ABSTRACT
Unlike other volumes in the current literature, this book provides insight for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary researchers and practitioners on what doesn’t work. Documenting detailed case studies of project failure matters, not only as an illustration of experienced challenges but also as projects do not always follow step-by-step protocols of preconceived and theorised processes.
Bookended by a framing introduction by the editors and a conclusion written by Julie Thompson Klein, each chapter ends with a reflexive section that synthesizes lessons learned and key take-away points for the reader. Drawing on a wide range of international case studies and with a strong environmental thread throughout, the book reveals a range of failure scenarios for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary projects, including:
• Projects that did not get off the ground;
• Projects that did not have the correct personnel for specified objectives;
• Projects that did not reach their original objectives but met other objectives;
• Projects that failed to anticipate important differences among collaborators.
Illustrating causal links in real life projects, this volume will be of significant relevance to scholars and practitioners looking to overcome the challenges of conducting interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter 2|22 pages
Re-thinking failure
part I|52 pages
Institutional environments associated with failure
chapter 5|17 pages
Over-promising and under-delivering
part II|52 pages
Failures and responses associated with collaboration and stakeholder engagement
chapter 7|17 pages
Failure to consider local political processes and power relations in the development of a transdisciplinary research project plan
chapter 8|16 pages
A week in the life of a transdisciplinary researcher
part III|32 pages
Personal reflection on failed initiatives through an autoethnographic lens
part IV|74 pages
Failure in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary educational programs
chapter 11|17 pages
The challenges of studying place
part |16 pages
Coda