By Kit Macleod
As a community of interdisciplinary practice we need to share our collective knowledge on how funders, researchers and wider research partners can work together for better outcomes to address pressing societal challenges.
Funding interdisciplinary research: improving practices and processes
Seven key challenges to funding interdisciplinary research include:
- No agreed criteria defining ‘excellence’ in interdisciplinary research.
- Poor agreement of the benefits and costs of interdisciplinary ways of working.
- No agreement on how much or what kind of additional funding support is required for interdisciplinary research.
- No consensus on terminology.
- No clearly delineated college of peers from which to select appropriate reviewers.
- Limited appropriate interdisciplinary peer review processes.
- Restrictions within funding organisations concerning budget allocations and support for interdisciplinary research.
A guidance note for research funders then suggests ways forward from the pre-call stage to evaluation of completed research projects.