Høgskolen i Oslo

Sustainable Development and Interdisciplinarity.

Developing and Implementing Research Programmes. The Case

of NorwayScientific Workshop

Limassol, Cyprus, 15-16 October 2009

By: Karl Georg HøyerProfessor/Research Director

Technology, Design & Environmentkarl.georg.hoyer@hio.no

Sustainable Development A truly Interdisciplinary Concept –

basically linking environmental, social, economical and ethical issues

A Contested Concept – Two main positions;

1. The original Brundtland Commission position: an integrated “environment and development” concept

2. The Triple Bottom Line: balancing three different concepts: environmental – social - economical

• Different Implications of the two - both in science and politics

Sustainable Development Three basic types of Environmental SD

research questions;1 Questions of Efficiency- more efficient/env.

benign?2 Questions of Pattern- other patterns?3 Questions of Level/Scale – reduced levels?Whether:- Sustainable Energy- Sustainable Transport/Mobility- Sustainable Production & Consumption- Sustainable Tourism

Interdisciplinarity A long history in focusing and linking

Environmental issues and Interdisciplinarity; since the advent of the environmental debate, early 1970`s

Also a Contested Concept- Monodisciplinarity?- Multidisciplinarity?- Interdisciplinarity?- Transdisciplinarity?

Interdisciplinarity Contested I Relation to three basic research

questions;1. What is the situation? The basic probing

question2. How do we evaluate the situation? Good

or bad? The basic valuation question 3. What can we do to change the situation?

Which solutions can we recommend? The basic constructive question

• The last two are contested questions within science.

Interdisciplinarity Contested II Interdisciplinarity in various meanings;

1. Rhetoric ?2. Solutions in a complex world ?3. To counter reductionism ?4. Combining pieces of knowledge in a

complex world ?5. Condition for understanding the open

complex systems in the real world – a matter of understanding reality better ?

Interdisciplinarity Contested III Shallow and Deep Interdisciplinarity

Interdisciplinarity and Sustainability – A Deep Approach;

1. An interdisciplinary ontology2. Monodisciplinarity as cause to problems3. Interdisciplinarity as solution –

epistemology4. Interdisciplinarity as solution –

methodology5. Interdisciplinarity as learning

The Case of Norway I Interdisciplinary Sustainable

Development Research Programmes and Dissemination

A. The long history of interdisciplinary environmental/sustainability institutions at Norwegian universities- The early 1970 `s- After Brundtland – and 1987

B. The Brundtland Interdisciplinary Professorships

The Case of Norway II Three main Research Council (Norway)

approaches;C. The Sectorial superior approach –

Sustainable Development as a separate research programme, emphazising interdisciplinary research

D. The Integrative approach I – Sustainability a superior issue of reference in all/many research programmes, eg on renewable energy (“Sustainable energy”)

The Case of Norway IIIE. The Integrative Approach II –

Sustainability an integrated research topic in a broader environment research programme, most specifically linked to explicit interdisciplinary parts of the programme. The separate parts of the programme are else dominantly monodisciplinary

The Case of Norway IVF. The subordinate approach – the manifold

research programmes on climate change, covering both mitigation, resilience and adaptation. Climate actions superior and equaled to “Sustainability”

G. “Alternative Future”, primarily a dissemination programme, developing and demonstrating solutions and roads towards an alternative, sustainable future. Started in the 1980`s, directly financed by the Parliament

The Case of Norway VH. ProSus – Programme for Research and

Documentation for a Sustainable Society. Based on the “Alternative Future” programme. Linked to the Research Council, however with earmarked yearly funding from the Government, and with own research and documentation staff.

I. Now: ProSus a unit within the Oslo University Centre for Environment and Development – Closing the Circle to the 70`s

The Case of Norway VIInterdisciplinarity

A. Research Communities

B. Research Councils

Sustainable Development

A. Research Communities

B. Research Councils

Interdisciplinary SD Research Communites- Separate Institutes- Separate

professorships- Master/PhD

programs- Interfaculty

programs- Permanent research

groups- Individual

researchers

Councils- Programs- Program boards and

evaluation experts- Own

experts/advicors- Individual projects- Require ”deep”

reflections both on SD and Interdisciplinarity