Collaboration for transformation

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appreciation for the volunteers and professionals working in non-profit organizations on sustainability causes, we have decided to donate the prize money, plus ...
Sustain Sci (2014) 9:113–114 DOI 10.1007/s11625-013-0231-7

NOTE AND COMMENT

Collaboration for transformation Arnim Wiek • Barry Ness • Petra Schweizer-Ries Francesca Farioli



Received: 21 September 2013 / Accepted: 3 October 2013 / Published online: 17 October 2013 Ó Springer Japan 2013

Media outlets and research articles are often filled with reports on setbacks, delays, and ignorance in addressing the urgent challenges of war and violence, disease, environmental degradation, exploitation and injustice that threaten societies worldwide. Nevertheless, sustainability is steadily making progress, inspiring governments, non-profit organizations, businesses, communities, schools, and citizens around the world to change their structures, practices, approaches, and lifestyles. Sustainability science is also changing—transitioning from the descriptive–analytical to the transformational mode. While the field still has a long way to go due to institutional barriers and path dependencies, numerous programs, projects, courses, and publications are pioneering solution-oriented sustainability research and education, and thus contribute to efforts that both reform and innovate societies. We are honored and grateful that our article ‘‘From complex systems analysis to transformational change: a comparative appraisal of sustainability science projects’’ [Sustain Sci (2012) 7(Supplement 1):5–24] received the 2012 Sustainability Science Best Paper Award. We

Handled by Osamu Saito, UNU-Institute for Sustainability and Peace (ISP), Japan. A. Wiek (&) Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA e-mail: [email protected] B. Ness Lund University, Lund, Sweden P. Schweizer-Ries Bochum University of Applied Sciences, Bochum, Germany F. Farioli Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

appreciate the recognition and feel very fortunate to be part of such a progressive community of scholars and practitioners. The article outlines the opportunities and challenges of transformational sustainability science, concentrating on how this concept translates into real research practice on the ground. It contributes to the field with evidence-supported strategies and action plans for change towards sustainability. We reviewed five fundamentally different research projects from this unified perspective, highlighting the achievements, failures, as well as the opportunities for advancement. Furthermore, the article also provides two other insights: first, sustainability efforts are very diverse; they appear in a variety of shapes and sizes, often at unexpected locations and times. The second is that international collaboration continues to be imperative for joint learning and making progress towards sustainability on the ground. All sustainability efforts strive for a common goal: tangible change in the world. Sustainability scientists, therefore, must seize opportunities whenever and wherever they can, supporting transition efforts with evidence, educational opportunities, and other means. To show our appreciation for the volunteers and professionals working in non-profit organizations on sustainability causes, we have decided to donate the prize money, plus additional individual contributions by the authors, to the Human Needs Project (http://www.humanneedsproject.org). We have targeted this organization because of its capacities to enable communities to self-sustain clean water, sanitation, and energy services, while respecting their local culture. Activities focus on building civic capacities, as described in one of our correspondences with this organization: ‘‘The community group we are working with comprises equal numbers of men and women and is

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inclusive of all the tribes in our area of Kibera, Kenya. They participate in self-leadership courses at our school, which entails the exercise of reflecting on one’s assumptions and prejudices, helping with conflict management, and obtaining an understanding of psychological processes. Due to this course, we have been able to push through a working environment that eschews tribal and gender conflict, and instead causes

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members to protect positive group dynamics, to focus on the core values our organization is trying to employ for the sustainability of our project: transparency and accountability.’’ We look forward to seeing more and closer partnerships emerging between such critical non-profit organizations and sustainability scientists around the world.