Step-by-step guide

Scientists, scientific experts, and knowledge brokers often find themselves in situations where they need to play new roles in society or are criticised for positioning themselves at the interface between science and other societal fields of action. The guide Roles of Scientists in Sustainability Transformations supports the design of workshops to stimulate reflections on roles that scientists can perform.

Step-by-step guide for reflecting on roles of scientists

The guide suggests a 3-step procedure to initiate concrete reflection on and discussion of scientists’ roles in sustainability transformations.

Models

Seven different models of roles of scientists described in the literature are presented as a heuristic means of triggering reflection on roles. The models 1–6 relate to roles that emerge in the context of transdisciplinary knowledge co-production, where the boundary between science and society is fluid, even allowing for engagement of scientists in transformative action. Model 7 is a conceptualisation of roles of scientists that accounts for different roles in which knowledge is brokered between science and society.

Texts

Four texts are offered as the departure point for discussions about whether and how to draw the line between science and public engagement (especially engagement in the form of activism).