As sustainability challenges and the transformative changes they necessitate stretch well beyond the boundaries of individual socio-technical systems, there is a pressing need to generate more sustained interest in the dynamics occurring across rather than within systems. In response, this viewpoint takes stock of existing work on multi-system dynamics and sketches the contours of a multi-system perspective, which conceptualizes the interactions among systems as diverse, layered, and evolving. A multi-system perspective draws attention to: the present functional and structural couplings that link systems of interest; emerging sites of interaction that could bring systems further into contact; along with the patterns marking system interactions and their implications for sustainability transitions. Attending more carefully to multi-system dynamics complements several promising directions of inquiry identified by the agenda for sustainability transitions research, including recent efforts to broaden the scope of analysis, capture the pervasiveness of change, and consider opportunities for acceleration.

随着可持续性挑战及其带来的变革性变化远远超出了各个社会技术系统的范围，迫切需要对跨领域而非内部的动态产生更持久的兴趣系统。作为回应，此观点总结了有关多系统动力学的现有工作，并勾画了多系统观点的轮廓，该观点将系统之间的交互概念化为多样化，分层和不断发展。多系统的观点引起了人们的关注：链接功能系统的当前功能和结构耦合；可能使系统进一步联系的新兴互动场所；以及标记系统相互作用的模式及其对可持续性转变的影响。更加仔细地参与多系统动力学补充了可持续发展转型研究议程所确定的若干有希望的研究方向，包括最近为扩大分析范围，捕捉变化的普遍性以及考虑加速机遇而做出的努力。