Conflict management programs in trans-disciplinary research projects: the case of a food security project in Tanzania

Katharina Löhr (), Christian Hochmuth, Frieder Graef, Jane Wambura and Stefan Sieber
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Katharina Löhr: Institute of Socio-Economics
Christian Hochmuth: European University Viadrina
Frieder Graef: Institute of Land Use Systems
Jane Wambura: Institute of Socio-Economics
Stefan Sieber: Institute of Socio-Economics

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2017, vol. 9, issue 6, No 7, 1189-1201

Abstract: Abstract The scientific response to the challenges of security for food systems, as well as other global topics such as climate change, has been to shift from research projects with a narrow focus on one or a few sectors of the food system to broader trans-disciplinary approaches. Such research settings are inherently complex and involve the potential for substantial conflict that can put the success of the entire research project at risk. Allocating time and resources to establish mechanisms that facilitate meta-communication among project members is increasingly advocated in order to minimize conflicts. The aim of this paper is to analyze and then facilitate the integration of conflict management programs as a tool within such research projects. This was achieved by establishing the framework characteristics that define the food security research environment as: (1) donor-funded; (2) temporary; (3) virtual; (4) international; (5) inter-organizational; and (6) trans-disciplinary; and by discussing their implications for the implementation of a conflict management program. A participatory and transdisciplinary food security research project active in Tanzania (Trans-SEC) was used as the case study, with qualitative research methods applied.

Keywords: Food security; Trans-disciplinary research; Conflict management; Conflict resolution; Project management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1007/s12571-016-0643-1

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