Abstract
Various multiple-disciplinary terms and concepts (although most commonly “interdisciplinarity,” which is used herein) are used to frame education, scholarship, research, and interactions within and outside academia. In principle, the premise of interdisciplinarity may appear to have many strengths; yet, the extent to which interdisciplinarity is embraced by the current generation of academics, the benefits and risks for doing so, and the barriers and facilitators to achieving interdisciplinarity, represent inherent challenges. Much has been written on the topic of interdisciplinarity, but to our knowledge there have been few attempts to consider and present diverse perspectives from scholars, artists, and scientists in a cohesive manner. As a team of 57 members from the Canadian College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada (the College) who self-identify as being engaged or interested in interdisciplinarity, we provide diverse intellectual, cultural, and social perspectives. The goal of this paper is to share our collective wisdom on this topic with the broader community and to stimulate discourse and debate on the merits and challenges associated with interdisciplinarity. Perhaps the clearest message emerging from this exercise is that working across established boundaries of scholarly communities is rewarding, necessary, and is more likely to result in impact. However, there are barriers that limit the ease with which this can occur (e.g., lack of institutional structures and funding to facilitate cross-disciplinary exploration). Occasionally, there can be significant risk associated with doing interdisciplinary work (e.g., lack of adequate measurement or recognition of work by disciplinary peers). Solving many of the world’s complex and pressing problems (e.g., climate change, sustainable agriculture, the burden of chronic disease, and aging populations) demands thinking and working across long-standing, but in some ways restrictive, academic boundaries. Academic institutions and key support structures, especially funding bodies, will play an important role in helping to realize what is readily apparent to all who contributed to this paper—that interdisciplinarity is essential for solving complex problems; it is the new norm. Failure to empower and encourage those doing this research will serve as a great impediment to training, knowledge, and addressing societal issues.
Highlights
Background and AnalysisThe Panel has taken note of the growth in the number and value of tri-council programs
Phased growth in reimbursement rates has the advantage of offering time for the granting councils, Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and Research Support Fund (RSF) Secretariat to work with universities and research institutes on mechanisms that ensure full transparency for the use of these funds, with priority given to expenditures that improve the daily productivity and ongoing success of Canadian scientists and scholars
The variations in governance, administrative practices, and funding priorities within and across agencies cannot be explained by disciplinary differences or by the needs of the relevant research communities
Summary
Throughout this report, the Panel uses a variety of terms that should be briefly elucidated at the outset. With the same inclusive orientation, we comment briefly in the report on the complex interplay between basic and applied research Another terminology issue concerns the characterization of different kinds of grants and awards.i The largest group of awards, delivered through well-known programs such as Discovery (NSERC), Project/ Foundation Grants (CIHR), and Insight (SSHRC), covers costs such as research material, small equipment, professional services, travel, workshops and seminars, and stipends for students. One federal agency has placed these latter grants in the “investigator-led” category on the grounds that researchers have latitude to pursue varied lines of investigations within the defined focus, but the Panel believes they are better situated here In like fashion, this category includes direct project funding with formal network configurations and institutional block grants. Evans Leadership Fund Knowledge Infrastructure Program knowledge translation, exploitation, and exchange Leadership Council for Digital Infrastructure Medical Research Council of Canada major research facility major science initiative National Advisory Council on Research and Innovation Networks of Centres of Excellence National Institutes of Health (U.S.) National Research Council (Canada) National Science Advisor natural sciences and engineering Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council National Science Foundation (U.S.) operating and maintenance Privy Council Office postdoctoral fellow principal investigator Prime Minister’s Office postsecondary education research and development Research Support Fund Research Tools and Instruments Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research social sciences and humanities Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Science, Technology and Innovation Council University and College Academic Staff System
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