Bern Workshop Recap: Power and Agency in TD Research—Developing a Toolkit

How Can ITD Research Better Account for Power and Agency?

On 18 February 2025, the Translating Transformations team co-organized a half-day workshop in Bern together with td-net. The event brought together 12 participants interested in ITD research and learning about tools that integrate critical social science (CSS) perspectives—especially concepts of power and agency.

Our goal was to test four of our newly developed CSS literacy tools, gather feedback, and refine them for practical use in inter- and transdisciplinary contexts. The session emphasized reflexivity around structural and discursive power dynamics (Arias-Arévalo et al., 2023), which often constrain transformative change, while also fostering exchange and collaboration on our open-source toolbox.

Photos by Norman Backhaus & Mirjam Steiger

Workshop Design

The workshop kicked off with lunch and informal networking before moving into four hours of structured activities. As in our ITD24 conference workshop, we opened with a pre-assessment questionnaire to capture participants’ experiences with CSS, their understanding of power, and its role in shaping ITD processes and outcomes. This was followed by a brief introduction to core CSS themes that set the stage for the tool-testing sessions.

The workshop combined short theoretical inputs with guided testing of four tools:

1. The Power of Truth – exploring how knowledge and truth claims are shaped by power, previously tested in teaching and at ITD24.

2. Picture This: Seeing Through Epistemic Lenses – engaging with discursive power and epistemic identities (first test).

3. The Power of Inclusion – addressing active versus passive inclusion as operational power in research collaborations (first test).

4. The Power of Representation – reflecting on structural power, previously tested at ITD24.

We placed particular focus on tools 2 and 3, since this was their first round of testing, and dedicated extra time for feedback and discussion.

The session closed with a post-assessment questionnaire and an individual feedback round using flipcharts. Participants provided valuable insights into the usability and relevance of each tool. Their input has already helped us adapt and improve Picture This and The Power of Inclusion for broader application.

What’s Next?

This workshop was an invaluable step in finalizing our first set of CSS literacy tools. All four are now available in our CSS Literacy Toolbox. We’re excited to continue developing new tools and organizing further workshops—stay tuned, and follow us on LinkedIn to stay informed.