A Mindset for the Anthropocene: Online Platform Fosters Reflection and Networking

04.08.2022

Transdisciplinary research brings together the knowledge of people from different backgrounds. It is considered to be particularly useful for developing solutions to complex sustainability challenges. A team of researchers at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, Germany, have developed an online platform (https://www.ama-project.org) to facilitate strategic exchange and dialogues between researchers and stakeholders. In a new publication, the researchers describe the platform’s design and functionalities as well as its development in cooperation with a range of stakeholders.

Discussion at a project workshop in 2019.

“The scope of transdisciplinary sustainability research often extends beyond practical matters, such as mitigation, to encompass various aspect of human subjectivity, connecting the discourses on mindsets and sustainability. Our platform offers a wealth of information for anyone keen to explore the connections between inner change and sustainability and will help to catalyse synergies for transformations towards sustainability," explains project lead Thomas Bruhn. The platform also makes it easier to identify bias in research processes and facilitates networking.

The interactive database hosted on the platform enables interested parties to explore a global network of people, initiatives, organizations, publications, and other resources that link the cultivation of subjectivity with efforts to promote socio-ecological transformation. The platform can be used in different ways, both as a content aggregator and library and as a means to gain an overview of the research field. It can also be used as a "match-making tool " to connect with other individuals and organizations.

"At its core, our research project is about understanding and changing relationship patterns in a world that is shaped significantly by human interventions. Reflecting this, the platform provides a channel for establishing relationships that are consistent with this research goal. As an interactive infrastructure, it is designed to support people who wish to engage with like-minded others in transformative practice and shape this emerging field of research and action," explains co-author and IASS Scientific Director Mark Lawrence.

The platform is designed in such a way that it will not need to be controlled by the IASS over the longer term. Initially, content hosted on the platform will be curated exclusively by the research team. In the future, it will provide a space for a community of stakeholders to contribute, curate and engage in the process. The source code for the platform has been released as open-source code, and the researchers have offered to advise individuals and organisations wishing to learn more from their experience and develop similar platforms for their own fields.

Links:

Online platform: https://www.ama-project.org/
Publication: Bruhn, T., Meier, S., Lawrence, M.G., (2022): Interactive network visualization on the integration of mindsets and sustainability – creating conditions for emergence through a relational narrative. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research,
https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2022.2101987