Managing the wicked problem of transdisciplinary team formation in socio-ecological systems

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2016

Department

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering; Department of Social Sciences; College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

Abstract

Transdisciplinary teams are called upon to research and resolve problems associated with socio-ecological systems, which are notoriously wicked. We propose that the formation of these teams is itself a wicked problem. We support this claim by identifying in transdisciplinary team formation characteristics from Rittel and Weber's (1973) list of wicked problem attributes. We recommend a set of strategies for managing the wickedness of team formation, drawn from our experience in forming teams to conduct research on socio-ecological systems and the team formation literature.

Publication Title

Landscape and Urban Planning

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