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Pettinger C, Tripathi S, Shoker B, Hodge G. Collaborative leadership to support sustainability in practice for dietitians as allied health professionals. J Hum Nutr Diet 2023; 36:2323-2335. [PMID: 37489277 DOI: 10.1111/jhn.13211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Allied health professionals (AHPs) have an important role to support the Greener National Health Service (NHS) agenda. Dietitians are AHPs who are already demonstrating strong influence on food sustainability advocacy. There is call for more collaboration across the health professions to optimise "green" leadership in the pursuit of planetary health. The present study aimed to investigate the perceived role of AHP leaders and future leaders around more sustainable healthcare practices. METHODS A mixed methods approach using audio-recorded semi-structured interviews with strategic AHP leaders (n = 11) and focus groups with student AHPs (n = 2). Standardised open-ended questions considered concepts of (i) leadership, (ii) green agenda, (iii) collaboration and (iv) sustainability. Purposive sampling used already established AHP networks. Thematic analysis systematically generated codes and themes with dietetic narratives drawn out specifically as exemplars. RESULTS The findings represent diverse AHP voices, with six of 14 AHPs analysed, including dietetic (future) leaders. Three key themes emerged: (1) collective vision of sustainable practice; (2) empowering, enabling and embedding; and (3) embracing collaborative change. Dietetic specific narratives included food waste, NHS food supply chain issues, and tensions between health and sustainability advice. CONCLUSIONS The present study shows that collaborative leadership is a core aspiration across AHP leaders and future leaders to inform the green agenda. Despite inherent challenges, participant perceptions illustrate how "change leadership" might be realised to support the net zero agenda within health and social care. Dietitians possess the relevant skills and competencies, and therefore have a fundamental role in evolving collaborative leadership and directing transformational change towards greener healthcare practices. Recommendations are made for future leaders to embrace this agenda to meet the ambitious net zero targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare Pettinger
- School of Health Professions, Peninsula Allied Health Centre (PAHC), Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Smita Tripathi
- Plymouth Business School, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Benji Shoker
- Plymouth Business School, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Gary Hodge
- School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
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Ness B, Wahl D. Getting personal with collaborative sustainability experimentation: Reflections and recommendations from a transdisciplinary partnership with the Swedish craft beer sector. AMBIO 2022; 51:2544-2556. [PMID: 35771412 PMCID: PMC9244084 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-022-01751-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
This paper provides reflections on transdisciplinary knowledge coproduction and experimentation processes from sustainability researcher perspectives. It centers on a 5-year period of collaborative research with small- and medium-sized enterprises in an Urban Living Lab in the Swedish craft beer sector. Nine reflections cover a variety of issues and potentials encountered during numerous interactions with societal partners, and are structured by three levels: organizational, interpersonal and intrapersonal. Based on the reflections, authors then propose a set of seven considerations and recommendations for how to more effectively collaborate in such transdisciplinary constellations. The recommendations apply across the three levels, and describe an approach to collaborative research that asks the researcher to be open, transparent, self-aware and intentional, reflective and reflexive, and both adaptive and flexible. Furthermore, they aim to create soft structures to facilitate understanding and mutual learning, such as designating "organizational champions", as well as to embed collaborative reflections into recurring meetings with partners to maintain trust and capture sustainability knock-on opportunities as they arise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barry Ness
- Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies, LUCSUS, Lund University, Box 170, 22 100 Lund, Sweden
- Centre for Innovation Research, CIRCLE, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Darin Wahl
- Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies, LUCSUS, Lund University, Box 170, 22 100 Lund, Sweden
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Schneider F, Llanque-Zonta A, Andriamihaja OR, Andriatsitohaina RNN, Tun AM, Boniface K, Jacobi J, Celio E, Diebold CL, Patrick L, Latthachack P, Llopis JC, Lundsgaard-Hansen L, Messerli P, Mukhovi S, Tun NN, Rabemananjara ZH, Ramamonjisoa BS, Thongmanivong S, Vongvisouk T, Thongphanh D, Myint W, Zaehringer JG. How context affects transdisciplinary research: insights from Asia, Africa and Latin America. SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE 2022; 17:2331-2345. [PMID: 36439030 PMCID: PMC9684244 DOI: 10.1007/s11625-022-01201-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Transdisciplinary research (TDR) has been developed to generate knowledge that effectively fosters the capabilities of various societal actors to realize sustainability transformations. The development of TDR theories, principles, and methods has been largely governed by researchers from the global North and has reflected their contextual conditions. To enable more context-sensitive TDR framing, we sought to identify which contextual characteristics affect the design and implementation of TDR in six case studies in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, and what this means for TDR as a scientific approach. To this end, we distinguished four TDR process elements and identified several associated context dimensions that appeared to influence them. Our analysis showed that contextual characteristics prevalent in many Southern research sites-such as highly volatile socio-political situations and relatively weak support infrastructure-can make TDR a challenging endeavour. However, we also observed a high degree of variation in the contextual characteristics of our sites in the global South, including regarding group deliberation, research freedom, and dominant perceptions of the appropriate relationship between science, society, and policy. We argue that TDR in these contexts requires pragmatic adaptations as well as more fundamental reflection on underlying epistemological concepts around what it means to conduct "good science", as certain contextual characteristics may influence core epistemological values of TDR. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11625-022-01201-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flurina Schneider
- Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
- Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE), Hamburger Alee 45, 60486 Frankfurt, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre SBiK-F, Georg-Voigt-Straße 14, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Aymara Llanque-Zonta
- Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University, Universitätsallee 1, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany
| | | | - R. Ntsiva N. Andriatsitohaina
- Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques, Département des Eaux et Forêts, Université d’Antananarivo, B.P 175-101, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Aung Myin Tun
- Environmental Care and Community Security Institution ECCSi, 108, 2nd Flr, San Chaung St., Shin Saw Pu Ward, Sanchaung, Yangon, Myanmar
| | - Kiteme Boniface
- Centre for Training and Integrated Research in ASAL Development (CDTRAD), P.O. Box 144-10400, Nanyuki, Kenya
| | - Johanna Jacobi
- Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Enrico Celio
- Institute for Spatial and Landscape Development IRL, Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems PLUS, ETH Zürich, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 5, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Clara Léonie Diebold
- Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Laby Patrick
- Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques, Département des Eaux et Forêts, Université d’Antananarivo, B.P 175-101, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Phokham Latthachack
- Faculty of Forest Science, National University of Laos, P.O. Box 7322, Vientiane, Laos
| | - Jorge Claudio Llopis
- Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, LL57 2UW UK
| | - Lara Lundsgaard-Hansen
- Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Peter Messerli
- Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Stellah Mukhovi
- Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Nwe Nwe Tun
- Environmental Care and Community Security Institution ECCSi, 108, 2nd Flr, San Chaung St., Shin Saw Pu Ward, Sanchaung, Yangon, Myanmar
| | - Zo Hasina Rabemananjara
- Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques, Département des Eaux et Forêts, Université d’Antananarivo, B.P 175-101, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Bruno Salomon Ramamonjisoa
- Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques, Département des Eaux et Forêts, Université d’Antananarivo, B.P 175-101, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Sithong Thongmanivong
- Faculty of Forest Science, National University of Laos, P.O. Box 7322, Vientiane, Laos
| | - Thoumthone Vongvisouk
- Faculty of Forest Science, National University of Laos, P.O. Box 7322, Vientiane, Laos
| | - Daovorn Thongphanh
- Faculty of Forest Science, National University of Laos, P.O. Box 7322, Vientiane, Laos
| | - Win Myint
- Environmental Care and Community Security Institution ECCSi, 108, 2nd Flr, San Chaung St., Shin Saw Pu Ward, Sanchaung, Yangon, Myanmar
| | - Julie Gwendolin Zaehringer
- Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
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Staffa RK, Riechers M, Martín-López B. A feminist ethos for caring knowledge production in transdisciplinary sustainability science. SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE 2021; 17:45-63. [PMID: 34925623 PMCID: PMC8665307 DOI: 10.1007/s11625-021-01064-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Transdisciplinary Sustainability Science has emerged as a viable answer to current sustainability crises with the aim to strengthen collaborative knowledge production. To expand its transformative potential, we argue that Transdisciplinary Sustainability Science needs to thoroughly engage with questions of unequal power relations and hierarchical scientific constructs. Drawing on the work of the feminist philosopher María Puig de la Bellacasa, we examine a feminist ethos of care which might provide useful guidance for sustainability researchers who are interested in generating critical-emancipatory knowledge. A feminist ethos of care is constituted by three interrelated modes of knowledge production: (1) thinking-with, (2) dissenting-within and (3) thinking-for. These modes of thinking and knowing enrich knowledge co-production in Transdisciplinary Sustainability Science by (i) embracing relational ontologies, (ii) relating to the 'other than human', (iii) cultivating caring academic cultures, (iv) taking care of non-academic research partners, (v) engaging with conflict and difference, (vi) interrogating positionalities and power relations through reflexivity, (vii) building upon marginalised knowledges via feminist standpoints and (viii) countering epistemic violence within and beyond academia. With our paper, we aim to make a specific feminist contribution to the field of Transdisciplinary Sustainability Science and emphasise its potentials to advance this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel K. Staffa
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Maraja Riechers
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Berta Martín-López
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany
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Learning to Collaborate from Diverse Interactions in Project-Based Sustainability Courses. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13179884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Project-based sustainability courses require and facilitate diverse interactions among students, instructors, stakeholders, and mentors. Most project-based courses take an instrumental approach to these interactions, so that they support the overall project deliverables. However, as courses primarily intend to build students’ key competencies in sustainability, including the competence to collaborate in teams and with stakeholders, there are opportunities to utilize these interactions more directly to build students’ interpersonal competence. This study offers insights from project-based sustainability courses at universities in Germany, the U.S., Switzerland, and Spain to empirically explore such opportunities. We investigate how students develop interpersonal competence by learning from (rather than through) their interactions with peers, instructors, stakeholders, and mentors. The findings can be used by course instructors, curriculum designers, and program administrators to more deliberately use the interactions with peers, instructors, stakeholders, and mentors in project-based sustainability courses for developing students’ competence to successfully collaborate in teams and with stakeholders.
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