transdisciplinari

Transdisciplinarity is a research paradigm that seeks to integrate knowledge across disciplines and with non-academic stakeholders to address complex, real-world problems. It goes beyond combining disciplinary insights to create a shared framework where boundaries are permeable and knowledge from practice, policy, and civil society is valued as a legitimate source.

Originating in the late 20th century, transdisciplinarity was theorized by Basarab Nicolescu and others as a response to the limitations of narrow specialization. Nicolescu’s work emphasizes levels of reality—physical, biological, and social—and the included middle, a space where disciplines and lay knowledge can interact without diminishing each other’s validity.

Key principles include co-production of knowledge, stakeholder participation, reflexivity, and problem-oriented inquiry. Methods often combine participatory research, scenario planning, system dynamics, and design thinking; researchers collaborate with policymakers, industry, communities, and users to produce results that are usable and ethically grounded while remaining scientifically rigorous.

Applications span sustainability and environmental governance, public health, urban planning, education, and technology policy. In practice, transdisciplinary projects address complex issues such as climate resilience, urban inequality, or data governance, by aligning multiple viewpoints, creating boundary objects, and iterating toward solutions that can be implemented in real settings.

Compared with interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity foregrounds the integration of non-academic perspectives and a commitment to social impact. Critics point to epistemological and methodological challenges, potential power imbalances in stakeholder involvement, and the risk of superficial participation if goals and governance are not well designed.