They will contribute to the transdisciplinary Leverage Points project. Drawing on insights from systems thinking and solution-oriented transdisciplinary research, this project will focus on hitherto underrecognized leverage points – system properties where a small shift can lead to fundamental changes in the system as a whole.

Leverage Points will focus on changes in relatively intractable, but potentially highly influential, system properties that could help to realign complex social-ecological systems to the normative goals of sustainability.

PD1 : RESTRUCTURE: Institutional dynamics in sustainability transformation
This position focuses on processes of institutional change for sustainability, with an empirical focus on restructuring food and energy systems in Lower Saxony (DE) and Transylvania (RO). RESTRUCTURE will address dynamics (transformations) in institutional arrangements, and the productive functions of institutional decline in particular.

PD2: RECONNECT: Conceptualising and quantifying human-nature connections
This position focuses on conceptualising and quantifying human-nature connections and how changes in such connections relate to sustainability outcomes, in food and energy systems in Lower Saxony (DE) and Transylvania (RO).

PD3: RETHINK: Sustainability-related knowledge creation and use (Germany)
This position focuses on consolidating conceptual foundations related to new forms of knowledge production and use, and will apply these to local transdisciplinary case studies. The themes of the case studies will revolve around the food and energy systems in Lower Saxony (DE) and Transylvania (RO). This position focuses on the Lower Saxony case, but contributes to the Transylvania case.

PD4: RETHINK: Sustainability-related knowledge creation and use (Romania)
This position focuses on consolidating conceptual foundations related to new forms of knowledge production and use, and will apply these to local transdisciplinary case studies. The themes of the case studies will revolve around the food and energy systems in Lower Saxony (DE) and Transylvania (RO). This position focuses on the Transylvania case, but contributes to the Lower Saxony case.

Further details:
http://www.researchgate.net