Transdisciplinary methods in socio-economic and environmental research

. The article presents a theoretical overview characterizing the research potential of transdisciplinary methods. The empirical part was conducted in the South of Russia (Stavropol Krai) in July 2023; it summarizes the practices of using transdisciplinary methods in the analysis of socio-economic and environmental processes. The professional community of environmentalists of Stavropol Krai was involved in the development of strategic vectors of interaction with university education to solve a common task – the training of highly qualified specialists in demand by production. In the course of the study we assessed the involvement of the professional community of ecologists in the processes of interaction with university teachers; the quality of training of graduates of environmental educational programs of higher education; we identified the practiced and promising types of interaction between the professional community of ecologists and the university. The research shows the importance of universal professional competencies for the successful work of a graduate of environmental educational programs. The data obtained provide an understanding of the importance of new research strategies using transdisciplinary approaches in the analysis of socio-economic and environmental processes.


Introduction
Different regions of the world face global challenges in the field of climate change, ecology, economy, social relations and sustainable development.Many multidirectional complex processes require new approaches in their study, evaluation, and development of program documents at the municipal, regional, and federal levels.The purpose of our research is to generalize the practical experience of using transdisciplinary approaches in the analysis of socio-economic and environmental processes at the regional level.
The relevance of the research is confirmed in a number of publications that are used in the analysis of the scientific potential of transdisciplinary methods.A new generation of specialists should be ready to use transdisciplinary practices in their professional activities.This conclusion is reached by the authors of the article Thomas W. Bean, Amy Wilson-Lopez, Kristen Gregory [1].Accordingly, in professional educational programs, it is necessary to provide sufficient theoretical material that reveals the content of these methods, as well as to provide students with the opportunity to apply transdisciplinary methods in practice to solve specific socio-economic and environmental problems.This conclusion generally confirms the relevance of our study.
The solution of complex problems associated with anthropogenic processes and transformations of previously stable regional biogeocenoses goes beyond the limits of individual disciplines.Forecasting and modelling of socio-economic and environmental processes requires an integrated approach to understanding the vectors and dynamics of their development.Scientists need to rely on a variety of data sources, including the opinions of the regional and professional community in the subject areas studied.The author of the article Parisa Nourani Rinaldi draws attention to the inevitable interrelation of natural and social processes, which leads to the need to remove numerous interdisciplinary research frameworks [2].This conclusion is especially relevant in the process of preparing predictive research strategies.
The development of technological progress has affected the complexity of the human habitat.This is especially true of large megacities.At the same time, there are situations associated with natural disasters, which are complicated by man-made factors.According to scientists, communities are key sources of information and innovations that can serve as a model of recovery after a natural disaster [3].Using the example of the work of an interdisciplinary group in Puerto Rico, effective algorithms for responding to natural disasters were proposed through the inclusion of the local community in their development.
Transdisciplinary methods are of particular importance in the study and preparation of solutions to social and environmental problems faced by post-industrial communities [4].The authors of the article Jess Vogt, Margaret Abood analyze the experience of using a transdisciplinary approach in preparing a program for the ecological development of the territory through the management of urban plantations and municipal resources.It is this approach that allows you to organize the coordination of the activities of several organizations.By conducting research with stakeholders, scientists describe the mechanisms by which the activities of Communi Tree transform resources into results in a socio-ecological context, and assess their sustainability.
An example of project activity in solving land use problems served as the basis for conclusions about work in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research groups [5].In the presence of heterogeneous subjects in the study, the transdisciplinary approach makes it possible to correct the problem statement in a timely manner, systematically use the knowledge of the involved practitioners at the stage of project design development.This is especially important for thematic areas of high complexity, such as land use research.
Transdisciplinary research is aimed at obtaining knowledge through the interaction of science and practice and is attracting increasing attention in the science of sustainable development [6].As it was noted, sustainable development is characterized by huge difficulties, specificity of context and wide representation of project participants (different subject areas and levels of knowledge -from theoretical analysis to practical application).The scientific problem discussed by the results of the study is the systematization and conceptualization of the process of integrating knowledge in transdisciplinary research projects.According to this the integration of knowledge occurs depending on their typesystemic, targeted, transformative, as well as on the effectiveness of the interaction of project team members from academia and practitioners.In many ways, these conclusions are consonant with our research hypothesis, which is formulated in the subject area "environmental knowledge".In the empirical part of the study, the integration of knowledge processes, the interaction of the academic community of agricultural education and practical specialists in the environmental sphere of Stavropol Krai are subject to analysis.And this is happening in the complex context of a region with certain climatic features and socio-economic changes.Thus, research strategies using transdisciplinary approaches have their relevance in different regional contexts and subject areas [7,8,9,10].
Researcher Rea Pärli in the article provides a systematic review of the literature and interviews with the expert community on how organizational, technological, and institutional factors affect the results of transdisciplinary research projects [11].The author considers important distinctive features of this category of projects: 1) the goal is to make a decision on the problem under study and not just a statement of the results of the study in the subject area; 2) research strategy and methods play a fundamental role in the success of a transdisciplinary project, rather than institutional factors.These important conclusions are important for our research, since new knowledge is obtained at the junction of different institutions aimed at improving specific practical actions [12,13,14].The academic community together with practitioners (in the field of environmental safety and environmental protection of the region) are developing an interaction strategy aimed at improving the quality of training graduates of environmental educational programs.The result is not only research findings, but also a roadmap of interaction, updated curricula for training environmentalists, partnerships between academic leaders and practitioners, inviting practitioners to participate in the implementation of individual disciplines and practical training of students.
The scientific community pays great attention to the conceptualization of the transdisciplinary approach.Thus, the author of the article Stephan Lorenz analyzes the scientific discussion about the problems of applying this approach to solving the problems of sustainable development of large socio-economic, natural, technological systems [15].On the basis of sociological theory, there is an attempt to combine the research and project experience of scientists and practitioners.The author emphasizes, that professional selfreflection is important, especially of the academic community to provide a methodological basis for the subsequent training of students and young scientists in the cooperation of science and practice.In general, Stephan Lorenz believes that transdisciplinary research is defined as a special kind of applied science.
Another aspect of the application of transdisciplinary methods in solving current and future problems of sustainable regional development is presented in the article by Barbara Smetschka and Veronika Gaube [16].In their opinion, this approach ensures the integration of social and scientific knowledge, promotes the acquisition of new knowledge and strategies, and also affects society through the training of research skills of practitioners and the promotion of progressive knowledge in society.The authors of the article, using the example of the participation of the farming community in the research process of sustainable land use, show that joint modelling allows integrating the most pressing issues into models and developing scenarios and strategies together with stakeholders.These findings are relevant for other studies as well [17,18,19].

Materials and methods
The empirical part of the research practices of using transdisciplinary methods in assessing socio-economic and environmental processes in the region was conducted in the South of Russia (Stavropol Krai) in July 2023.The professional community of environmentalists of Stavropol Krai was involved in the development of strategic vectors of interaction with university education to solve a common task -the training of highly qualified specialists in demand by production.At the stage of developing the program and research tools, focus groups were organized with the participation of scientists and practitioners in the field of ensuring environmental safety of the region.A unified vision has been developed for the theoretical model of the professional community's expert survey of environmentalists of Stavropol Krai.The information blocks of the expert's questionnaire were: assessment of involvement in the processes of interaction with the university community; assessment of the quality of training graduates of environmental educational programs of higher education; practiced and promising types of interaction between the professional community and the university; the importance of universal professional competencies for the successful work of graduates of environmental educational programs.To collect primary sociological information we used the method of electronic questionnaire via Google Form.In total, 53 people from among the heads, chief and leading specialists, heads of structural divisions in organizations under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Stavropol Krai took part in it.The data obtained during the survey were processed in the SPSS Statistics program (version 23).The research tools included 27 substantive questions, socio-demographic, and qualification characteristics of the survey participants.

Results and discussion
According to the survey results, 88.4% of experts have interacted with graduates of environmental educational programs of Stavropol State Agrarian University (SSAU) in professional work situations in the last 2-3 years.Another 11.6% noted that among their acquaintances there are graduates of the Stavropol SAU who are excellent employees.Thus, the expert community shows high awareness about the object and subject of the study.
According to 92.7% of the survey participants, Stavropol SAU trains excellent specialists.84.2% of experts noted that graduates have the necessary competencies (skills) for successful inclusion in the current work processes of the enterprise (organization); 80.1% believe that graduates of Stavropol SAU are trained on advanced equipment for the industry, taking into account modern technological processes of the industry.
In organizations belonging to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Stavropol Krai, digital competencies of specialists are in demand (96.0% of the participants in the expert survey noted).And, in their opinion, 76.9% of graduates of environmental programs of Stavropol State Agrarian University fully possess such competencies.
92.7% of experts expressed readiness to develop strategic partnership with Stavropol SAU in educational, scientific, cultural and leisure, sports and other fields of activity.Experts are ready to confirm this partnership with targeted contracts for the training of graduates and agreements on long-term strategic cooperation.
Areas for cooperation in improving the quality of training graduates of environmental educational programs are: -a practical training class for students of SSAU on the basis of the enterprise (84.7% of the participants of the expert survey noted); -an internship platform for teachers (76.3% of the participants of the expert survey noted); -modernization by the enterprise of a profile class (laboratory) at the university (72.1% of the participants of the expert survey noted).
Experts assessed the importance and relevance of universal competencies of graduates.The data are presented in the following table 1.The first five most significant positions of graduates of environmental programs are related to competencies: the ability to set professional goals and objectives (average score of 4.96 on a five-point scale); the ability to identify likely problems in work (average score of 4.88 on a five-point scale); the ability to develop solutions and evaluate their effectiveness (average score of 4.84 on a five-point scale); the ability to independently extract and interpret the necessary information (an average score of 4.84 on a five-point scale) and sociability and communication skills (an average score of 4.81 on a five-point scale).
The allocated competencies play an important role in the development of interdisciplinary approaches by graduates to solve environmental problems of the region.
In general, experts note that the listed competencies are somewhat less important for graduates of agro-technological programs (table 1).
Thus, we can say that the interaction of the academic community and practitioners shows the areas of improvement of educational programs and confirms the relevance of the transdisciplinary approach in socio-economic and environmental research.

Conclusion
Based on a brief theoretical review of publications in the subject area of the application of transdisciplinary methods, a number of conclusions can be drawn: 1. Transdisciplinary methods are used in a significant part of research aimed at analyzing, modelling and forecasting the sustainable development of large socio-economic and ecological systems.2. The examples of the application of the transdisciplinary approach articulate the importance of the integration of scientists and practitioners in the research process.3. The benefits of using a transdisciplinary approach are not only to enrich scientific theory and practice, but also to promote jointly generated relevant socio-professional practices, which positively affects the competence potential of the local, regional, professional and scientific community.4. The application of a transdisciplinary approach provides an information base for professional self-reflection, the academic community.Subsequently, this plays an important role in the development of the methodological basis for the subsequent training of students and young scientists in the cooperation of science and practice.5.The quality of socio-professional communications in the process of project activity of scientists and practitioners plays a great role in achieving the positive effects of the use of transdisciplinary methods.
In the empirical part of the study an important thesis was confirmed -the relevance of using a transdisciplinary approach in socio-economic and environmental research.

Table 1 .
Expert community's assessment of the demand for universal competencies of the university educational programs