Why it’s time to get real about interdisciplinary research

A new book argues for less focus on structures and funding for interdisciplinarity, and more on the everyday highs and lows of collaboration.

Interdisciplinarity is everywhere. From research funders to journal editors, policymakers to think tanks - all seem to agree that the future of research lies outside firm disciplinary boundaries. The British Academy, for example, is leading an inquiry into "the relevance of interdisciplinarity to innovation" and "how academics can forge a career path in interdisciplinary research." Last month, Nature, arguably the world's most influential academic journal, published a special issue on interdisciplinarity.

It's also a concern beyond the UK: Science Europe, the association of European funding organisations, argues that "a key to future scientific breakthroughs lies in interdisciplinary research." And the Global Research Council - a federation of national funders, which includes the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Research Councils UK - is producing its own report on interdisciplinarity next year.