Blue sky
We will not achieve the transition to a sustainable and desirable future using conventional thinking alone. If we are to successfully tackle the complex and far-reaching economic, environmental and social challenges of the 21 st Century, we need to develop and apply innovative ways of thinking and working.
At the Institute for Sustainable Futures, we are involved in the ongoing development and application of innovative frameworks for understanding sustainability. We can help your organisation to understand and apply these frameworks to deliver new insights. Some examples include:
Transdisciplinary research: we are one of the leading proponents of transdisciplinary research, in theory and practice. Transdisciplinary research not only draws on multiple disciplines to provide the knowledge base to address problems of sustainability - it actively involves researchers from multiple disciplines in a shared process of defining and resolving these problems. We have a particular focus on transdisciplinary research in our postgraduate program [add link]. Associate Professor Cynthia Mitchell was awarded a Carrick Associate Fellowship in 2006 to investigate the conundrum of what constitutes quality in transdisciplinary postgraduate research outputs.
Integral theory: we are one of the few sites around the world that has actively applied Ken Wilber's Integral theory to explore sustainable futures. Integral theory is a way of ensuring that all relevant perspectives are included in defining and addressing a problem. These perspectives include behavioural, systemic, psychological, cultural and developmental perspectives. Dr Chris Riedy used Integral theory to examines Australia's climate change response and we continue to apply this framework in our research and consulting.
The long view: sustainability requires us to take the long view, well beyond budgetary or electoral cycles. We have extensive experience in long-term futures thinking and use various foresight techniques to assist our clients to think about the future. We have also undertaken specific research into the causes of, and solutions to, short-termism, particularly in relation to institutional investment.
