Abstract for: The dynamics of transdisciplinarity: How does a group modelling workshop generate joint understanding and cognition
System dynamicists pride themselves in generating cross-disciplinary understanding and whole-systems perspectives through the use of a specific workshop structure, facilitation and visual boundary objects in group model building workshops. While there exist best practices in the form of scripts for how to structure a group model building workshop, it is not known in detail how the respective workshop activities generate cross-disciplinary understanding and a whole-systems perspective among participants. In this paper, we therefore offer a novel analysis of the dynamics across disciplines during a facilitated system dynamics workshop and profoundly examine these disciplinary transitions as well as the role of the facilitator. We also discuss how the workshop structure and its focus on causal boundary objects generate insights and thus provide an innovative dynamic view of what happens within a workshop and workshop session.