Navigating four junctions: a framework to design context- and format-sensitive transdisciplinary research

Transdisciplinary research (TDR) is increasingly recognized as an essential approach for addressing complex challenges, particularly in sustainability science. While existing research has explored both the contextual embeddedness of TDR and the diverse formats and methods that structure its processes, the dynamic interplay between these elements is still under-examined. This paper investigates the mutual interdependencies of context as well as research formats and methods in TDR by working with the concept of junctions—critical points where contextual factors and methodological choices co-evolve and shape research processes. In particular, we ask: Which junctions can we identify where active design choices can be made throughout the research process and directed toward specific outcomes? Drawing on qualitative data from interviews and workshops, we identify four junctions: adaptivity, hierarchy, inclusiveness, and trust. Our findings demonstrate that these junctions are not static, but dynamic spaces where researchers and practice partners continuously reflect and adjust their approaches in response to evolving contextual settings and methodological demands. The four junctions constitute active points of reflection in which research processes can iteratively be re-designed or adapted to specific circumstances. By conceptualising junctions as a spectrum of interactions, we offer a novel analytical framework that enhances understanding of how context-sensitive TDR can be designed and implemented by the choice and adaptation of formats and methods. This framework offers practical and analytical guidance, including reflective questions derived from our analysis, as well as insights into transferability and scaling across diverse research contexts to foster rigorous, effective, inclusive, and transformative transdisciplinary collaborations.