Many of today’s challenges are too complex for any one discipline to tackle alone.
Consider extreme heat. Climate scientists can explain how heat waves are changing in frequency and intensity. Engineers can help design buildings and infrastructure that remain safe during extreme temperatures. Public health researchers can identify health risks. And social scientists can help us understand which communities are most vulnerable and why.
All are examining the same challenge. Yet each sees only part of the picture.
“The most effective responses emerge when those perspectives come together,” said Julie St-Pierre, vice-president, research and innovation, during a recent VISTA workshop to help researchers advance interdisciplinary research and build new connections across fields.
That’s why interdisciplinarity (or transdisciplinarity) has become a growing priority for universities, governments and funding agencies around the world. As society grapples with such challenges as climate change, health threats, artificial intelligence and housing, meaningful solutions increasingly require expertise from across disciplines working toward a shared goal.
But interdisciplinarity is more than assembling a team with different areas of expertise. It reflects a different way of approaching research.
Interdisciplinarity starts with the question
A common misconception is that interdisciplinary research simply means bringing together researchers from different fields.
In reality, it begins much earlier, with how the question is framed.
In a multidisciplinary project, researchers contribute expertise from their own disciplines but largely work within established approaches. In an interdisciplinary project, researchers work together from the outset to define the problem, shape the research question and develop shared objectives.
This can fundamentally change the trajectory of a project. It leads researchers to ask different questions, draw on different forms of evidence and develop new ways of understanding complex challenges.
“Some of the most important breakthroughs happen where expertise intersects.”
Julie St-Pierre
— Vice-President, Research and Innovation, University of Ottawa
Why funding agencies are increasingly looking for interdisciplinarity
Research funders increasingly recognize that it takes more than one disciplinary lens to address many of today’s most important challenges.
Programs such as the New Frontiers in Research Fund support research that crosses disciplinary boundaries to generate novel approaches and transformative discoveries. Canada’s participation in Horizon Europe has similarly expanded opportunities for researchers to contribute to large-scale international projects that combine expertise from multiple disciplines, sectors and countries.
The trend reflects growing understanding that tackling complex societal challenges requires collaboration across fields.
Crossing disciplines and looking beyond academia
Interdisciplinarity is also about broadening whose knowledge informs research.
At uOttawa, that can mean engaging community organizations, policymakers, health-care practitioners, industry partners, Indigenous knowledge keepers and people with lived experience alongside academic researchers.
These perspectives can deepen understanding, challenge assumptions and help ensure that research is both relevant and responsive to real-world needs.
Building the conditions for discovery
Strong interdisciplinary research requires curiosity, openness and willingness to engage with perspectives that might challenge our assumptions. It requires researchers to learn each other’s languages, methods and approaches.
Universities also have a responsibility to create environments where interdisciplinary collaboration can thrive. That means creating opportunities for researchers to connect across faculties, supporting the creation of new partnerships and fostering a culture where this kind of collaboration is encouraged from the earliest stages of research development.
At uOttawa, that commitment is reflected in initiatives such as VISTA. This program is designed to strengthen the University’s capacity for interdisciplinary research and help researchers prepare for major funding opportunities, such as the New Frontiers in Research Fund. It supports researchers from across uOttawa, including the Ottawa Academic Health Network, in exploring ambitious research questions that align with University and national research priorities. VISTA encourages participation from across disciplines, including in the social sciences, humanities, arts, natural sciences, engineering, health sciences and medicine.
The underlying premise is simple: meaningful collaboration begins long before writing a grant proposal. By creating opportunities for researchers to connect, explore ideas and learn from one another, initiatives like VISTA help build the foundations for the kind of interdisciplinary research we need more of to address society’s most complex challenges.
