Shaping Interdisciplinary Practices in Europe

ended

A multitude of existing reports and assessments of AHSS (Arts, Humanities and Social Science) integration have made recommendations as to how best to encourage interdisciplinarity. However despite the existence of these reports much of their individual advice and recommendations have not been fully taken up. It is the overall aim of this project to provide concrete guidance and practical recommendations (in the form of a toolkit) for shaping future action, moving beyond expressions of intent or encouragement and into a framework for efficiently achieving the best value from activities in the interdisciplinary space. These recommendations will cover aspects such as the structure of IDR practices at the level of a research institution, the role of networks and consortia at an international level and the enabling structures such as programmes operated by research funders including national, pan-European and private research foundations. The toolkit will be an aid to the stakeholder groups being targeted by this project in achieving successful pathways to integration. These stakeholders have been grouped under 4 broad headings: 1. European Research Area (ERA) -Policy Makers and Funders (both national research funding agencies but also non governmental funders such as the Wellcome Trust, Leverhulme Foundation, the The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation) 2. Researchers (from across the AHSS and STEM disciplines both those engaging in IDR projects and those working in monodisciplinary cultures) 3. Research Performing Organisations (i.e. Universities, Academies of Sciences, Enterprise) 4. Research Users (Enterprise, Civil Society, the cultural sector and the citizen) The project will enable comparisons of IDR practices and results with reference to enhancing approaches to scholarship and to elaborating solutions for key Societal Challenges.