Calls for transformative change and participatory modes of knowledge production demand researchers to assume new roles. This paper synthesizes the literature on knowledge co-production and researcher roles to explore challenges for researchers involved in transdisciplinary environmental management projects. Our research methods combine a scoping review and reflections on personal experiences with three transdisciplinary projects. To conceptualize researcher roles in transdisciplinary knowledge co-production, we distinguish between three spaces: knowledge, formal policy, and stakeholder. Knowledge co-production requires collaboration between actors from different spaces and integration of diverse knowledge sources and types. Depending on whether researchers adopt knowledge-oriented, change-oriented or intermediating roles, they will experience different challenges. When researchers combine knowledge development with change-oriented and/or intermediating roles, they encounter new challenges, such as, maintaining independence or objectivity. To assist researchers in transdisciplinary projects, we conclude with a checklist of four elements to reflect upon: orientation, norms and values, expectations and resources.@en

Designing Systems for Informed Resilience Engineering’ (DeSIRE) is an extensive interdisciplinary research programme that shapes the 4TU Centre for Resilience Engineering (4TU RE Centre) and builds its capacity. Our understanding of resilience goes beyond robustness of infrastructure; we focus on resilience as the ability of coupled social-technical-environmental (STE) systems to absorb, react, recover, adapt and reorganize with change. Our mission is to advance and consolidate the understanding of resilience thinking, measuring resilience, and resilience coordination and governance. This mission statement conveys the 4TU RE community approach to resilience and the premises upon which this approach makes a difference.@en