Moving Forward on Competence in Sustainability Research and Problem Solving

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1. C. Perrow, Normal Accidents: Living With High-Risk Technologies (New York: Basic Books, 1984). 2. R. W. Kates, W. C. Clark, R. Corell, J. M. Hall, C. C. Jaeger, et al., "Sustainability Science," Science 292, no. 5517 (2001): 641–42 3. A. Wiek, L. Withycombe, and C. L. Redman, "Key Competencies in Sustainability—A Reference Framework for Academic Program Development," Sustainability Science (2011, in press). 4. Even if used in a broad sense including natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, other prominent fields addressing sustainability issues such as engineering, business, design, and planning seem to be not sufficiently captured and recognized under the term "sustainability science." With the formulation used here, we propose to overcome all of these demarcations as the field develops its genuine program beyond disciplinary anchoring. 5. For example, J. Byrne, "From Policy to Practice: Creating Education for a Sustainable Future," in K. A. Wheeler and A. P. Bijur (eds.), Education for a Sustainable Future: A Paradigm of Hope for the 21st Century (New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum, 2000), 35–72; G. de Haan, "The BLK '21' Programme in Germany: A 'Gestaltungskompetenz'-Based Model for Education for Sustainable Development," Environment and Education Research 1 (2006): 19–32; M. Barth, J. Godemann, M. Rieckman, and U. Stoltenberg, "Developing Key Competences for Sustainable Development in Higher Education," International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 8, no. 4 (2007): 416–30; Y. Sipos, B. Battisti, and K. Grimm, "Achieving Transformative Sustainability Learning: Engaging Heads, Hands and Heart," International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 9, no. 1 (2008): 68–86; J. Segalas, D. Ferrer-Balas, M. Svanstrom, U. Lundqvist, and K. F. Mulder, "What Has to be Learnt for Sustainability? A Comparison of Bachelor Engineering Education Competencies at Three European Universities," Sustainability Science 4, no. 1 (2009): 17–27; and M. Willard, C. Wiedmeyer, R. W. Flint, J. S. Weedon, R. Woodward, I. Feldmand, and M. Edwards, The Sustainability Professional: 2010 Competency Survey Report (retrieved from: http://sustainabilityprofessionals.org/). 6. Wiek et al. (op. cit.). 7. L. van Kerkhoff and L. Lebel, "Linking Knowledge and Action For Sustainable Development," Annual Review of Environmental Resources 31 (2006): 445–77. 8. J. Ravetz, "Integrated Assessment for Sustainability Appraisal in Cities and Regions," Environmental Impact Assessment Review 20 (2000): 31–64; G. Bammer, "Integration and Implementation Sciences: Building a New Specialization," Ecology and Society 10 (2005): article 6; R. Kemp, S. Parto, and R. Gibson, "Governance for Sustainable Development: Moving From Theory to Practice," International Journal of Sustainable Development 8 (2005): 12–30; R. W. Scholz, D. J. Lang, A. Wiek, A. I. Walter, and M. Stauffacher, "Transdisciplinary Case Studies as a Means of Sustainability Learning, Historical Framework and Theory," International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 7, no. 3 (2006): 226–51; D. Loorbach and J. Rotmans, "Managing Transitions for Sustainable Development," in X. Olshoorn and A. J. Wieczorek (eds.), Understanding Industrial Transformation—Views From Different Disciplines (Dordrecht: Springer, 2006), 187–206. 9. L. Withycombe and A. Wiek, Anticipatory Competence as a Key Competence in Sustainability, Working Paper (Tempe : School of Sustainability. Arizona State University, 2010). 10. M. W. Fraser, J. M. Richman, M. J. Galinsky, and S. H. Day, Intervention Research: Developing Social Programs (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2009); D. M. Mertens, Transformative Research and Evaluation (New York : Guilford Press, 2009); and D. Loorbach, Transition Management: New Mode of Governance for Sustainable Development (Utrecht : International Books, 2007). 11. T. Miller, T, D. Baird, C. M. Littlefield, G. Kofinas, F. S. Chapin III, and C. L. Redman, "Epistemological Pluralism: Reorganizing Interdisciplinary Research," Ecology and Society 13 (2008): Article 2. 12. Wiek et al. (op. cit.). 13. E. Fisher, R. L. Mahajan, and C. Mitcham, "Midstream Modulation of Technology: Governance From Within," Bulletin of Science, Technology, and Society 26 (2006): 485–98. 14. J. Gregory, M. Mattern, and S. Mitchell, "From Ivory Tower to Urban Street: Using the Classroom as a Community Research and Development Tool," PS: Political Science and Politics 33 (2001): 119–24; and K. Brundiers, A. Wiek, and C. L. Redman, "Real-World Learning Opportunities in Sustainability—From Classroom Into the Real World," International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 11, no. 4 (2010): 308–24. 15. Cf. A. Whitmer, L. Ogden, J. Lawton, P. Sturner, P. M. Groffman, et al., "The Engaged University: Providing a Platform for Research That Transforms Society," Frontiers of Ecology and Environment 8, no. 6 (2010): 314–21.