Project-level innovation in interdisciplinarity

All Relu projects are interdisciplinary and involve both natural and social scientists working together to investigate the social, economic, environmental and technological challenges faced by rural areas:
• Relu researchers come from over 40 disciplines
• Relu has broadened and strengthened collaboration between environmental and social sciences, bringing together qualitative as well as quantitative disciplines and methods
• Relu has encouraged novel disciplinary collaborations and forged new strategic links between social and biological sciences.

Relu required that each and every project creatively combine social and natural scientists, but not specifying how this should be done.

Project proposals had to show how they would effectively combine research staff and perspectives to maximise their synergy. This called for strategic leadership and innovation in project design. Project management had to combine inputs from different departments and institutions, each with their own logistics. It also had to make space for interdisciplinary exchange and synthesis.

There are a number of Relu publications which explore these issues in more detail:

Adventures in Science: Interdisciplinarity and knowledge exchange in the Relu Programme

Innovation in interdisciplinary methods – the Relu experience