Realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require transformative changes at micro, meso and macro levels and across diverse geographies. Collaborative, transdisciplinary research has a role to play in documenting, understanding and contributing to such transformations. Previous work has investigated the role of this research in Europe and North America, however the dynamics of transdisciplinary research on ‘transformations to sustainability’ in other parts of the world are less well-understood. This paper reports on an international project that involved transdisciplinary research in six different hubs across the globe and was strategically designed to enable mutual learning and exchange. It draws on surveys, reports and research outputs to analyse the processes of transdisciplinary collaboration for sustainability that took place between 2015–2019. The paper illustrates how the project was structured in order to enable learning across disciplines, cultures and contexts and describes how it also provided for the negotiation of epistemological frameworks and different normative commitments between members across the network. To this end, it discusses lessons regarding the use of theoretical and methodological anchors, multi-loop learning and evaluating emergent change (including the difficulties encountered). It offers insights for the design and implementation of future international transdisciplinary collaborations that address locally-specific sustainability challenges within the universal framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This study has explored the impact of innovation hubs on knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems. To gain deeper insights, the study adopted an exploratory case study design along a qualitative approach to conduct an empirical investigation. The study reveals a noticeable contribution of the X-Innovation Hub in empowering youths in aspects of knowledge co-creation and transfer, and promotion of diverse innovations. The findings of the study also disclose that the contribution of the innovation hub in transforming innovations into entrepreneurial opportunities is still unsatisfactory. Furthermore, the findings suggest that not all start-ups emanating from the hub are taking off. This is due to various undermining factors such as financial constraints and unfriendly legal frameworks. For X-Innovation Hub to satisfactorily and sustainably contribute to national innovation systems, deliberate efforts must be made, and strategies put in place by different stakeholders such as the government. Particularly, diversification of funding sources to minimise dependence on international development funding agencies and organisations is important.

Purpose Farmers in rural areas are generally not well empowered with knowledge and innovations to solve their agricultural problems in spite of the growing presence of such knowledge resulting from research and innovation activities across the globe. This study aims to document approaches, impact and impediments of using village knowledge centers (VKCs) to transfer agricultural knowledge and innovations. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the objective of the study, a case study research design was used to investigate the impact of a selected VKC as institutional innovation in agricultural technology outreach and extension in rural Tanzania. Primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and observation methods. Besides, secondary sources such as reports were used to complement primary data during fieldwork. Findings The study reveals that various approaches are used by the VKC to transfer knowledge and innovation to farmers. The use of the multi-actor platform (MAP) to run the VKC ensures inclusive knowledge production and sharing among different actors. The findings also suggest that knowledge and innovation co-creation is constructed with various knowledge systems actors to enhance the use of research generated. Accordingly, the findings show that the university efforts are an important catalyst for integrated knowledge, technology and innovation systems in rural settings. Research limitations/implications The present study reveals different limitations associated with the use of a single case study design. The single-case design provided researchers with little basis for generalisation of the study findings and conclusions. Aside from that, the use of a cross-sectional design did not help the researchers to validate the findings and conclusions. To address these limitations, the study recommends similar studies that will adopt different types of longitudinal design such as cohort and diary methods. Apart from this, a future study to investigate the tangible impact of VKC on knowledge and innovation transfer is recommended. Originality/value Considering the novelty of the MAP approach in Tanzania and the dearth of studies reporting on how the village knowledge center works and how effective it is, the present study provides insights on the approaches, impact and impediments.