AccelNet-Design: Global Futures Oriented Research Collective on Education for Sustainability (G-FORCES)

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators

Abstract

The multifaceted nature and urgency of the climate crisis require interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to transform education — and consequently stimulate cultural shifts — toward more sustainable global futures. This challenge cannot be solved through research solely focused on technical solutions, but requires a critical interrogation of underlying assumptions about knowledge, education, and social change. The Global Futures Oriented Research Collective on Education for Sustainability (G-FORCES) aims to bring together international sustainability-oriented research networks from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities to rearticulate the role of education for planetary sustainability in formal and non-formal lifelong learning settings. G-FORCES aims not merely to improve, but to fundamentally reshape the relationship between education and sustainability research across global networks in ways that effectively integrate different knowledge ecosystems, bridge the research-practice divide, and prioritize education for planetary wellbeing and ecological justice. G-FORCES is a dynamic, multi-team collaboration across representatives from 10 diverse, globally leading research networks that share a common commitment to mobilize the power of education for planetary sustainability. Leveraging design approaches that enable structured but robust collaboration across networks, G-FORCES establishes a shared vision and strategic operational links across established research communities to engage in transdisciplinary convergence research that advances a comprehensive vision of sustainability education and climate literacy – encompassing scientific, energy, media, and ecological literacy – under a unified framework. Furthermore, it aims to maximize the impact of research on education policy and practice, create enduring local-to-global networks of scholarship and action, and address institutional barriers and structural limitations that presently limit integrated interdisciplinary climate research by creating new opportunities for inclusive research leadership for early-career scholars and from historically marginalized populations, particularly from the global South. Starting with a mapping exercise to identify gaps, connections, and synergies between networks, project activities will include annual research assemblies to set agendas for potential convergence research; a series of virtual co-design workshops to develop operational mechanisms for collaboration; and ongoing knowledge mobilization activities to engage relevant stakeholders to promote the transformation of educational systems for planetary sustainability. In addition to generating innovative research synergies and creating new spaces for sharing knowledge across different research networks, G-FORCES enhances connectivity among the world's leading scholars and education practitioners in enacting change. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.