Transdisciplinære

Transdisciplinære, or transdisciplinary in English, is an approach to knowledge production that transcends traditional academic disciplines by integrating multiple disciplines with non-academic actors to address complex social and ecological problems. It aims to produce knowledge that is scientifically robust and directly applicable to policy and practice, rather than remaining within a single discipline.

The concept gained prominence in the late 20th century through UNESCO and the work of Basarab Nicolescu, who emphasized crossing epistemological boundaries and the idea of an included middle between levels of reality. Transdisciplinarity differs from interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity: while interdisciplinarity combines methods across disciplines and multidisciplinarity involves parallel contributions, transdisciplinarity seeks to create new frameworks that integrate academic and non-academic knowledge systems and focuses on problem-solving and social relevance.

Practically, transdisciplinary work involves collaboration among researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and communities from the outset to define questions, design studies, collect and interpret data, and implement solutions. It requires reflexivity, iterative cycles, and the use of boundary objects and common languages to align diverse perspectives. Successful projects require long-term commitment, supportive institutions, and facilitation.

Applications are common in sustainability science, urban development, public health, and education reform, where complex, ill-defined problems cross disciplinary borders. Evaluation typically emphasizes process and impact indicators such as credibility, relevance, legitimacy, learning, and social uptake, in addition to traditional scientific outputs. Critics note challenges including epistemological tensions, power dynamics, and the resource intensity of collaborative methods.