The Covid-19 pandemic has illustrated the growing importance of transdisciplinary research (TDR) in addressing complex societal challenges. TDR involves the integration of knowledge from different science disciplines and non-academic stakeholder communities to develop novel solutions to pressing issues.
But TDR is very different to the interdisciplinary research which most people are familiar with. “It’s not just about the crossover between adjacent topics, like nano-materials and chemistry but rather the crossover from further afield, like artificial intelligence and neuroscience or social science and agtech and so on,” says Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) deputy director general Ciaran Seoighe.
“It also includes engaging end-users such as patients or funders in the discourse. It’s a critical tool in delivering societal benefit.”
A transdisciplinary approach is required to deal with more complex and entangled problems, according to Seoighe. “Equally, there are new opportunities for research based on leveraging technologies in different places, like using quantum technology for pharmaceutical drug discovery. Critical problems that will really need TDR include the pandemic, climate change, the impact of technology on society and so on. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a classic focus area for TDR.”
The benefits of TDR were witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic. “It was already an area of interest internationally, but we saw it in action at first hand with the Covid Rapid Response Call here in Ireland,” says Seoighe. “We saw teams coming together spontaneously which were much more transdisciplinary in nature. They had to be.
“We had engineers and healthcare specialists and frontline staff coming together to tackle issues like pressure sores in Covid patients. In other cases you had schoolteachers getting involved. Researchers from the arts, humanities and social sciences (AHSS) are involved in many of the projects. It all depends on the nature of the problem you are trying to solve.”
Perspectives
The involvement of AHSS brings new perspectives. “Consider the lens we get from AHSS in terms of creative input, its wider role in society, how it influences behaviour, and artists bringing the same curiosity as scientists. They can bring a very interesting new perspective to scientific discovery – and maybe even vice versa.”
He points to the Precision ALS programme as an example of TDR. This €10 million collaborative academic, clinical and industry research programme will provide new insights into our understanding of motor neuron disease also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The programme brings together clinicians, computer scientists, information engineers, technologists, and data scientists, who will work with leading pharmaceutical, data science, clinical research, medical device organisations and the HSE to harness the power of big data to develop a sustainable precision medicine-based approach towards new drug development that will offer better clinical outcomes for patients and reduce the economic burden of the disease.
TDR is also being employed in the way SFI is funding research aimed at addressing some of the biggest challenges facing society. “Challenge-based funding is a solution-focused approach to research funding that uses prizes, strict timelines, teamwork and competition to direct research activities at ambitious societal problems,” says Seoighe.
“We are seeing some very strong examples of transdisciplinary research in action there,” he adds. “We introduced the idea of having a societal champion in the challenge teams. That keeps the end-user in mind.”
Agriculture
One of those teams is addressing climate change by helping to reduce emissions from agriculture. “The team led by Prof Kevin O’Connor of UCD is developing a Stem-led social innovation blueprint to decarbonise dairy farms. They are working with Carbery group and farmers on Shinagh Farm to understand their needs in developing a solution that allows them to maintain farm operations and profitability while reducing carbon footprint.”
SFI is also providing funding to address some of the unique challenges faced by the Irish Defence Forces. Ten research teams will collaborate with the Defence Forces and compete for funding to develop disruptive solutions to a number of challenges identified by the defence organisation that are of broad relevance to society. The transdisciplinary approach has generated a range of ideas including a portable device that detects biological agents, AI technology to assist the Irish Air Corps fight wildfires, reducing the carbon footprint of its vehicle fleet to a novel prototype marine electric motor and a co-operative system that will allow a human controller and robot to work together to manoeuvre aircraft.
“Transdisciplinary research is likely to continue and to grow in importance in the years ahead,” says Seoighe. “More and more fields that were previously seen as quite disparate are unlocking new discoveries by adopting a transdisciplinary approach, and it will be important for tackling major challenges globally. Importantly, it will require us to think differently about research and that will require new thinking from us as funders as well.”