Internal university events

Impulse: Dr. Jonas Rehn-Groenendijk

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.18

The change in consumption and production systems plays an important role in transformations towards sustainable development. In this context, we will be exploring the question of how to measure the impact of transdisciplinary and transformative projects. A major challenge lies in the fact that more complex transformative projects often aim for effects that go beyond the actual project duration and are directly dependent on other processes. We therefore consider two different conceptual approaches that are intended to help here and discuss their practical application using concrete project examples.

Literature to get you started

Luederitz et al. (2017): Learning through evaluation – A tentative evaluative scheme for sustainability transition experiments, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 169, Pages 61-76. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.09.005.

Schäfer, M., Bergmann, M., Theiler, L. (2021): Systematizing societal effects of transdisciplinary research, Research Evaluation, 30(4), 484–499. DOI: 10.1093/reseval/rvab019.

Geels, Frank W.; Kern, Florian; Clark, William C. (2023): Sustainability transitions in consumption-production systems. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 120 (47), e2310070120. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2310070120.

Impulse: Dr. Silke Kleihauer

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.17

Global warming, the massive extinction of species or exposure to pollutants require quick and consistent action. But how does this come about and under what conditions are solutions suitable for everyday use created? What contribution can science make here? There is a growing realization that such “wicked problems” cannot be dealt with meaningfully from the perspective of a discipline or without the relevant actors from practice. This is where the terms inter- and transdisciplinarity come into play. However, this does not yet say how interdisciplinarity is to be understood and what is specifically meant by transdisciplinary. The forum highlights the different meanings of the terms, the working methods they mean and the status of the scientific discussion in the sustainability sciences.

Literature to get you started

National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, 2005. Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research. The National Academies Press, Washington, page 188: Definition of interdisciplinarity.

Hirsch Hadorn et al. 2008: The Emergence of Transdisciplinarity as a Form of Research.

Pohl, C. (2010). From Transdisciplinarity to Transdisciplinary Research. Transdisciplinary Journal of Engineering & Science, 1.

Impulse: Dr. Helena Müller  

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.17

Many research topics are so complex that they cannot be addressed exhaustively within one discipline. An interdisciplinary approach is essential here. At the same time, implementation is often easier said than done: the disciplines often answer the question of what the problem “actually” is. Sometimes there are prejudices about what other disciplines are (not) able to achieve. This makes it difficult to accept the “gifts” that those involved in other disciplines have to offer.

Literature to get you started

Boix Mansilla, Veronica; Lamont, Michele; Sato, Kyoko (2016): Shared Cognitive-Emotional-Interactional Platforms. In: Science, Technology, & Human Values ​​41 (4), pp. 571-612. DOI: 10.1177/0162243915614103.

Salazar, Maritza R.; Lant, Theresa K.; Fiore, Stephen M.; Salas, Eduardo (2012): Facilitating Innovation in Diverse Science Teams Through Integrative Capacity. In: Small Group Research 43 (5), pp. 527-558. DOI: 10.1177/1046496412453622.

Christian Pohl, Julie Thompson Klein, Sabine Hoffmann, Cynthia Mitchell, Dena Fam: Conceptualizing transdisciplinary integration as a multidimensional interactive process, Environmental Science & Policy, Volume 118, 2021, Pages 18-26, ISSN 1462-9011, doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.12.005.

Impulse: Dr. Jonas Rehn-Groenendijk

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.17

Transformative projects often aim to have effects that extend beyond the project duration. In order to develop effective measures and results for these long-term goals, it is necessary to have an idea of ​​how short-term measures contribute to a longer-term process. The “Theory of Change” describes a method for representing longer-term causal systemic relationships along short, medium and long-term time horizons. It allows transformative projects, i.e. those aimed at change, to be designed, controlled and subsequently evaluated. The results from a “Theory of Change” process make it clear where and how to start (“leverage points”) in order to effectively initiate change.

Literature for more in-depth knowledge

Belcher, Brian M.; Claus, Rachel; Davel, Rachel; Ramirez, Luisa F. (2019): Linking transdisciplinary research characteristics and quality to
Effectiveness: A comparative analysis of five research-for-development projects. In: Environmental Science & Policy 101, pp. 192-203. DOI:
10.1016/j.envsci.2019.08.013.

German, Lisa; Belcher, Brian; Claus, Rachel; Hoffmann, Sabine (2021): Leading inter- and transdisciplinary research: Lessons from
applying theories of change to a strategic research program. In: Environmental Science & Policy 120, pp. 29-41. DOI: 10.1016/j.
envsci.2021.02.009.

Schenten, Julian; Rehn, Jonas (2021): A Theory of Change (ToC) supporting the visioning of a sustainable supply chain. Post in the portal
“SCNAT knowledge - methods and tools for the co-production of knowledge”. Swiss Academies of Sciences Network for
transdisciplinary research (td-net). Available online at naturwissen.ch/co-producing-knowledge-explained/
practical_experiences/theory_of_change, last checked on March 22, 2021.

Vogel, Isabel (2012): Review of the use of ‘Theory of Change’ in international development. Review report. Ed. UK Department of
International Development.

You can download a one-pager with all the information about the event series here.

Impulse: Prof. Dr. Martin Führ  |  Discussion with Prof. Dr. Frank Schael

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.18

The term “sustainability” is used in very different contexts; The meanings are correspondingly diverse. In its strategy process, h_da has made it its mission to make concrete contributions to “sustainable development”. The event is about putting the status of the international scientific discussion about “planetary boundaries” (Rockström/Steffen et al. 2015 and Persson et al. 2022) in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). United Nations and the European “Green Deal” that is explicitly linked to it. Against this background, it is then necessary to discuss what challenges this entails for the industrialized countries, how the associated conflicting goals can be overcome and what this means for the implementation of the goals from the h_da strategy process.

The forum is intended to help address the following questions:

• What does this mean for my thesis / doctoral project?
• Which SD goals are (particularly) relevant for my doctoral project?
• What conflicting goals do I have to deal with?
• What does this mean for my methodological approach?

Literature to get you started

Rockström/Steffen et al. 2015 and Persson et al. 2022

Tandem impulse from Dr. Silke Kleihauer and Prof. Dr. Lars Rademacher

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.18

Sustainability sciences are an emerging science whose aim is to contribute to sustainable development within planetary boundaries: it is therefore normatively oriented.
Its origins are closely linked to the realization that traditional academic approaches have not yet been able to solve our pressing problems such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and the release of problematic substances: It is therefore not designed to be disciplinary, but rather defines its areas of responsibility based on real social problems.
It must therefore combine a variety of different perspectives. Your research questions relate to better understanding the interactions between nature and society, i.e. social-ecological problems. At the same time, it is also about increasing society's ability to find solutions that lead to more sustainable everyday practices in the context of inter- and intragenerational justice.

Trotz dieser weithin anerkannten Konturen ist das Verständnis, was Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaften sind und sein sollen, naturgemäß nicht einheitlich. In der Veranstaltung geht es darum, den Stand der internationalen wissenschaftlichen Diskussion aufzugreifen. Vor diesem Hintergrund besteht die Möglichkeit, sich darüber auszutauschen, was dies für das eigene wissenschaftliche Arbeiten, aber auch für das Promotionszentrum Nachhaltigkeitswissenschaften der h_da bedeutet.

Welche Anforderungen und Qualitätskriterien ergeben sich aus dieser Perspektive an eine Promotion, die den Titel Dr. rer. sust. verleiht?

Despite these widely recognized contours, the understanding of what sustainability science is and should be is naturally not uniform. The aim of the event is to address the state of the international scientific discussion. Against this background, there is an opportunity to exchange ideas about what this means for your own scientific work, but also for the h_da Sustainability Sciences Doctoral Center.

What requirements and quality criteria arise from this perspective for a doctorate that carries the title of Dr. rer. Sust. gives?

Literature to get you started

Spangenberg 2011: Sustainability science: a review, an analysis and some empirical lessons. doi.org/10.1017/S0376892911000270

Kates et al. 2001: Sustainability Science. (directly to publication)

Kates et al. 2011: What kind of a science is sustainability science?
 (directly to publication)

Impulse: Dr. Silke Kleihauer  |  Discussion with Prof. Dr. Sven Linow

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.18

The normative framework for sustainable development is becoming increasingly clear - both at the UN level as well as in the EU and in the states and regions. However, change processes towards sustainable development do not fall out of the sky: neither frameworks and economic incentives nor technology development alone are enough to get the transformation process off the ground. This requires a differentiated interaction of, among other things, technological developments, legal frameworks and new strategies of organizations and business models so that consumption and production methods and the underlying infrastructures can change (Schneidewind and Scheck 2012, 45). In this respect, neither scientific-technical perspectives nor social-scientific perspectives alone are sufficient to successfully design sustainability processes.

But what does that mean for my research: Which different perspectives do I have to combine in order to understand the problem in its social context?

How does a “concise” research question arise?

The event invites you to exchange ideas using the example of three different social problem impulses.

Literature to get you started

Geels et al. 2023: Sustainability transitions in consumption-production systems. (directly to publication)

Schneidewind and Scheck 2012: On the transformation of the energy sector - a look from the perspective of transition research.    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-21820-0_2

Pearce & Ejderyan (2020): Joint problem framing as reflexive practice: honing a transdisciplinary skill. (direct to publication)</ a>

Prof. Dr. Daniel Hanß, Dr. Helena Müller

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.18

A variety of socio-technical innovations are created at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, which researchers investigate in projects and qualification theses. For such innovations to be successful, it is crucial to align them with the needs of the population and other actors. But how can needs, opinions and preferences be recorded and taken into account in one's own work? Empirical social research offers great potential for this.

Using various examples, including those from the citizen panel, we show how those developing socio-technical innovations can benefit from empirical social research. We present the advantages and disadvantages of selected methods (including quantitative surveys, interviews, focus groups) and recommend phases for using these methods in the research process.

The workshop is aimed particularly at doctoral students and research post-docs, but other interested researchers are also welcome. No special prior knowledge of the topic is required. However, we ask that you look at the linked handout in advance of the event and use the reflection questions it contains to think about the relevance of social science empirical methods for your own research project. Questions about the slides and further questions can then be asked in the on-site workshop.

Slides for the workshop:

Slides as PDF

You can download a one-pager with all the information about the event series here.

Dr. Silke Kleihauer andProf. Dr. Dominik Düber

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.18

Global warming, the massive extinction of species or exposure to pollutants require quick and consistent action. But how does this come about and under what conditions are solutions suitable for everyday use created? What contribution can science make here? There is a growing realization that such “wicked problems” cannot be dealt with meaningfully from the perspective of a discipline or without the relevant actors from practice. This is where the terms inter- and transdisciplinarity come into play. However, this does not yet say how interdisciplinarity is to be understood and what is specifically meant by transdisciplinary. The forum highlights the different meanings of the terms, the working methods they mean and the status of the scientific discussion in the sustainability sciences.

What does this mean for my thesis / my doctoral project / my research project?

• When do I have to combine scientific, technical and social science aspects in my scientific work in order to be able to develop a solution that is appropriate to the problem?
• When do I need to work with actors from practice to solve a problem?
• What does this mean for my methodical approach?

Literature to get you started

National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, 2005. Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research. The National Academies Press, Washington, page 188: Definition of interdisciplinarity. (Directly to publication)

Hirsch Hadorn et al. 2008: The Emergence of Transdisciplinarity as a Form of Research. (directly to the paper)

Pohl, C. (2010). From Transdisciplinarity to Transdisciplinary Research. Transdisciplinary Journal of Engineering & Science, 1. (directly to the paper)

Dr. Helena Müller and Prof. Dr. Nicole Saenger

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.18

Many research topics are so complex that they cannot be addressed exhaustively within one discipline. An interdisciplinary approach is essential here. At the same time, implementation is often easier said than done: the disciplines often answer the question of what the problem “actually” is. Sometimes there are prejudices about what other disciplines are (not) able to achieve. This makes it difficult to accept the “gifts” that those involved in other disciplines have to offer.

What does this mean for my thesis / my doctoral project / my research project?

• How and where do findings from “Cross-Disciplinary Team Science” help to discover stumbling blocks and overcome hurdles?
• How can interdisciplinary research teams be set up effectively right from the start?
• What different levels need to be taken into account in interdisciplinary collaboration?
• Which approaches and tools for successful interdisciplinary collaboration have proven successful?

Literature to get you started

Boix Mansilla, Veronica; Lamont, Michele; Sato, Kyoko (2016): Shared Cognitive-Emotional-Interactional Platforms. In: Science, Technology, & Human Values ​​41 (4), pp. 571-612. DOI: 10.1177/0162243915614103. (directly to publication)

Salazar, Maritza R.; Lant, Theresa K.; Fiore, Stephen M.; Salas, Eduardo (2012): Facilitating Innovation in Diverse Science Teams Through Integrative Capacity. In: Small Group Research 43 (5), pp. 527-558. DOI: 10.1177/1046496412453622. (directly to publication)

Christian Pohl, Julie Thompson Klein, Sabine Hoffmann, Cynthia Mitchell, Dena Fam: Conceptualizing transdisciplinary integration as a multidimensional interactive process, Environmental Science & Policy, Volume 118, 2021, Pages 18-26, ISSN 1462-9011, doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2020.12.005.
 (directly to publication)

This date is canceled due to severe weather warnings.

Dr. Jonas Rehn-Groenendijk and Prof. Dr. Lars Rademacher

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.18

The “Theory of Change” describes a method for representing longer-term causal systemic relationships along short, medium and long-term time horizons. It allows transformative projects, i.e. those aimed at change, to be designed, controlled and subsequently evaluated. The results from a “Theory of Change” process make it clear where and how to start (“leverage points”) in order to effectively initiate change.

What does this mean for my thesis / my doctoral project / my research project?

• How can I apply the Theory of Change to sharpen my research question and define the subject of investigation more precisely?
• What consequences does this have for the methods I use?

Literature to get you started:

Schenten, J./Rehn, J. 2021: A Theory of Change (ToC) supporting the visioning of a sustainable supply chain. Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences: Methods and tools for the co-production of knowledge (td-net Toolbox). (directly to the publication)

Maximilian Schweikert and Prof. Dr. Martin Führ

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.18

Building on the third event on the topic “Theory of Change”, in this event we will examine the question of how to measure the impact of transdisciplinary and transformative projects. A major challenge lies in the fact that more complex transformative projects often aim for effects that go beyond the actual project duration and are directly dependent on other processes. We therefore consider two different conceptual approaches that are intended to help here and discuss their practical application using concrete project examples.

What does this mean for my thesis / my doctoral project / my research project?

• How do I find indicators that reflect the change process I want?
• How do I get the data I need for the indicators?
• What consequences does this have for my research subject?

Literature to get you started

Luederitz et al. (2017): Learning through evaluation – A tentative evaluative scheme for sustainability transition experiments, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 169, Pages 61-76. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.09.005. (directly to publication).

Schäfer, M., Bergmann, M.,Theiler, L. (2021): Systematizing societal effects of transdisciplinary research, Research Evaluation, 30(4), 484–499. DOI: 10.1093/reseval/rvab019. (directly to publication)

You can download a one-pager with all the information about the event series here.

Prof. Dr. Martin Führ and Prof. Dr. Nicole Saenger

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.18

The term “sustainability” is used in very different contexts; The meanings are correspondingly diverse. In its strategy process, h_da has made it its mission to make concrete contributions to “sustainable development”. The event is about putting the status of the international scientific discussion about “planetary boundaries” (Röckström/Steffen et al. 2015 and Persson et al. 2022) in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). United Nations and the European “Green Deal” that is explicitly linked to it. Against this background, it is then necessary to discuss what challenges this entails for the industrialized countries and what this means for the implementation of the goals from the h_da strategy process.

What does this mean for my thesis / doctoral project?

Which SD goals are (particularly) relevant for my doctoral project?

What conflicting goals do I have to deal with?

What does this mean for my methodical approach?

Dr. Silke Kleihauer and Prof. Dr. Sven Linow

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.18

The normative framework for sustainable development has been formulated. However, change processes towards sustainable development do not fall out of the sky: neither the setting of a framework nor the development of technology alone are enough to get the transformation process off the ground. This requires a differentiated interaction of, among other things, technological developments, legal frameworks and new business strategies and models so that consumption and production methods and the underlying infrastructures can change (Schneidewind and Scheck 2012, 45). At the local level there are other success factors: local politics and administration as well as local companies.

The itp:ne therefore speaks of system innovations.

But what does that mean for research at h_da: Where and how can we make a contribution to sustainable development? How can I define the system in a research project or for a doctoral project and how does a “good” research question arise?

What does this mean for my thesis / doctoral project?

The event invites you to exchange ideas using the example of three different social problem impulses.

Prof. Tom Philipps and Teresa Novotny

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.18

Design thinking is on everyone's lips: the term describes a methodical approach that is intended to enable people to solve problems together through the development of ideas. Design thinking guides users through an open-ended, iterative process in several steps. In diverging and converging phases, the challenge is first outlined and defined (Emphathise & Define), then ideas are first generated in bulk and then detailed (Ideate & Prototype). The results of the process are concepts that can then be evaluated (test). The process benefits particularly from different perspectives in all phases.

It is scalable and is often carried out as a workshop.

But when does design thinking actually make sense? How should the creative process be used in the face of highly complex and dynamic, so-called “wicked” problems? Where does it reach its limits?

The event invites you to get to know and understand design thinking better, including benefits and stumbling blocks. Using a real example, the method is explained step by step, individual phases are worked out together and the case study is then reflected on.

Prof. Dr. Daniel Hanß and Dr. Helena Müller

6 p.m. in Holzhofallee 36b | D22, Room 0.18

A variety of socio-technical innovations are created at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, which researchers investigate in projects and qualification theses. For such innovations to be successful, it is crucial to align them with the needs of the population and other actors. But how can needs, opinions and preferences be recorded and taken into account in one's own work? Empirical social research offers great potential for this.

Using various examples, including those from the citizen panel, we show how those developing socio-technical innovations can benefit from empirical social research. We present the advantages and disadvantages of selected methods (including quantitative surveys, interviews, focus groups) and recommend phases for using these methods in the research process.

With this introduction, we encourage participants to consider where elements of empirical social research could be helpful for their own project. These ideas can then be discussed in the group and given further ideas.

You can download a one-pager with all the information about the event series here.