Human domination of the biosphere has led to substantial gains in human welfare and economic development, but simultaneously threatens the planetary conditions that underpin societal wellbeing and prosperity 1-3 . Emerging challenges, including water scarcity, food security issues and biodiversity loss, are intractable, interconnected and influenced by a range of crossscale drivers and complex feedback mechanisms 4 . These challenges, and attempts to address them, involve multiple groups of people with different needs and interests and are beset by social, political and administrative uncertainty 5 .Researchers and practitioners alike are turning to knowledge co-production as a promising approach to make progress in this complex space. Conceptually, knowledge co-production is part of a loosely linked and evolving cluster of participatory and transdisciplinary research approaches that have emerged in recent decades. These approaches reject the notion that scientists alone identify the

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2019.Archetype analysis in sustainability research: meanings, motivations, and evidence-based policy making. Ecology and Society 24(2):26.ABSTRACT. Archetypes are increasingly used as a methodological approach to understand recurrent patterns in variables and processes that shape the sustainability of social-ecological systems. The rapid growth and diversification of archetype analyses has generated variations, inconsistencies, and confusion about the meanings, potential, and limitations of archetypes. Based on a systematic review, a survey, and a workshop series, we provide a consolidated perspective on the core features and diverse meanings of archetype analysis in sustainability research, the motivations behind it, and its policy relevance. We identify three core features of archetype analysis: recurrent patterns, multiple models, and intermediate abstraction. Two gradients help to apprehend the variety of meanings of archetype analysis that sustainability researchers have developed: (1) understanding archetypes as building blocks or as case typologies and (2) using archetypes for pattern recognition, diagnosis, or scenario development. We demonstrate how archetype analysis has been used to synthesize results from case studies, bridge the gap between global narratives and local realities, foster methodological interplay, and transfer knowledge about sustainability strategies across cases. We also critically examine the potential and limitations of archetype analysis in supporting evidence-based policy making through context-sensitive generalizations with case-level empirical validity. Finally, we identify future priorities, with a view to leveraging the full potential of archetype analysis for supporting sustainable development.