collective Perce-Neige strives to tackle these challenges and applies novel transdisciplinary approaches. The collective is composed of early career researchers coming from various disciplines, working on sustainable transitions in mountains. For a week, 12 early career researchers conducted TDR for joint problem framing with inhabitants and local institutions of the municipality of Gresse-en-Vercors in the French Alps. The objective was to facilitate the development of a common vision and initiate collective thinking for a sustainable future of the territoire. Participants (researchers and inhabitants) became acquainted with each other through different interfaces facilitating exchanges, reflections and co-constructions (collective walk, individual interviews, participatory workshops, informal daily exchanges). The research allowed us to capture different perspectives on local issues that cause conflicts, and then to discuss and identify needs and solutions. We aim to present and assess the methodology for joint problem framing developed by the collective. This paper presents the benefits of such a methodology for acculturating early career researchers to TDR, and for framing societal problems and reflecting on actions.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Notes
Since TDR is embedded in local context (Lam et al. 2021), we consider the spatial approach through the French concept of territoire as particularly well suited for implementing TDR. We understand the concept of territoire as conceived in postmodern French-speaking geography (Pachoud et al. 2022). Taken out of its political realm, territoire is considered as space, socially constructed, culturally marked and institutionally regulated. It is an outcome of agency and the relations between actors. Since concepts are deeply rooted in the academic contexts where they are developed, their translation into other languages often goes along with the loss of their original meaning. We thus use the term territoire in this paper.
The Labex, i.e. Laboratory of Excellence, is an instrument of the French government to support the research of a set of research teams on a given scientific theme. The Labex ITTEM focuses on the study of innovations and transitions in mountain territoires (see https://labexittem.fr/en/).
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Acknowledgements
We thank the Labex ITTEM for funding this research. We also thank the municipality of Gresse-en-Vercors for the support in the realisation of this research. We greatly want to thank all the inhabitants of Gresse-en-Vercors, who participated in the research, for their openness, curiosity and interest.
Funding
This work was supported by the Labex ITEM (ANR-10-LABX-50-01) within the “Programme d'Investissements d’avenir” (Investments for the Future Program, PIA) operated by the French National Research Agency (ANR).
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Handled by Christian Pohl, ETH Zürich: Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Switzerland.
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Pachoud, C., Bruley, E., Grosinger, J. et al. Joint problem framing: a transdisciplinary methodology for a sustainable future in mountain areas. Sustain Sci 18, 1291–1309 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01285-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01285-x