In 2020, ISF researchers produced 139 publications spanning research reports, book chapters and new media. Here are six highlights from the year’s outputs.

Cover of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Failures book

Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Failures

Authors: Dena Fam and Michael O’Rourke

Format: book

Providing insight for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary practitioners, this book looks at what doesn’t work in the field. Documenting detailed case studies of project failures, it illustrates experienced challenges and the lessons learned from them. Read more here.
Cover of Development in Practice journal

Reaching all in rural sanitation: experiences from inclusive programming in five countries

Authors: Naomi Carrard, Jeremy Kohlitz, Simone Soeters, Gabrielle Halcrow (SNV), Janina Murta and Juliet Willetts

Format: Journal article, Development in Practice, pp. 1-15

This article presents approaches from area-wide rural sanitation programming undertaken by SNV across five countries. Analysis identified 10 strategies used in combination to support inclusion, then presents four implications for the rural sanitation sector: the value of a ‘toolbox’ approach; co-creation of strategies with stakeholders; recognition of local government as a driver of inclusive services; and the need to strengthen evidence on how strategies contribute to success. Read more here.
Cover of BioSocieties journal

Microbes, chemicals and the health of homes: integrating theories to account for more-than-human entanglements

Authors: Rachael Wakefield-Rann, Dena Fam, Susan Stewart (UTS Design Innovation research Centre)

Format: journal article, BioSocieties, vol. 15, pp. 182-206.

This paper explores the microscopic elements of ‘indoor ecosystems’ to assess the healthiness of homes, looking specifically at the domestic hygiene practices of parents with young children in Sydney, Australia. The research highlights crucial assumptions about the ways micro-scale agency is embedded in everyday domestic practices that are contributing to sub-optimal indoor environments. Read more here.
Cover of DER Customer Journey report

DER Customer Insights: The Customer Journey and Values and Motivations

Authors: Dani Alexander, Scott Dwyer, Chris Briggs and Chris Riedy

Format: report

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) commissioned ISF researchers to investigate energy consumers’ perceptions, habits and needs with a view to informing the way forwards for distributed energy sources (DER). These two publications provide important market intelligence to renewable energy providers so that they may attract, service and retain their customers into the future. Download the reports here.
Cover of Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability journal

Discourse coalitions for sustainability transformations: Common ground and conflict beyond neoliberalism

Author: Chris Riedy

Format: journal article, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, vol. 45, pp. 100-112.

This theoretical paper reviews alternative discourses to Neocapitalism, challenging its dominance. Riedy finds common ground and conflicts within these discourses, arguing that dialogue between them could seed the discursive transformation that is essential to support flourishing, sustainable futures. Read more here.
A bus stop that has been modified to withstand high heat from climate change

Climate Adapted People Shelters (CAPS) 360

Authors: Rebecca Cunningham, Brent Jacobs and Louise Boronyak

Format: 360 webVR

The Climate Adapted People Shelters (CAPS) project initiated a collaborative, design-led approach to reimagining the place and function of bus shelters, specifically in response to conditions of increasing urban heat and extreme weather events in Western Sydney. This piece embeds report findings into webVR to create a virtual tour of the CAPS and communicate our research findings. View the project here.

See all of ISF’s 2020 publications here