From science to policy through transdisciplinary research

Is transdisciplinary research a useful means of bridging science and policy? And does transdisciplinarity go beyond informing public agencies, the private sector, or civil society of the results of research? The interacting policy cultures serve as a framework for studying transdisciplinary projects funded by two environmental research programs, the Swiss Priority Program Environment (SPPE) and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (MISTRA). Two types of projects are distinguished. Researchers in projects of the first type reorganize knowledge according to the (perceived) interest of the audience. Transdisciplinary research of this type requires a clearly defined audience culture. Researchers in projects of the second type initiate a co-production of knowledge during which the different policy cultures interact. Transdisciplinary research of type two is appropriate for policies that have to be developed using a collective process involving multiple policy cultures.