Seven Sides to Every Question? Towards effective inter-disciplinary action on sustainable development

Description

This short report is based on small, exploratory project tackling a very big issue – effective inter-disciplinary action on sustainable development. A specific objective of this particular project was to improve understanding of the knowledge and learning issues that might affect this work.

Background information

• The project aims to work across the various disciplines involved in sustainable development at a local or neighbourhood level. Aims of this agenda include:
• Assessing the ‘knowledge gaps’ and ‘language barriers’ that currently exist in multi-disciplinary work
• Identifying opportunities to improve inter-disciplinary understanding and co-operation
• Developing an inter-disciplinary framework for evaluation of local level work on sustainable development
• Identifying, with the support of relevant professional bodies, common elements of evaluation criteria for locally-focused good practice that meets the needs of each discipline.

Methodology

The work was based around a set of discussion groups. Seven of these were discipline-specific and were assembled with the help of an organisation from that field. A final, wider discussion forum brought the different disciplines together.

Conclusions

A number of conclusions were made: a clear assessment of knowledge gaps between disciplines is essential; barriers seem to be most common among highly qualified professionals, institutions and traditions; there are some areas that are poorly understood.

Good communications is essential to better understanding – cutting out jargon and terminology. While local sustainability practitioners have a good understanding of the priorities of others and are keen to co-operate, this is often difficult due to their lack of core identity.

Focus areas to address problems:

• relationships,
• partnerships,
• timing,
• barriers and boundaries,
• representation,
• language and complexity.

Contact info

Community Development Foundation
admin@cdf.org.uk