With the growing importance of the principles of sustainability in development, the question of how these principles can be applied in highly diverse socio-economic and ecological settings is becoming increasingly important. Sustainable development issues are always part of a larger ‘multi-stakeholder’ setting. Therefore, the translation of sustainability into concrete social practice must be the result of a joint effort, involving all relevant actors. This translation of the sustainability principles into concrete action can be understood as a social or collective learning process involving all actors related to a certain issue.

Social learning processes aim to transform institutions, organisations and knowledge with a view to applying the principles of sustainable development. Social learning processes take place at and between the interfaces of civil society, state, research, and education.

Prominent ‘social spaces’ for collective learning processes are platforms, forums, watersheds, citizens’ or neighbourhood committees, communities, social movements, municipalities, political parties, federations, religious organisations, universities, NGOs, etc.

CDE focuses on transdisciplinary action-research that simultaneously helps to create situations favourable to the emergence or enhancement of social learning processes in highly heterogeneous environments, and contributes to a better understanding of enabling and hindering conditions under which this happens.