Abstract:
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are inherently complex. This paper contributes to
the literature on co-production of knowledge at the interface of science, policy, and society in integrated,
transdisciplinary research (TDR) projects. By analysing five projects of the Leading Integrated Research for
Agenda 2030 in Africa (LIRA) implemented in nine African cities, the paper identifies the pathways for sciencepolicy-
society interactions (SPSI) within the TDR projects, the cross-scale and contextual dynamics influencing
the interactions as well as the challenges of foregrounding the interactions. We identified four SPSI pathways: i)
TDR processes, ii) explicitly conceptualising and communicating research projects in relation to mandates and
policies, iii) the global sustainability agenda, and iv) relationships and networks. We argued that these pathways
can be construed as important windows for foregrounding SPSI in TDR projects. Cross-scale dynamics such as the
spatial scale of interactions, actors’ roles, and purposes of engagement were critical determinants of the intensity
and frequency of the interactions between the project actors. The analysis suggests that being context-sensitive is
key to foregrounding SPSI in TDR projects. Conceptual threshold crossing, resource intensity, power differentials,
discontinuity, as well as a history of academic and practice silos present formidable challenges to SPSI in TDR
projects. These challenges can be addressed through the identified pathways, adequate capability development;
incentivising academics and practitioners engaged in co-production of knowledge; stimulating co-production
through adequate resources; building redundancies within the project teams, ideas, and processes, and paying
attention to the politics of co-production of knowledge.
