ABSTRACT
Soils are not being used sustainably despite the wealth of scientific knowledge from soil science. To address this ‘implementation problem’, I drew on experiences of working for a soil protection agency, engagement with the feminist critique of science and undertaking a transdisciplinary PhD to develop a novel approach to enhance transdisciplinary communication. In the applied research project ‘From Farmer – To Farmer’, farmers’ ‘success stories’ of sustainable land use were communicated to other farmers using videos which were co-produced with a multi-stakeholder discussion group. Special moderation techniques were developed to facilitate exchange of tacit knowledge among participants from the realms of science, public administration and practice. These videos are now being used by the farmers’ associations involved in the project to trigger learning processes for sustainable land use. Based on this experience, I identify five key factors for a successful transdisciplinary collaboration: (1) jointly produced videos as bridge building and process tools; (2) exchange of tacit knowledge and success stories; (3) integration of different thought collectives by facilitating social interactions in a multi-stakeholder discussion group; (4) differentiation between perspectives from science and practice (broad vs. deep view); and (5) critical reflection by participants on their attitudes towards knowledge transfer and their concept of knowledge.
