There has been a surge of interest and new grant funding programs calling for collaborative research across traditional scientific disciplines to address ‘wicked problems’ at the nexus of food, energy and water. These ‘wicked problems’ are often related to natural resource governance, and particular interest has been given to agricultural practices in the context of environmental change. Some notable examples include recent calls from the USDA (e.g. NIFA), and the NSF (e.g. Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems, Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water, Decision, Risk, and Management Sciences (DRMS) Program). These calls for interdisciplinary research present opportunities and challenges for rural sociologists to contribute our expertise in wider circles as we collaborate with natural scientists and engineers, and potentially reach a wider audience. The purpose of this session is to convene a panel of rural sociologists who have participated in large, interdisciplinary research projects to share their experience, including the knowledge they have gained, and potentially also the challenges they have experienced along the way.
Questions for panel members:
What types of collaborative scholarly experiences have you had, and how did you become involved in them?
What are some words of advice you can share from your experience participating in interdisciplinary research projects?
Are there any best practices, or do's and don’ts, you would recommend?
What are some important considerations and shared expectations to establish in the early stages of forming an interdisciplinary research team?
How can rural sociologists strengthen and increase our participation in these grant opportunities (NIFA, NSF, etc.)? Specifically- what will get you included and excluded from these initiatives?
Can you talk about any institutional challenges (at the school or disciplinary level) you may have encountered as a result of doing interdisciplinary work?
Panel Participants:
Kathy Brasier, Penn State
Stephen Gasteyer, Michigan State
Douglas Jackson-Smith, Ohio State
Gabrielle Roesh-McNally, Fellow, USDA Climate Hubs
Richard Stedman, Cornell University
