Sustainability science is emerging as the transdisciplinary research field that provides the information and technical support needed for sustainable development (SD). It has complex and far reaching implications for research and for society. SD is a learning process that requires difficult social changes in paradigms and behaviors. This process involves a circle of responsibility that must start and continue with public awareness, appropriate science, and supporting leadership. In this chapter we present perspectives gained, through the development of the Systems Approach Framework (SAF) SPICOSA project, that emphasize the need to accelerate two coupled research trends already initiated: an expansion to complex systems science, and a strong participatory role between science and society. We present how the SAF was applied to policy issues in eighteen European coastal sites and what was learned about how scientific research, coupled with local societies, can better address coastal issues, and guide integrated coastal zone management in the transition to sustainable development.