Delivering on the promise: how are sustainability research institutes enabling interdisciplinary research?

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorBolger, Paul
dc.contributor.funderEnvironmental Protection Agency, Irelanden
dc.contributor.funderEnvironmental Research Institute, Irelanden
dc.contributor.funderFulbright, Irelanden
dc.date.accessioned2021-08-11T16:00:15Z
dc.date.available2021-08-11T16:00:15Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.date.updated2021-08-11T15:53:10Z
dc.description.abstractInterdisciplinary research institutes and centres have become significant elements of the university organisation, sometimes of equal or even greater influence than departments in terms of their research activity and outputs. Many of these research institutes, particularly larger institutes that include researchers from multiple departments, have made the pursuit of interdisciplinary collaboration a central goal in their research mission, and in many universities research institutes may be one of the primary vehicles by which universities deliver on their own objectives for interdisciplinarity. Despite the potential for research institutes to advance interdisciplinary research on university campuses, there are a lack of studies on how interdisciplinary research centres integrate multiple disciplines in practice, how they influence the collaborative behaviours of scientists, and how they establish collaborative communities. Within this study, thirty interviews were conducted with leadership and faculty within four sustainability research institutes in the United States exploring how research institutes support interdisciplinary research within their units. A thematic analysis on the interview data revealed eight themes on how research institutes are, and can further, enable interdisciplinary research within their organisations and universities. Some of the themes are fully implemented within the research institutes, while others are more aspirational, and signpost to where institutes can create additional capability and capacity for interdisciplinary research within their units and universities. The study will be of particular interest to research institute and university leadership who wish to cultivate a deeper culture of interdisciplinary research within their organisations.en
dc.description.sponsorshipFulbright (Ireland-United States Fulbright Scholarship)en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.articleid20en
dc.identifier.citationBolger, P. (2021) 'Delivering on the promise: how are sustainability research institutes enabling interdisciplinary research?', International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, forthcoming publication.en
dc.identifier.endpage1en
dc.identifier.issn1467-6370
dc.identifier.journaltitleInternational Journal of Sustainability in Higher Educationen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/11730
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherEmeralden
dc.rights© 2021 Emerald Publishing Limited.en
dc.subjectInterdisciplinaryen
dc.subjectInterdisciplinarityen
dc.subjectSustainabilityen
dc.subjectEnvironmentalen
dc.subjectResearch institutesen
dc.subjectResearch centersen
dc.titleDelivering on the promise: how are sustainability research institutes enabling interdisciplinary research?en
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Interdisciplinarity_at_institutes_IJSHE__final.pdf
Size:
315.58 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Accepted version
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Environmental Research Institute - Journal Articles