Transdisciplinarity in Research about Agrifood Systems Transitions: A Pragmatist Approach to Processes of Attachment

Abstract

Abstract:The much-needed transformations of agrifood systems call for novel approaches that are able to bring together a diversity of actors' and institutions' knowledge and visions. While within the literature about participatory research and transdisciplinarity, many articles have discussed the issue of actor involvement, few have addressed it regarding agrifood system transitions, which are the focus of this paper. Inspired by recent work suggesting a pragmatist approach to stakeholder involvement and collective processes of problem framing and solving, this study (based on a reflexive analysis of six different projects involving different approaches to stakeholder involvement) developed an actor-oriented approach focused on what the motivations to enroll actors and for them to be enrolled are, and on the analysis of the diverse visions and controversies at play. The main outcome of this analysis is that a key issue regarding stakeholder involvement appears to be whether the diverse stakeholders and researchers involved share the sense of being part of a "community of fate" that makes them feel individually "affected" but also collectively "attached" to a shared problem and possibly to a shared future. This is not fixed and stable but can be reinforced through the research-action process itself, which should produce this collective attachment.

Poetic Expressions of Transdisciplinary Food Systems Collaborations

“…In addition to the belief that team dynamics can be managed, participants pushed further, suggesting that they should be managed. This finding is consistent with Lamine (2018), who argued that collaborative dynamics should be managed to develop cohesive narratives of food system problems and research agendas. Pointing to the value of transdisciplinary work, the participants were driven to seek out and manage team dynamics by their desire to understand the complexity of food systems.…”

“…When addressing researcher-stakeholder relationships in food systems, Lamine (2018) argued that "acknowledging the variety of values and interests involved and constructing a collective 'intelligence' of the situation and processes" (p. 9) is essential. The Food Systems department at the University of Vermont hosted a workshop to learn about and support transdisciplinary food system research.…”

From Transition to Domains of Transformation: Getting to Sustainable and Just Food Systems through Agroecology

“…Science and research institutions and professionals have been found to be most enabling of agroecology when they are respectful of local, traditional, and indigenous knowledges and are guided by the needs and aspiration of food producers. A growing body of literature charts how participatory and transdisciplinary research approaches [71][72][73] succeed when they shift power away from professional experts, integrate different knowledges and ways of knowing, and involve strong participation of participants in research processes [74] and in the governance of research [73]. This approach has implications in the area of education, research, and extension with longstanding examples in the use of farmer field schools [75], citizen science, participatory action research, and other forms of participatory research approaches [65,71].…”

Crossing Sociological, Ecological, and Nutritional Perspectives on Agrifood Systems Transitions: Towards a Transdisciplinary Territorial Approach

“…The aim is not to subsume this diversity in any form of consensus (as in a deliberative perspective) but to acknowledge and respect the diversity of visions and values. It is necessary to analyze the controversies that arise and the transformation of these visions, values, and controversies over time, for these transformations of visions and values also contribute to transition mechanisms [72]. The findings in the second project above and other recent studies [64] have suggested that the legitimization of more ecological visions of food and agriculture would progressively lead to actual changes in production, consumption, or nature preservation practices.…”