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How are biodiversity and ecosystem services evolving today and in the future, and how can this evolution be influenced? These were the questions addressed by the ValPar.CH research project.

The ValPar.CH Practice Navigator now provides a digital platform that makes research findings accessible from a practical perspective. The Practice Navigator demonstrates how the research team’s findings and recommendations can be implemented—in the areas of planning, governance, and communication, and at the federal, cantonal, regional, and municipal levels. The research background is supported by specific use cases or existing practical examples. Practice-relevant entry questions allow for quick access to the summarized research content. Keywords and additional filters enable targeted information searches. The original scientific publications are also listed, so that users have access to the original sources at any time. Where questions remain unanswered, contact information for the responsible researchers is provided.

The FOEN publication “The Many Values of Nature” (available in German and French) provides a summary overview of the research findings and key recommendations.

This series is the first dedicated platform that examines interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity not merely as research strategies, but as evolving fields of scholarship requiring systematic, theoretically grounded, and methodologically robust investigation. It emerges at a strategic moment in global research policy. Mission driven science, integration mandates from funding agencies, and cross sectoral collaborations have increased the demand for robust theory and comparative insights into integration, co-production, transformative research and collaborative governance. Yet, practices of inter- and transdisciplinary research remain frequently fragmented across disciplines and national contexts.

How can universities develop effective processes to embed inter- and transdisciplinary (ITD) approaches in teaching and research? This question sits at the heart of the PATHWAYS project, led by Bianca Vienni Baptista and Madalina Müntz at the Cultural Studies of Science and Technology Group, Transdisciplinarity Lab, ETH Zürich, Switzerland.

Taking the University of Strasbourg as a case study, PATHWAYS follows the trajectories of its 15 Interdisciplinary Thematic Institutes (ITIs). These institutes bring together researchers, lecturers, and external partners across three thematic areas, forming a living landscape of interdisciplinary experimentation. The project explores how ITD is interpreted, organised, and enacted across different settings within the university, and how it takes shape in everyday practices.

In doing so, PATHWAYS seeks to surface the environments and dynamics that accompany ITD efforts at the university level. The findings will feed into ongoing discussions on the institutionalisation and governance of ITD, while contributing to wider reflections on how universities can support, organise, and recognise ITD research and training.

Those interested in learning more about the project are warmly invited to get in touch with Madalina.

Think of a time when you noticed how different ‘they’ are from ‘us’. In that moment, did the relationship become more interesting and alive? Or did it flatten into what looked like a boundary – a barrier to be overcome or a connection to be engineered?

How can a student and their supervisors develop a shared map for a PhD project when they come from different disciplinary traditions, hold different assumptions about knowledge and quality, and operate within institutional systems that are still largely structured around single disciplines? How can they navigate what may feel obvious to one and may be invisible to another?

Four new contributions to the i2insghts can be found below:

• 613. Developing a conceptual framework to support communication, collaboration and integration by Hanna Salomon, Jialin Zhang and Sabine Hoffmann

• 612. The Cultiv8 tool Part 2: Actionable insights for navigating power by Sobia Khan and Julia Moore

• 611. The Cultiv8 tool Part 1: Actionable insights for cultivating trust by Julia Moore and Sobia Khan

• 610. From slogan to practice: Restoring transdisciplinarity as a serious way of working by Hussein Zeidan

In the tdAcademy Special Section Frontiers in transdisciplinary and participatory research in GAIA insights into key questions of transdisciplinary and participatory research are offered. Guest editors in collaboration with the German Society for Transdisciplinary and Participatory Research (GTPF) are Daniel Lang, Alexandra Lux, Martina Schäfer, and Melanie Mbah, representing the tdAcademy’s supporting institutions. Responsible GAIA editor is Ortwin Renn. 

What are some useful ways of thinking about trust when developing plans to implement your research or strengthen your team? More importantly, what are some practical ways to build trust both as an individual and as an organisation?

How can tourism contribute to sustainable development in mountains? This focus issue brings together insights from the European Alps, the Himalaya, the Pyrenees, and the Canadian Rockies on efforts to adapt mountain tourism to climate change and to transform the sector for greater sustainability, equity, and resilience. All six contributions emphasize the close interconnection between climate change, local communities, and governance.

How can the transition to a net-zero society be shaped in such a way that it is fair, widely accepted by society and economically feasible? Experts from the fields of science, politics and practice addressed this question in Bern on 26 November 2025. Impressions of the interactive conference and key insights from the inspiring presentations are now available in a video. This makes us even more excited for the next Sustainability Science Forum, which will be hosted by the University of Lausanne in 2027. 

The next International Inter- and Transdisciplinarity (ITD) Conference, ITD27, will be hosted by the University of Évora in Évora, Portugal from 31 May through 4 June 2027. We have just updated the ITD27 conference website so you can start thinking about travel plans to join us in Portugal. See the Plan Your Visit page of the ITD27 website for information about traveling to Évora and accommodation. The Exploring Évora page highlights details about the city, including activities and sites to visit. Évora, on top of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will be the European Capital of Culture for 2027. There will be many cultural activities to supplement the conference events, but accommodation will fill up quickly, so plan ahead. The Call for Contributions is expected to open by April 2026. Updates will be announced in the ITD Alliance News Bulletin and will be available immediately on the ITD27 website.

ITD Alliance Leadership Board members are developing a series of short videos about “Recognising, accommodating and connecting plurality in theory, methodology and organisations”. The first in the series is by previous Leadership Board member, Ulli Vilsmaier. Her video and accompanying blog post (on Integration and Implementation Insights, i2Insights) are titled “Recognise and value conceptual and linguistic pluralism!”

How can research teams recognise when their use of artificial intelligence is affecting their ability to integrate different knowledge and perspectives? How can they navigate the impact of artificial intelligence on their collaborative processes?

Co-organised with OpenEdition Lab, the infoclio.ch 2025 conference offered different historical and critical perspectives on the Open Science movement and discussed the main challenges of its implementation in the historical sciences.

Wie wird Klimaneutralität so selbstverständlich wie das Zähneputzen? Mit dieser Forschungsfrage startete 2021 das Reallabor Klima-RT-LAB – fünf Jahre später zieht das Projekt eine beeindruckende Bilanz. Ende Januar 2026 diskutierte das Projektteam 18 Empfehlungen gemeinsam mit Politik, Klimaschutz-Vertreter:innen, Wissenschaft und Bürger:innen.

The CAS One Health offered by the University of Bern is an interdisciplinary continuing education program that explores the interconnections between the health of humans, animals, and the environment. With support by the td-net it provides participants with a comprehensive and practice-oriented perspective on today’s complex health challenges. The programme is particularly relevant for professionals from a wide range of sectors working at the interface of ecosystem, animal, and human health.

“Out and about sustainably in Bern” is a sustainable city guide for students and other interested readers. The booklet encourages reflection on what is important for a satisfying and good life and includes facts, ideas, and tips in the areas of sustainable development, transport, food, housing, consumption, as well as culture and events. It follows the sufficiency approach, which values wealth in time and space over wealth in goods and money.

Ziel dieses Studiums ist es, Generalisten auszubilden, die dank holistischer Methoden holistische Lösungen vorschlagen und umsetzen können. An der Universität Basel wird es dazu wieder im Frühjahrsemester 2026 eine öffentliche Ringvorlesung geben. Die Vorlesung findet wöchentlich ab dem 19. Februar 2025 jeweils am Donnerstag von 16.15 bis 18.00 Uhr statt: Suche | Vorlesungsverzeichnis Universität Basel

Die Soziologin und Politikwissenschaftlerin Lisa Deutsch wurde für ihre an der Eawag und der ETH Zürich verfassten Doktorarbeit mit der ETH-Medaille ausgezeichnet. Mit ihrer Forschung zeigte sie auf, wie inter- und transdisziplinäre Forschung gelingen kann und wie sich Theorie und Praxis in der Forschung verbinden lassen.

Hosted by Michel Alhadeff-Jones and Keri Facer, this podcast opens up a space for transdisciplinary reflection where knowledge from anthropology, architecture, the arts, ecology, education, geography, history, law, linguistics, literature, philosophy, and political science intersect. Over the course of 11 episodes, Michel and Keri engage in dialogue with 21 researchers, activists, and artists from five continents to revisit our representations of time, question dominant rhythms, and imagine other, more sustainable and just temporalities.

Articles in this open issue examine the shift from traditional to market-driven yak herding practices in Gatlang, Nepal, challenges in implementing policies on science–society interaction in mountain biosphere reserves worldwide, and the role of topography in socioeconomic development in the European Alps. In the MountainPlatform section, the Afromontane Research Unit presents the Mozambique Mountain Initiative.

As a hub for inter- and transdisciplinary teaching, the STS takes on administrative tasks, supports instructors with didactic expertise, communication, and quality assurance, and provides experimental spaces for innovative, cross-disciplinary teaching formats. It also shares best practices in inter- and transdisciplinary didactics and fosters exchange within its growing community.