A rose by any other name? Transdisciplinarity in the context of UK research policy

Abstract

This paper assesses developments in transdisciplinary research in the UK. While we support the thesis that transdisciplinarity is still not mainstream and is rarely supported per se by funders of research, this paper examines the extent to which UK research policy has embraced the concept of transdisciplinarity. Five empirical case studies provide data about the interrelationship between the interdisciplinary and impact or knowledge exchange aspirations of Research Council UK (RCUK) investments. We find evidence that, to an extent, UK research funding policy is achieving some elements of transdisciplinarity in practice, if not in name.Drawing on broader debates about the limitations of knowledge mobilisation and the challenges of conducting interdisciplinary research, we reflect on how the situation has changed since our original 2004 paper. The evidence suggests that the absence of the 'transdisciplinary' label is not necessarily impeding the framing of research funding schemes oriented towards societal issues. Nevertheless, several areas where capacitybuilding is required, including training for early career interdisciplinary researchers; improved research leadership skills; and the capacity to evaluate the quality of transdisciplinary processes and to learn from such evaluations, are identified.

Knowledge needs for the operationalisation of the concept of ecosystem services

“…In the sustainability science literature however there has been a growing 531 discussion about the need to apply more collaborative transdisciplinary research approaches that 532 take place within real life situations and actively engage in the messy realities of helping to facilitate 533 change (Brandt et al, 2013 an interactional model of knowledge production, involving collaborations between scientists from 545 different disciplines and non-academic stakeholders to create solution orientated knowledge that is 546 socially robust and can be applied to both scientific and societal practice (Stokols, 2006). Conversely, 547 inter disciplinary research crosses disciplinary boundaries within scientific communities to produce 548 knowledge (Lyall et al, 2015). Methodologically, transdisciplinary research has been linked to 549 poststructuralism in so far as it recognises multiple types of knowledge as equally valid (Cameron 550 and Gibson, 2005).…”

Opportunities and challenges doing interdisciplinary research: what can we learn from studies of ethnicity, inequality and place?

“…It has required supportive institutional frameworks (Darbellay 2015), including from funders, and CoDE has undoubtedly benefited from a U.K. funding environment which (unlike elsewhere) has promoted interdisciplinarity and knowledge exchange in recent years (Lyall, Meagher, and Bruce 2015). The process has also taken considerable time: CoDE has been running for four years at the time of writing, was two years or more in development prior to funding, and the development of interdisciplinarity is ongoing.…”

Architectures of adaptive integration in large collaborative projects

“…During the past decade the widely recognized need for science that can address complex systems problems has stimulated interest in cross-disciplinary collaboration and created a new set of terms and language: convergence of sciences (Sharp and Langer 2011), philosophical dialogue in collaborative science (Eigenbrode et al 2007, Crowley et al 2010, O'Rourke et al 2013, collaborative productivity in scientific synthesis (Hampton and Parker 2011), and team science and transdisciplinarity (Max-Neef 2005, Stokols et al 2008a, Lyall et al 2014, Cooke and Hilton 2015. As part of this trend a literature has emerged that strives to delineate and quantify the diverse types of integration that can occur within scientific collaboration (Hampton andParker 2011, Klein 2014).…”

“…The last category, typically termed transdisciplinary, has been promoted as uniquely capable of and perhaps necessary for addressing society's most complex and difficult problems, such as those affecting interacting human and natural systems at different types of scale, i.e., time, space, and human institutions (Tress et al 2004, Max-Neef 2005, Beachy 2010, Jackson et al 2010, Hampton and Parker 2011, Hammond and Dube 2012, Lyall et al 2014. Conceptually, transdisciplinarity extends beyond interdisciplinary integration to involve nonacademic stakeholders to address the gap that can exist between research and practical application by collaboratively generating knowledge (Lyall et al 2014). Effective integration uses a number of processes and structures to construct complex organization in ways that Fig.…”

“…This often entails scaling up the science to large, transdisciplinary efforts involving many scientists in multiple disciplines and the stakeholders. Transdisciplinary teams offer opportunities to construct a synthesis of knowledge systems that can develop actionable science to address socially relevant issues affecting complex interacting human and natural systems (Lyall et al 2014). In this paper, the AAI framework is proposed for understanding and managing the dynamic heterogeneity inherent in very large transdisciplinary projects.…”