摘要：Applied research in complex integrated settings should be recognized as an endeavor that requires transdisciplinaryand multisectoral stakeholder interactions. The problems faced in society are quite complex, requiring participation andknowledge from diverse aspects of society, including different disciplines (academia), communities, civil society, andgovernment. Successful applied research relies on nurturing these key stakeholder relationships and interactions. This paperexplores the key challenges of stakeholder interaction in applied research in three disciplines in the South African context, basedon literature and the experience of authors in their disciplines. The three disciplines include information and communicationtechnology for development, town and regional planning, and natural resource management. We attempt to also compare andcontrast these challenges across the disciplines, to identify any commonalities and differences. After considering the mutualchallenges and adaptive solutions to address these challenges in the different disciplines, we identify that all three areas inrelation to stakeholder interaction appear to exhibit characteristics of complex systems, hence motivating to view applied researchas a complex system. In this sense, complexity theory may provide a common language between the different disciplinesexamining transdisciplinary stakeholder interaction in applied research from a shared perspective
关键词：applied research; information and communication technology for development; natural resources; stakeholder;interaction; town and regional planning; transdisciplinarity
