Changes in the production of research (more collaborative, more inter- and transdisciplinary, more oriented towards societal demand) are influencing the ways in which research is evaluated. Traditional methods of evaluation primarily focussing on the production of scientific articles have long since given way to more comprehensive methods in which researchers' other activities are assessed too. Beyond these developments, evaluation also involves research endeavours concerning collaboration with other stakeholders in society, such as industry, NGO's, consumer groups, or governmental organisations.
Through a qualitative survey among European researchers and interviews with policy makers we hope to enhance knowledge about interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration. The survey and interviews were carried out as part of Work Package 2 of the SHAPE-ID Horizon 2020 project (https://www.shapeid.eu), which is also conducting a systematic literature review. We aim to serve the research community and relevant stakeholders in society with new insights, examples of good practice and tips on how to overcome difficulties that might help their current and future interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary endeavours. We focus on Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS), but are also interested in the growing collaboration between these fields and the so-called STEMM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics). We address two main questions: (i) When developing a European interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary project, what are the main difficulties people encounter in realising a good research team that is balanced in terms of the various interests and goals of the different participants, and (ii) Which factors of success and failure do researchers integrating AHSS in larger projects consider relevant for their daily practice of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research? ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 822705.
This paper presents the findings of the ENRESSH network to academics and policy makers alike. ENRESSH is a COST action that ran between April 2016 and April 2020. It consists of over 150 researchers and policy makers from 40 countries across Europe and beyond. Through research, resulting in 20 peer-reviewed publications so far, and networking, ENRESSH addresses two aims: 1) to enhance the visibility of SSH research and its potential to address questions around major societal challenges and 2) to develop comprehensive evaluation methods that better fit how social science and humanities (SSH) researchers communicate. To enhance the visibility of the SSH, impact assessments need to be more inclusive, in particular towards the SSH. This can be done by focusing on processes of interaction between researchers and stakeholders, by being sensitive to different types of impacts and pathways and by improving the understanding of impact by SSH researchers. To improve evaluation methods, peer review should always be the basis for evaluation as it can meet the specific cognitive, often context dependent, challenges that come with SSH research. Peer review can be supported by quantitative measurements as long as they fit output and communication patterns common in the SSH. To implement our insights, collaboration and translation between SSH researchers, policy makers and stakeholders in society is key ; Straipsnyje akademinei bendruomenei ir mokslo politikams pristatomi ENRESSH tinklo tyrimų rezultatai. ENRESSH yra COST veikla, trukusi nuo 2016 iki 2020 metų balandžio mėnesio, joje dalyvavo daugiau kaip 150 mokslininkų ir mokslo politikų iš 40 Europos ir kitų šalių. Iki šiol atlikti moksliniai tyrimai paskelbti 20 recenzuotų publikacijų ir sukurtas bendradarbiavimo tinklas. ENRESSH siekė dviejų tikslų: 1) padaryti HSM geriau matomus, taip pat parodyti šių mokslų potencialą sprendžiant socialinius iššūkius, 2) pasiūlyti visapusius vertinimo metodus, kurie geriau atitiktų HSM esmę. Norint pagerinti HSM matomumą, jų poveikio vertinimas turėtų būti didesnės aprėpties. Tą galima padaryti susitelkiant į HSM tyrėjų ir jų socialinių partnerių bendravimą, įvairias galimybes daryti poveikį visuomenei ir patiems HSM mokslininkams geriau suprantant to poveikio reikšmę. Siekiant pagerinti vertinimo metodus, mokslininkų tarpusavio vertinimas (peer-review) turėtų būti vertinimo pagrindas, nes tik jo metu galima teisingai įvertinti kognityvinius, dažnai nuo konteksto priklausančius HSM ypatumus. Tarpusavio vertinimą gali papildyti kiekybiniai rodikliai, jei tik jie atitinka HSM publikavimo ir mokslinės komunikacijos ypatumus. Kad ENRESSH įžvalgos būtų įgyvendintos, reikia esminio dalyko – HSM mokslininkų, mokslo politikų bei socialinių partnerių bendradarbiavimo ir savitarpio supratimo.
Acknowledgments: We are indebted to Jo?l Graf (National Contact Point, Euresearch, Switzerland) for comments and advice on an early version. ; This policy brief presents key issues and challenges for fostering interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research in Europe, focusing on the participation of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in such research. It provides concrete guidance to policy makers and funding organisations on how to tackle those issues and maximise the participation of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 822705.
Acknowledgments: The team wants to specially thank: Dr. Sabine Hoffmann (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, EAWAG, Switzerland), Professor em. Julie Thompson Klein, and Dr. Flurina Schneider (Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Switzerland) for their support and input in different phases of the study. We are grateful to the OpenAire team (Harry Dimitropoulos and Claudio Atzori) for providing the metadata for the analysis and to Pozna? Supercomputing and Networking Center (Juliusz Pukacki and Cezary Mazurek) for providing the virtual R-Studio machine capable of crunching data analysed in this project. ; This report presents findings from a literature review and survey undertaken as part of the SHAPE-ID Horizon 2020 project (https://www.shapeid.eu), which addresses the challenge of improving interdisciplinary research (IDR) and transdisciplinary research (TDR) between Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) and Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) disciplines. One of SHAPE-ID?s first objectives was to review existing research on IDR/TDR. Through an extensive evidence-scanning exercise drawing on previous work undertaken and complemented by a survey and interviews, the project aimed: (i) to disentangle the different understandings of interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity; (ii) to identify the factors that hinder or help inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration; (iii) to clarify which understandings of IDR/TDR and which factors of success and failure are specifically relevant for integrating AHSS in IDR/TDR. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 822705.
