Interdisciplinary foundation

Sustainability problems and their solutions are very complex - a task that no discipline can accomplish alone. An interdisciplinary team needs a common understanding of the problem in order to be able to develop viable solutions. The interdisciplinary “delta analysis” helps the scientific team at itp:ne to classify the functional conditions of the respective system and the relevant contributions of the actors. Looking at the behavioral level, the main starting points for change measures can be identified.

The interdisciplinary team, based on the problem impulse, first describes in more detail what the “social-ecological problem” consists of: Where are there undesirable effects (“impact”)? What exactly is happening in the socio-technical system? Various factors often come into play here, for example the existing flows of materials and goods are linked to the infrastructure and institutional framework.

In order to understand the system, the interdisciplinary delta analysis looks at the externally visible actions of the actors involved in the system, for example communication, cooperation, product supply and demand behavior. These actions ultimately cause the problem.

In the next step, it helps to analyze factors that influence the behavior of the actors: Only those who understand the motivation with which actors act in the status quo can find starting points for changing their actions in the future. Factors can be, for example, the urge for recognition, but also the tendency to be comfortable or the insistence on routines. This is the basis for developing tailor-made solutions in a transdisciplinary team that are based on the motivation and contextual conditions of the actors.