#1 SPOTLIGHTS – Let’s talk: The Toolbox Dialogue Initiative, USA, Michigan with Michael O'Rourke

What if philosophy was the missing piece in collaborative research? Michael O’Rourke and the Toolbox Dialogue Initiative at Michigan State University have built something rare: a centre entirely dedicated to studying and improving the process of collaboration itself – using structured philosophical dialogue to surface unspoken assumptions about knowledge, values, and methods. If you want to get inspired by other approaches which are supporting Collaborative and Transdisciplinary Research around the world, check out the full recorded program of the SPOTLIGHTS -Let’s talk online series. SPOTLIGHTS brings global perspectives to PartWiss 2026 – the largest conference in Germany on participation in science. The SPOTLIGHTS program highlights people, institutions, and support structures making collaborative research possible. Together, we explore how transdisciplinarity, participation, and public engagement are embedded in science systems worldwide. The program consists of this series of online talks and of an exploratory study on support structures worldwide. More info can be found here: http://www.spotlights-partwiss.de/ SPOTLIGHTS is organized by the Laboratory for Transdisciplinary Research (TD-Lab) of the Berlin University Alliance and Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft e.V. Partners: Gesellschaft für transdisziplinäre und partizipative Forschung (GTPF), Alliance for Inter- and Transdisciplinary Research (ITD) Co-funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space. https://www.partizipation-wissenschaf... https://www.berlin-university-allianc... https://www.stifterverband.org/english https://www.gtpf.science/ https://itd-alliance.org/