Transdisciplinary practice: being, doing, knowing

We present a case for facilitating the transdisciplinary practice (TDP) of experienced professionals through a doctoral research programme for whom the research focus is their world of work. Dissemination of transdisciplinary ideas through the individual practitioner as an effective agent of change has been under-represented in transdisciplinary discourses. Our TDP research pedagogy supports the practitioner in identifying and articulating complexity to bring about collaborative shifts in rapidly changing environments on the wild frontier of the uncertain and unpredictable. We demonstrate how TDP can enhance existing theories and epistemologies of practice, and also offer an effective alternative to a process driven management approach to complexity. We confront the gravitational pull of classification that can fuel resistance to new ideas and inhibit much needed cultural shifts. We propose that the frontline experiences of the individual decision-making professional as a TDP researcher can contribute to re-imagining transdisciplinary thinking and practices. TDP is not about the creation of knowledge but new ways of being in the world. We aim to encourage more higher education institutions to develop TDP as a response to the needs of complex practice cultures.

This is a draft chapter as accepted for publication. The final version is available in Handbook of Transdisciplinarity: Global Perspectives edited by Roderick J. Lawrence, 2023 Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802207835.00018