Transdisciplinarity: From Policy to Practice? The Case of the Centre for Digital Life Norway

• In Event: Exploring Approaches to Catalyzing Transdisciplinary Engagement

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an increased attention towards transdisciplinarity. This has different reasons. It is an instrumental request at times. But transdisciplinarity also emerges out of scientists’ need to learn methods and theories from other fields—including experienced based knowledge through actors outside of academia—in order tackle problems that arose due to an increased specialization of scientific disciplines. Experience shows that practicing transdisciplinarity is not straightforward. In this paper, we explore whether funding a transdisciplinary research centre works as an approach to catalyse transdisciplinary engagements. Our case is the Centre for Digital Life Norway (DLN). Policy-makers wanted transdisciplinarity to be an important theme in this newly established national biotechnology centre in order to generate social value through biotechnology research. In addition, Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) shall be an integral element of all DLN-activity, bringing together biotechnology and social science and humanities (SSH), as well as social inclusion beyond the wall of academia. Drawing on participant observation and semi-structured interviews, this paper studies how transdisciplinary collaboration plays out in selected DLN’s research projects’ practices: What are their strategies to achieve transdisciplinarity, and are there barriers that hinder it? We will in particular reflect on the role of SSH in this infrastructure and on how the DLN Research School trains students for transdisciplinary careers. The paper wishes to further develop STS’ understanding of transdisciplinarity, and thus to contribute to a better understanding of the term.

Authors

• Maria Bårdsen Hesjedal, Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture. NTNU

• Heidrun Åm, Norwegian University of Science and Technology