Thesis (MPhil) -- Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The emerging classification of Sustainability-oriented Innovation Systems places an emphasis on the
social elements of change, as well as the technological. However, sustainability-oriented problems
are too vast for one person or discipline to comprehend; thus people tend to want to collaborate,
meaning they form teams. As a further extension to address sustainability-oriented problems, there
is an increasing emphasis on transdisciplinary research and development (R&D) efforts, whereby co-production
transgresses boundaries, and science becomes visible before it becomes certain. To
reach the objectives of transdisciplinary R&D efforts will require two key concepts: the gathering of
information from experts, namely knowledge transfer; and making connections between them,
namely knowledge integration. Nevertheless, challenges have been noted in terms of academic
tribes that impede teamwork, and, importantly, the lack of combined thought and action in R&D.
This research, which is compiled as two journal articles, explored the collaboration, between
disciplines, that has been described as the means of meeting the requirements of transdiscplinary
R&D to identify, structure, analyse and deal with specific problems in such a way that it can: grasp
the complexity of problems; take into account the diversity of life-world and scientific perceptions of
problems; link abstract and case-specific knowledge; and develop knowledge and practices that
promote what is perceived to be the common good. However, the latter brings into question how
values and culture influence collaboration and thus transdisciplinary R&D efforts. The first article set
out to investigate, from a literature analysis, how the culture and values of individuals in a
transdisciplinary R&D team, as well as those of the organisation, determine the potential success or
failure of the R&D effort. A conceptual framework is derived based on the theories of complexity, as
it relates to knowledge management, learning within organisations, cognitive and behavioural
approaches to culture and values, and communication. The framework also builds on previous
research that has been conducted with respect to the management of transdisciplinary R&D. The
second article then utilises the introduced conceptual framework for an in-depth investigation of a
case study in the bioenergy field. The R&D project, which spanned over three years in South Africa,
required a transdisciplinary team of engineers and scientists of various fields to collaborate with
stakeholders outside the R&D team. The case emphasises that the lack of disciplines to recognize,
understand and incorporate values and culture into R&D practices will lead to project failure; pre-empting
and managing expectations of social change (often) far outweigh the necessity for
technological change. A number of recommendations are thus made to improve R&D practices. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die opkomende klassifikasie van Volhoubaarheid-georiënteerde Innovasie Sisteme plaas 'n klem op
die sosiale elemente van verandering, sowel as die tegnologiese. Volhoubaarheid-georiënteerde
probleme is egter te groot vir een persoon of dissipline om te verstaan, dus neig individue om saam
te wil werk, wat beteken dat hulle spanne vorm. As 'n verdere uitbreiding om volhoubaarheidgeoriënteerde
probleme aan te spreek, is daar 'n toenemende klem op transdissiplinêre navorsing
en ontwikkeling (N&O) pogings, waardeur mede-produksie grense oortree, en die wetenskap sigbaar
word voor dit sekerheid bereik. Om die doelwitte van transdissiplinêre N&O pogings te bereik sal
twee sleutelkonsepte vereis: die insameling van inligting van deskundiges, naamlik die oordrag van
kennis, en die maak van skakels tussen hulle, naamlik kennis integrasie. Desondanks is die uitdagings
wel bekend in terme van akademiese stamme wat spanwerk belemmer, en, baie belangrik, die
gebrek aan gekombineerde denke en optrede in N&O.
Hierdie navorsing, wat saamgestel is as twee joernaal artikels, ondersoek die samewerking, tussen
dissiplines, wat al beklemtoon is vir die vereistes van transdissiplinêre N&O om spesifieke probleme
te identifiseer, struktuur, ontleed en hanteer in 'n manier wat: die kompleksiteit van probleme op 'n
verstaanbare wyse beskryf; rekening hou met die diversiteit van die lewe-wêreld en wetenskaplike
persepsies van probleme; abstrakte en geval-spesifieke kennis skakel; en die ontwikkeling van kennis
en praktyke bevorder wat beskou word as die algemene goed. Maar die laasgenoemde bring in
twyfel hoe die waardes en kultuur samewerkings, en dus transdissiplinêre N&O pogings, beïnvloed.
Die eerste artikel, met behulp van 'n literatuur-analise, ondersoek hoe die kultuur en waardes van
individue in 'n transdissiplinêre N&O span, sowel as dié van die organisasie, die potensiële sukses of
mislukking van die N&O poging bepaal. 'n Konseptuele raamwerk is afgelei wat gebaseer is op die
teorieë van kompleksiteit, soos dit verband hou met die bestuur van kennis, leer binne organisasies,
kognitiewe en gedrag benaderings tot kultuur en waardes, en kommunikasie. Die raamwerk bou op
vorige navorsing wat gedoen is met betrekking tot die bestuur van transdissiplinêre N&O. Die
tweede artikel gebruik dan die konseptuele raamwerk vir 'n in-diepte ondersoek van 'n gevallestudie
in die gebied van bio-energie. Die N&O-projek, wat gestrek het oor 'n tydperk van drie jaar in Suid-
Afrika, het van 'n transdissiplinêre span van ingenieurs en wetenskaplikes, van verskeie gebiede,
verwag om saam te werk met belanghebbendes buite die N&O-span. Die gevallestudie beklemtoon
die gebrek van dissiplines om waardes en kultuur te erken, verstaan en inkorporeer in N&O-praktyke
wat sal lei tot die mislukking van sulke projekte; vooruitskatting en die bestuur van die verwagtinge
van sosiale verandering is (dikwels) veel swaarder as die noodsaaklikheid van tegnologiese
verandering. 'n Aantal aanbevelings word derhalwe gemaak om N&O praktyk te verbeter.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/20012 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Brent, Alan Colin |
| Contributors | Swilling, M., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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