News Detail

ETH Medal for Lisa Deutsch

January 26, 2026 | Bärbel Zierl

Sociologist and political scientist Lisa Deutsch was awarded the ETH Medal for her doctoral thesis written at Eawag and ETH Zurich. Her research demonstrated how interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research can be successful and how theory and practice can be effectively combined in research.

Every year, ETH Zurich awards the ETH Medal for outstanding master's and doctoral theses. One of this year's medals went to Lisa Deutsch for her doctoral thesis entitled "Practising integration in inter- and transdisciplinary research: The role of enabling conditions and integrative leadership". The ETH Medal was presented during the graduation ceremony on 23 January.

Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research in practice

Societal challenges such as climate change, sustainability and pandemics are complex and cannot be easily addressed. In her doctoral thesis, Lisa Deutsch shows that it is not so much a lack of experts that is needed, but rather effective collaboration across disciplinary boundaries (interdisciplinary) and between science, policy and practice (transdisciplinary). For interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary (ITD) integration to succeed, it must be proactively promoted and led.

Suitable enabling conditions, integrative leadership and supportive methods

Based on qualitative accompanying research in three large ITD research programmes and networks in Switzerland between 2020 and 2023, Lisa Deutsch analysed how integration processes can be designed in concrete terms and what are enabling or hindering conditions. Her results show that the interplay of three factors is crucial: suitable enabling conditions, integrative leadership and supportive methods. "Often, the focus is on just one of these factors. I was interested in examining their interaction and deriving concrete approaches for action at various levels," says Lisa Deutsch.
 

Her doctoral theses makes it clear that enabling conditions must be created at several levels – from individual team members, programme managers and directors to programme design and incentive structures in institutions to funders and decision-makers in science policy. Lisa Deutsch also found that integrative leadership plays a key role, for which sufficient resources and integration expertise are needed. Successful leadership of ITD programmes means more than coordination and moderation: it includes not only supportive contributions, but also creative and scientific contributions, as well as actively addressing a variety of leadership challenges. In addition, the thesis presents insights into the application of integrative methods such as the "Theory of Change" to ITD research programmes and discusses how these can help to facilitate and implement integration across interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary boundaries.

Cartoons and a nominated short film illustrate the results

Lisa Deutsch also illustrated her findings with the illustrator and cartoonist Christof Stückelberger and Eawag research group leader Sabine Hoffmann in a series of cartoons entitled "How interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration will fail for sure". The scenes depicted provide interdisciplinary food for thought in a humorous way. They invite readers to rethink their own research behaviour and discuss with team members how ITD research can be jointly and successfully implemented in practice.

Cartoons: How interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration will fail for sure. Scenes from interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research. To the Cartoons (Cartoons: Lisa Deutsch, Sabine Hoffmann, Christof Stückelberger)

In addition, the animated short film "Verhebets? Ein ressourcenorientierter Apéro" was produced in collaboration with other young researchers from the Wings research programme and nominated by the Global Science Film Festival in the category "Best Short Film 2023". It explains the potential of resource-oriented urban water management and answers frequently asked questions and concerns of key stakeholders.

Animated short film "Verhebets? A resource-oriented aperitif"

Overall, Lisa Deutsch's doctoral thesis combines theory and practice and provides concrete, action-oriented insights for anyone who wants to strengthen interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and make an effective contribution to solving future societal issues. "I was particularly impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication with which the programme leaders participated in the regular focus groups. This space for reflection made it possible to incorporate findings from the accompanying research into the ongoing programmes at an early stage – rather than waiting until the end of the project, when they might potentially disappear into a drawer."

The work was carried out as part of the Eawag Wings programme in the Eawag Inter- and Transdisciplinary Research Group (Dr Sabine Hoffmann) as well as the Transdisciplinarity Lab (Prof. Christian Pohl) and the Weather and Climate Risks Research Group (Prof. David N. Bresch) at ETH Zurich. Lisa Deutsch currently works as a staff member and project manager for the Department of Health and Environment of the City of Zurich.


Cover picture: ETH Zurich presents Lisa Deutsch with the ETH Medal for her doctoral thesis, which she wrote at Eawag and ETH Zurich.(Photo: Sabine Hoffmann)
 

Publications

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          challenges can be adequately addressed has become increasingly urgent in re
         cent years. In the highly differentiated societies of the 21st century, ther
         e is generally no shortage of experts who can make a valuable contribution t
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         and projects by embracing three research foci: (a) the role of conditions un
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         >), and (c) the role of integrative methods to facilitate ITD integration (<
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' (124 chars) description => protected'Complex global social-ecological challenges of our time such as climate chan
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         lic authorities, a question remains concerning the extent to which prevailin
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         n practice. This paper embraces a holistic view on ITD integration by presen
         ting both an analytical framework and empirical insights from three ITD init
         iatives based in Switzerland dealing with sustainable urban water management
         , (future) extreme events and cross-sectoral climate impacts and climate ser
         vices in different socio-economic contexts. The framework is based on critic
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         onditions of integration at different structural levels, while also acknowle
         dging the power of actors to shape integration and the respective structures
         . The paper thereby illustrates and helps diagnose the source of challenges
         experienced in living up to ITD integration endeavors and how these differen
         t structural levels are interrelated and impact ITD integration. We conclude
          by discussing entry points for action aimed at transforming currently unfav
         orable structures into favorable ones. We thereby intend to provide, in part
         icular, insights for a w...
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' (153 chars) title => protected'Herding cats: integrative leadership strategies in inter- and transdisciplin
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         rams; actionable knowledge
' (102 chars) description => protected'This paper focuses on the critical role of integrative leadership in inter-
         and transdisciplinary (ITD) research programs. ITD programs have become one
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         eadership, (3) ensuring responsibility and accountability, (4) setting progr
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         unders and heads of research institutions in their efforts to realize the in
         tegrative potential of such programs.
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         s of change to a strategic research program
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         ter management; research programs
' (109 chars) description => protected'Theory of Change (ToC) has been promoted as a useful tool in sustainability
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         appen in a particular context. However, there is limited reported experience
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         transdisciplinary research programs. This article reports challenges and les
         sons learned from the experience of developing and using ToCs in the inter-
         and transdisciplinary research program <em>Wings</em> (<em>W</em>ater and sa
         nitation <strong>i</strong>nnovations for <em>n</em>on-<em>g</em>rid <em>s</
         em>olutions). Challenges include (1) managing time constraints, (2) balancin
         g between concrete and abstract discussions, (3) ensuring diversity in group
          composition, (4) fluctuating between reservations and appreciation, and (5)
          fulfilling both service and science roles while leading the ToC process. Th
         e experience highlights the importance of alternating formal and informal in
         teraction formats throughout the process, ensuring heterogenous group format
         ion, involving early career scientists, being responsive to emergent needs a
         nd making the added value of developing and using ToCs explicit and tangible
          for all participants. Although these lessons are mainly derived from develo
         ping ToCs within the interdisciplinary program team, they can support other
         programs in both their inter- and transdisciplinary research endeavors.
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Deutsch, L. (2024) Practicing integration in inter- and transdisciplinary research: the role of enabling conditions and integrative leadership, 145 p, doi:10.3929/ethz-b-000698963, Institutional Repository
Deutsch, L.; Pohl, C.; Bresch, D. N.; Hoffmann, S. (2025) Creating favorable conditions for inter- and transdisciplinary integration – an analytical framework and empirical insights, Global Environmental Change, 91, 102963 (15 pp.), doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102963, Institutional Repository
Deutsch, L.; Björnsen, A.; Fischer, A. M.; Hama, A. M.; Zimmermann, N. E.; Zurbrügg, C.; Hoffmann, S. (2025) Herding cats: integrative leadership strategies in inter- and transdisciplinary research programs, Sustainability Science, 20, 95-115, doi:10.1007/s11625-024-01585-4, Institutional Repository
Deutsch, L.; Belcher, B.; Claus, R.; Hoffmann, S. (2021) Leading inter- and transdisciplinary research: lessons from applying theories of change to a strategic research program, Environmental Science and Policy, 120, 29-41, doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2021.02.009, Institutional Repository