Collaboration, creativity, conflict and chaos: doing interdisciplinary sustainability research

Rose Cairns · Sabine Hielscher · Ann Light

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Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration Research, Science, and Academia Sustainability in Higher Education

Abstract

Abstract How do the social dynamics within interdisciplinary research teams shape sustainability research? This paper presents a case study of interdisciplinary research projects at the University of Sussex, as part of a programme aimed at encouraging collaborative work to address intersections between the Sustainability Development Goals. Using data gathered during a series of participatory workshops at the start and end of the projects, combined with non-participant observation and analysis of project discussions during the lifetime of the projects, we examine the diverse ways in which research teams configure themselves to navigate the terrain of interdisciplinary sustainability research and the kinds of social and discursive dynamics that shape projects. In particular, we relate the emergence of distinct project team configurations to diverse problem framings, and aspirations for collaboration within these teams. We examine some of the challenges facing researchers attempting to work in these ways, and explore implications of these dynamics for knowledge production for sustainability. We conclude by drawing out and addressing some of the challenges for institutions funding and supporting interdisciplinary sustainability research.

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References

1983Boundary-Work and the Demarcation of Science from Non-Science: Strains and Interests in Professional Ideologies of Scientists 2003Re-Thinking Science: Knowledge and the Public in an Age of Uncertainty 2012Transdisciplinary research in sustainability science: practice, principles, and challenges 1991Academic Tribes and Territories: Intellectual Enquiry and the Cultures of Disciplines 2012Responsible research and innovation: From science in society to science for society, with society 1961The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution 2012Transdisciplinarity: Between mainstreaming and marginalization 2011The Oxford handbook of interdisciplinarity

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