Convergence research for sustainable regional systems

Abstract

Convergence research addresses societal and environmental challenges by co-creating knowledge across disciplinary boundaries, often in deep collaboration with extra-academic parties to ensure that the research process is solution-focused, actionable, and just. As part of National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research projects on sustainable regional systems, we present multiple perspectives on conducting convergence research within the coupled social-ecological-technological systems framework. These projects explicitly engage extra-academic parties to co-design and co-produce knowledge throughout all stages of this participatory research. We introduce the 3 C's model as a framework that links a research team's Communication, Collaboration, and Creation decisions to the likely degree of convergence and societal change achieved. This model assesses the degree of integration among different social sciences, biophysical sciences, engineering, and other scientific disciplines, as well as extra-academic partners ranging from governmental agencies and industries to non-profit organizations and tribal communities. Integration in this context is assessed by its ability to situate local problems within broader systemic lenses, resolve conflicts among the priorities of partners, and conduct cutting-edge research that addresses real-world needs with actionable sustainability solutions. By synthesizing inclusive and just practices of conducting convergent research across a selection of research teams, we provide recommendations for academic researchers and administrators to encourage and advance convergence research in solving challenging sustainability issues.

Keywords: Environmental policy; Environmental science.

Graphical abstract

Figure 1

A conceptual framework showing potential factors affecting research teams to achieve the degree of convergence Notes: The elements inside the blue dashed line represent the 3 C’s of Communication, Collaboration, and Creation, which are tactical decisions teams make in pursuit of the strategic targets within the orange dashed line, which all feed into the degree of convergence achieved.