Co-creating Actionable Science

Book excerpt: In response to the call for actionable and collaborative solutions-oriented research for sustainability, this collection of essays provides insights into the multi-layered challenges that underlie this fast-emerging field. It offers the reader a deeper understanding of the myriad local avenues where knowledge is co-produced to meet the grand challenge of our times—‘transformation to sustainability’. Situated within a wide variety of research settings in the global North and South, the contributions here variously probe how actionable science emerges (or fails to emerge) in this process. From diverse perspectives, they ruminate on various research practice topics, including how to reconcile scientific understanding with normative action, how to acknowledge and integrate participant knowledge in research, and how to handle potential negative impacts of actionable science. In examining these rarely reflected-upon questions, the book provides valuable, empirically-based insights into research practice, and will be useful for scholars and educators working with transdisciplinary research design and practice.