Using design theory to support transdisciplinary research on antimicrobial use in sustainable farming

Pascal Le Masson, Juliette Brun, Christian Ducrot, Gwenaël Vourc’h and Benoît Weil

Chapter 9 in How to Organise Transdisciplinary Research for Transformative Action and Knowledge Co-Production, 2026, pp 128-151 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Transdisciplinary research (TDR) aims to address complex Grand Challenges but lacks effective methods for organization. This chapter illustrates how design theory, specifically C-K (concept-knowledge) theory, supports TDR by managing the unknown paradoxically inherent in wicked problems. Using the case of a project on antimicrobial use in sustainable farming, the authors show how TDR can be successful, if approached from a design-based management perspective. They show some unique features deeply related to TDR challenges: dealing with the “unknown” appears as the driving force behind TDR; design theory is a robust instrumental framework to help TDR actors to map the unknown, learn, and organize accordingly; the management process progressively involved relevant stakeholders and knowledge providers in a growing network where people interconnected but could keep divergent interests. TDR doesn’t lead to one single big project but to several interdependent paths.

Keywords: Design Theory; Fixation; Unknown Management; Antimicrobial Use; Sustainable Farming (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035346547
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