How personalities and participant interactions shape co-creative transdisciplinary processes

After having worked academically in the field of semiconductor nanophysics I joined the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam in 2012. The IASS Potsdam is a hybrid between a research institute and a think tank, and is funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research and the Ministry for Science, Research and Culture of the Federal State of Brandenburg. Our mission is not only to undertake research on sustainability-related issues but more importantly to act as a connecting hub in the science-society interface and engage in so-called ‘transdisciplinary processes’ (that is, involving a wide range of stakeholders outside of academia) in order to support those stakeholders and decision-makers in their engagement with sustainability. In this work at the science-society interface I regularly support transdisciplinary processes as a host and process moderator or facilitator. I have undertaken several practical training courses in moderation and facilitation techniques and increasingly tend to consider myself to be more of a practitioner (rather than scholar) of transdisciplinarity. In this role, I have experienced repeatedly how transdisciplinary processes challenge the participants involved, and how in turn the personalities of those present in the group, and my own personality as facilitator, can influence and shape the overall dynamics and outcomes of these processes. The desire to reflect on these dynamics and improve my own contribution as a facilitator motivated me to learn more about psychosocial methods and forms the basis for the reflections of this essay. In this essay, I will first provide an overview of transdisciplinary processes. After some reflections on why and how they are influenced by personalities and participant interactions I will then elaborate on potential contributions to understanding (and thus helping improve) these processes through psychosocial research.