Measuring societal effects of transdisciplinary research projects: Design and application of an evaluation method

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander I. Walter ◽  
Sebastian Helgenberger ◽  
Arnim Wiek ◽  
Roland W. Scholz
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Transdisciplinary Research ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Design And Application

Evaluating and improving the contributions of university research to social innovation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian M. Belcher ◽  
Rachel Claus ◽  
Rachel Davel ◽  
Stephanie M. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Outcome Evaluation ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Theory Of Change ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Training And Support

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess the contributions of graduate research to social innovation and change for learning and improved transdisciplinary practice. Universities, as centers of teaching and research, face high demand from society to address urgent social and environmental challenges. Faculty and students are keen to use their research to contribute to social innovation and sustainable development. As part of the effort to increase societal impact, research approaches are evolving to be more problem-oriented, engaged and transdisciplinary. Therefore, new approaches to research evaluation are also needed to learn whether and how research contributes to social innovation, and those lessons need to be applied by universities to train and support students to do impactful research and foster an impact culture. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a theory-based evaluation method to assess the contributions of three completed doctoral research projects. Each study documents the project’s theory of change (ToC) and uses qualitative data (document review, surveys and interviews) to test the ToC. This paper uses a transdisciplinary research (TDR) quality assessment framework (QAF) to analyze each projects’ design and implementation. This paper then draws lessons from the individual case studies and a comparative analysis of the three cases on, namely, effective research design and implementation for social transformation; and training and support for impactful research. Findings Each project aimed to influence government policy, organizational practice, other research and/or the students’ own professional development. All contributed to many of their intended outcomes, but with varying levels of accomplishment. Projects that were more transdisciplinary had more pronounced outcomes. Process contributions (e.g. capacity-building, relationship-building and empowerment) were as or more important than knowledge contributions. The key recommendations are for: researchers to design intentional research, with an explicit ToC; higher education institutions (HEI) to provide training and support for TDR theory and practice; and HEIs to give more attention to research evaluation. Originality/value This is the first application of both the outcome evaluation method and the TDR QAF to graduate student research projects, and one of very few such analyses of research projects. It offers a broader framework for conceptualizing and evaluating research contributions to social change processes. It is intended to stimulate new thinking about research aims, approaches and achievements.

Managing Consensus in Inter- and Transdisciplinary Teams: Tasks and Expertise

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rico Defila ◽  
Antonietta di Giulio
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Transdisciplinary Research ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Collaborative Problem ◽  
Problem Framing ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Common Goals ◽  
Scientific Task

Collaborative problem framing is crucial to arrive at integrated results in inter- and transdisciplinary research projects. Its significance is supported by empirical evidence gained in a survey, which shows significant differences concerning common goals, language, and theoretical basis between teams who had achieved a synthesis and those that had not. A shared view of a problem and of how to deal with it is the starting point for inquiries of individuals and/or subprojects, and the point to return to after their results are available. Thus, balancing collaborative and individual work is crucial in managing such projects. Managing inter- or transdisciplinary projects covers a number of highly demanding processes taking place during their life span. It is a complex and demanding scientific task that could be called “content-rich moderation” (following the German “Inhaltsreiche Moderation”) to express its nature. To succeed, managers of inter- or transdisciplinary projects need different kinds of expertise.

scholarly journals Testing Analytical Frameworks in Transdisciplinary Research for Sustainable Development

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 4343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Tejada ◽  
Marina Cracco ◽  
Clémence Ranquet Bouleau ◽  
Jean-Claude Bolay ◽  
Silvia Hostettler
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Linear Process ◽  
Transdisciplinary Research ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Social ◽  
École Polytechnique ◽  
Development Center

This article discusses the concept and the practice of transdisciplinary research, including how it is conceived and implemented through the cooperation of different actors involved. With transdisciplinarity gaining recognition as an approach to addressing sustainable development challenges, the successful integration of various disciplines and actors in the process of knowledge generation becomes essential. Through the Cooperation and Development Center (CODEV), the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has promoted transdisciplinary research by proposing a space where North–South partnerships integrating academic and non-academic actors enable the expansion of appropriate technologies and innovations adapted to local societal contexts. This study examines five collaborative research projects conducted at the EPFL. By using an analytical framework consisting of design principles for ideal transdisciplinary research, we conducted semi-structured interviews with academic and non-academic members of the research projects to assess the degree of transdisciplinarity. This framework proved to be a useful tool for exploring transdisciplinary dynamics and assessing the effectiveness of joint knowledge generation. We found that the transdisciplinary cooperation involving different actors is not a linear process, as it depends on the social context in which the project is carried out and on the internal and the external organizational structure established for its implementation. We provide recommendations on how transdisciplinarity could be expanded through institutional support and its results could be effectively transferred into science and practice and discuss the implications for further studies in the conclusions.

The Design and Application of Comprehensive Evaluation Data Mode into Professional Musical Performance

2014 ◽  
Vol 687-691 ◽  
pp. 1584-1587
Author(s):  
Ya Deng
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Musical Performance ◽  
Evaluation Data ◽  
The Real ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation Method ◽  
Hand Test ◽  
The One ◽  
Real Strength ◽  
Design And Application

With the development of economy, people lay much more emphasis on their spiritual demands such instrument. Therefore to learn a kind of instrument has become a crazy phenomenon in our society. Consequently the evaluation on the playing of professional instrument is of great significance. Currently comprehensive evaluation method is popular and widely applied into the evaluation of the people’s degree of professional instrument playing, which can on the one hand test the real strength of a performer and it can also be employed as a means to propel the performers to improve their strength in arts.

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