The book will appeal to researchers and postgraduate students in a variety of disciplines such as architecture, design, economics, social sciences, engineering and sustainability studies. It will also be of significant value to professionals who are engaged in transdisciplinary collaboration that supports sustainable development.

I am pleased to welcome the first book in the Routledge International Sustainable Development Research Society (ISDRS) series in sustainable development research. ISDRS is a global network of sustainable development professionals, linking researchers in academia and implementation practice from all continents to each other. Primarily through our annual conferences, members share their research experiences and practices, exchange ideas and form collaborations. Fittingly, this inaugural book is a product of discussions at recent ISDRS conferences including in Messina (2018) and Nanjing (2019). Transdisciplinary research, as the book explains, has been understood in different ways by researchers in different disciplines, different countries and across time. A significant characteristic, however, is a deep collaboration beyond academia in a shared experience of defining and conducting research. This is a markedly different approach from traditional research, breaking down the ‘us’ and ‘them’ relationship between those inside the bounds of academia (the researchers) and those outside, who might be the audience, or perhaps subjects of research but traditionally not participants. The importance of breaking through that division to build shared understandings of complex social issues has been recognized not only by researchers, but also policy makers and funding bodies. This relatively recent awareness has helped to bring new interest in the field of transdisciplinary research, in which some of the ISDRS community, including the editors of this book, are highly experienced. These recent discussions, have brought to light the need for a volume such as this to provide a foundation in transdisciplinary research which is relevant to researchers from a range of disciplines. This book will provide an invaluable guide to and insight into the theoretical and practical issues in carrying out research with partners beyond the walls of research institutions, not only for new and experienced researchers, but also for a broad audience.

Prof.Dr. Pauline Deutz

President, International Sustainable Development Research Society

Department Geography, Geology and Environment

University of Hull, UK

Endorsement

I am pleased to welcome the first book in the Routledge International Sustainable Development Research Society (ISDRS) series in sustainable development research. ISDRS is a global network of sustainable development professionals, linking researchers in academia and implementation practice from all continents to each other. Primarily through our annual conferences, members share their research experiences and practices, exchange ideas and form collaborations. Fittingly, this inaugural book is a product of discussions at recent ISDRS conferences including in Messina (2018) and Nanjing (2019). Transdisciplinary research, as the book explains, has been understood in different ways by researchers in different disciplines, different countries and across time. A significant characteristic, however, is a deep collaboration beyond academia in a shared experience of defining and conducting research. This is a markedly different approach from traditional research, breaking down the ‘us’ and ‘them’ relationship between those inside the bounds of academia (the researchers) and those outside, who might be the audience, or perhaps subjects of research but traditionally not participants. The importance of breaking through that division to build shared understandings of complex social issues has been recognized not only by researchers, but also policy makers and funding bodies. This relatively recent awareness has helped to bring new interest in the field of transdisciplinary research, in which some of the ISDRS community, including the editors of this book, are highly experienced. These recent discussions, have brought to light the need for a volume such as this to provide a foundation in transdisciplinary research which is relevant to researchers from a range of disciplines. This book will provide an invaluable guide to and insight into the theoretical and practical issues in carrying out research with partners beyond the walls of research institutions, not only for new and experienced researchers, but also for a broad audience.

Prof.Dr. Pauline Deutz

President, International Sustainable Development Research Society

Department Geography, Geology and Environment

University of Hull, UK

Martina M. Keitsch is Professor for Sustainable Design and PhD Program Leader at the Department of Design, Faculty of Architecture and Design, Norwegian University of Science and Technology. From 2019-2023 she is appointed Visiting Professor at the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Keitsch is project leader of the NORAD financed NTNU/IOE project MSESSD ‘Energy for Social Sustainability’ (http://msessd.ioe.edu.np/) from 2015-end 2020. She is also Project leader of the DIKU, NORPART financed project SAMAJ, ‘Transdisciplinary Education for a Sustainable Society' (https://www.samaj.online/) from 2019 to 2023. Keitsch has worked for over 20 years in the sustainable development field, mainly with industrial ecology, eco design, and architecture, urban planning, stakeholder inclusion and transdisciplinary collaboration, and ethics of sustainability. Keitsch is Member of several Scientific Committees, board member of the International Sustainable Development Research Society and of the Network, Women in Design Research. She has been Guest-editor of four special issues for the Journal "Sustainable Development". Keitsch is teaching Bachelor- Master- and PhD students and has published several articles on the topics above. Recent publications cover: Sustainability and Public Space, Transdisciplinary collaboration in Renewable energy projects, Sustainable Design and Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation through Low carbon-city design.

Walter J.V. Vermeulen is based at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development of Utrecht University, Netherlands. He has a long-standing experience in analyzing progress in implementing sustainability practices in business in many different countries, both inside companies and in their socio-economic networks. He is especially focusing on new forms of private governance in (international) supply chains, both in Europe as well as in supplier countries worldwide and on practices of circular economy. He also published articles on the essence of the concept of sustainable development and the social dimension and the need for transdisciplinary research. Vermeulen is the Past-President of the International Sustainable Development Research Society (isdrs.org). He has been also program leader of the International Master Sustainable Development at Utrecht University. See for his publications: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Walter_Vermeulen