strategic land use: crossing the urban rural divide a relu / sue workshop interdisciplinary research...
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The Challenge Posed to Dialogues Workshop: “What have we got and where are we now?” SUE was ~ 5 years old, much research had been done yet no academic forum We have been funded to create a capability – researchers who can work effectively across disciplinary boundaries and across sectors We have grown the number of people and are training them in this way We have been told to think bigger – truly ambitious grand challenges … and this requires large, multi-disciplinary consortia … that span the research council remits (EPSRC, ESRC, NERC, MRC …) … and the SUE managed programme is coming to an end Our potential is enormous, but how can we realise it ? Sustainable Urban Environments: Research Dialogues WorkshopTRANSCRIPT
Strategic Land Use: Crossing the Urban Rural Divide
A RELU / SUE Workshop
Interdisciplinary Research Practices
Professor Chris RogersUniversity of Birmingham
27th October 2010, LondonSustainable Urban Environments: Research Dialogues Workshop
SUE’s Mission – a researcher’s perspective
Vision and goals of the SUE Programme There was a move from funding within disciplines to funding research themes The drivers for SUE were quality of life, supporting sustainable development and meeting end-user needs – the ‘how to’ for sustainability A managed programme was needed to bring very different disciplines together Strengthen the capability of the UK research base in sustainability issues Provide an identifiable source of multi-disciplinary academic excellence able to respond to the needs of end users (via) collaborative research Develop and promote a strategic research agenda to address sustainability in the urban environment for the 21st century and beyond
… and the consortia were expected to consist of virtual centres of excellence,with the appropriate mix of academic and non-academic expertise
SUE 1 consortia clustered around themes, SUE 2 / 3 consortia are more holistic,… and the holistic view was specifically stated to be “across the sectors”
Sustainable Urban Environments: Research Dialogues Workshop
The Challenge Posed to Dialogues Workshop:“What have we got and where are we now?”SUE was ~ 5 years old, much research had been done yet no academic forum
We have been funded to create a capability – researchers who can work effectively across disciplinary boundaries and across sectors We have grown the number of people and are training them in this way We have been told to think bigger – truly ambitious grand challenges
… and this requires large, multi-disciplinary consortia… that span the research council remits (EPSRC, ESRC,
NERC, MRC …)… and the SUE managed programme is coming to an
end Our potential is enormous, but how can we realise it ?
Sustainable Urban Environments: Research Dialogues Workshop
What have we got and where are we now?
Where has EPSRC led us via SUE ? What capabilities do we have now that we didn’t have before SUE ? What is this capability that SUE has created – what is the beast ?
… capability is “the sum of expertise and capacity” (Wikipedia) Is it an ability to work in a transdisciplinary manner
… with a deep understanding of the ‘principles of sustainability’ ?
For the really big grand challenges we need this capability, do we not ?The acid test: If the UK needed a body of specialists to deal with challenge x to deliver a more sustainable urban environment
... could SUE deliver this ? Would you and yours be up for this ?
Sustainable Urban Environments: Research Dialogues Workshop
The Dialogues Workshop
The workshop structure: The view from atop the four ‘pillars’ of sustainability Who is SUE? (and what has SUE done ?) SUE, a cohort or a community ? What hasn’t SUE done? (What is the unfinished business ?) Beyond the boundaries of SUE, what are our big ideas ? When the SUE Programme ends, where will we find future funding ? How do you want your research to be assessed for impact ?
... and what is Impact ! Reflection by the keynote speakers
Sustainable Urban Environments: Research Dialogues Workshop
Interdisciplinary Research Practices
A view from Birmingham Eastside and Urban Futures Assembling the team is all important (investigators and RFs) RF proximity in a virtual world (‘face time’) – shared office facility RF team meetings – weekly for 3 months, then perhaps monthly RF team access to the PI (and CIs) Understanding of how everyone works (language, methodology, culture, publication / dissemination philosophy ... and their goals)
... Myers Briggs or similar helps here Two-day quarterly meetings of all investigators and RFs help
... “we’re all in this together” Overarching research and cross-WP brainstorming
... building the need to work collectively into the bid is vital
Sustainable Urban Environments: Research Dialogues Workshop
Concluding Remarks
From my perspective, SUE has been an enormous success I have been moved out of my comfort zone
... and have even been accused of being a closet geographer The challenges of interdisciplinary working are refreshing I can see how my research interests impact elsewhere
... local conditions and context are all important
... impact from a discipline can be greatly improved by the translation of the findings into other arenas The potential to address the Grand Challenges is huge SUE has built a unique capacity I truly feel we can make a real difference via interdisciplinary research
Sustainable Urban Environments: Research Dialogues Workshop