WORKING OUTSIDE THE COMFORT ZONE: Interdisciplinary working and the perils of policy research Bob Evans Sustainable Cities Research Institute Northumbria University 20/09/2018 ©Sustainable Cities Research Institute

Interdisciplinary working at the highest level….. 20/09/2018 ©Sustainable Cities Research Institute

But for us mere mortals, interdisciplinary working is…. Usually multidisciplinary Challenging Frustrating Conflictual Exhausting ……………….but also, potentially very rewarding 20/09/2018 ©Sustainable Cities Research Institute

Interdisciplinary working………. Is not ‘sister disciplines’ working together Requires time to build trust Demands patience Must focus upon clearly defined problems/research questions 20/09/2018 ©Sustainable Cities Research Institute

Academic disciplines are….. boundaries to be used to ward off aggressors at the same time, potentially intellectually constraining ‘boxes’ different ‘ways of seeing’ and understanding there to be ignored 20/09/2018 ©Sustainable Cities Research Institute

An example: Civic Engagement in Renewable Energy Technologies Sociology, geography, psychology, politics, planning, environmental policy, governance, market research Civil engineering, chemistry, wind turbine design and installation, biomass and gasification technology, 20/09/2018 ©Sustainable Cities Research Institute

Working with policy makers…….. The researcher as ‘critical friend’ Seeing the bigger picture The need to be ‘user-friendly’ Problem definition by users Is there a real ‘knowledge gap’? 20/09/2018 ©Sustainable Cities Research Institute

Bridging the gap between research and action Building trust and a fruitful dialogue Balancing researcher and practitioner objectives Understanding the political and cultural context Practitioner participation in the research process More effective dissemination 20/09/2018 ©Sustainable Cities Research Institute

In conclusion………. It is usually more productive to address a research question from several disciplinary standpoints Cross disciplinary working almost always extends our own capacity to understand Researchers need to refocus if our work is to have any real impact upon the policy process International working, with other disciplines and with policy makers in increasingly essential 20/09/2018 ©Sustainable Cities Research Institute

Sustainable Cities Research Institute, Northumbria University Bob Evans Sustainable Cities Research Institute, Northumbria University www.sustainable-cities.org.uk bob2.evans@northumbria.ac.uk 20/09/2018 ©Sustainable Cities Research Institute