Interdisciplinarity is generally acknowledged as essential for the generation of new and ground-breaking research results. Moreover, a wide range of important and relevant questions for research are complex and require scientific approaches that dare to think across traditional boundaries between fields and disciplines, thereby creating fertile ground for new approaches and insights. The integration of methods, data, perspectives, concepts, and theories from different scientific fields is crucial in the efforts towards expanding the scope of collective human knowledge.
In 2019, NordForsk launched an initiative on Nordic interdisciplinary research in collaboration with the Research Council of Norway, the Swedish Research Council, Forte, Formas, Independent Research Fund Denmark, the Research Council of Finland and Rannís. The main aim of the call was to fund bottom-up and scientifically excellent interdisciplinary research, with no constraints regarding the research themes or questions. Next to scientific excellence, the initiative was expected to generate Nordic added value by strengthening the ability of Nordic research environments to meet the increasing international demand for truly interdisciplinary research.
The call attracted huge attention among research groups in the Nordic region. The sheer volume demonstrated a widespread interest in interdisciplinary research in the Nordic region, and that there is a need for this kind of funding.
Eventually, twelve research projects were funded under this call, spanning a range of different topics, including social robots, migration law, pandemics, avalanches, forest policies and MRSA infections. I believe it is safe to say that the initiative has been a success, and that this is demonstrated by the results and outcomes that are documented in this report. On the one hand, the projects have generated new knowledge and new insights on many different areas of research, that might not have happened without this funding initiative. On the other hand, the initiative brought together researchers across disciplines and across national borders, establishing fruitful collaborations that perhaps would not have been realised without the NordForsk grants.
During the funding period, NordForsk organised two conferences where the projects met to discuss challenges and opportunities, and to present their results. Among the advises we received from the researchers, one message was oftentimes repeated: NordForsk and the national research funding agencies in the Nordic region must continue to support open, bottom-up programmes and funding instruments for interdisciplinary research.
At the end of the funding period, we can say that the results and achievements presented by the twelve projects make a strong argument for this message.
Arne Flåøyen,
Director of NordForsk