Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4428344 | Science of The Total Environment | 2015 | 12 Pages |
•Structured synthesis advances science through transdisciplinary collaboration.•Synthesis centres can effectively facilitate transdisciplinary synthesis.•Syntheses draw on unifying frameworks, culturally resonant narratives and big data.•Benefits include conceptual, methodological, policy, career and research outcomes.•Continuity of programmes is essential to fully reap their benefits.
Mitigating the environmental effects of global population growth, climatic change and increasing socio-ecological complexity is a daunting challenge. To tackle this requires synthesis: the integration of disparate information to generate novel insights from heterogeneous, complex situations where there are diverse perspectives. Since 1995, a structured approach to inter-, multi- and trans-disciplinary1 collaboration around big science questions has been supported through synthesis centres around the world. These centres are finding an expanding role due to ever-accumulating data and the need for more and better opportunities to develop transdisciplinary and holistic approaches to solve real-world problems. The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS