[Paper Review] On the relationship between interdisciplinarity and impact: different modalities of interdisciplinarity lead to different types of impact

Jordi Molas‐Gallart, Puay Tang+1 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Dec 20, 2014

Interdisciplinary Research and CollaborationDecision Sciences6 references16 citations

TL;DR

This study investigates how different forms of interdisciplinarity influence societal impact in UK Social Sciences research. Using qualitative and quantitative analysis of 15 research investments, it finds that 'long-range' interdisciplinarity—characterized by problem-focused integration and strong stakeholder engagement—is most strongly linked to societal impact, while interdisciplinarity as a whole is neither necessary nor sufficient for impact.

ABSTRACT

There is increasing interest among funding agencies to understand how they can best contribute to enhancing the socio-economic impact of research. Interdisciplinarity is often presented as a research mode that can facilitate impact but there exist a limited number of analytical studies that have attempted to examine whether or how interdisciplinarity can affect the societal relevance of research. We investigate fifteen Social Sciences research investments in the UK to examine how they have achieved impact. We analyse research drivers, cognitive distances, degree of integration, collaborative practices, stakeholder engagement and the type of impact generated. The analysis suggests that interdisciplinarity cannot be associated with a single type of impact mechanism. Also, interdisciplinarity is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for achieving societal relevance and impact. However, we identify a specific modality -- "long-range" interdisciplinarity, which appears more likely to be associated with societal impact because of its focused problem-orientation and its strong interaction with stakeholders.

Motivation & Objective

• To understand the relationship between interdisciplinarity and societal impact in research funding initiatives.
• To identify which modalities of interdisciplinarity are most effective in generating societal impact.
• To analyze the role of cognitive distance, integration depth, collaborative practices, and stakeholder engagement in shaping impact outcomes.
• To challenge the assumption that interdisciplinarity uniformly enhances research impact.
• To provide evidence-based insights for funding agencies on how to strategically support impactful research.

Proposed method

• Conducted a qualitative comparative analysis of 15 UK Social Sciences research investments funded by public agencies.
• Mapped research drivers, cognitive distances, and levels of integration across interdisciplinary projects.
• Assessed collaborative practices and stakeholder engagement strategies used in each project.
• Classified types of societal impact based on project outcomes and stakeholder feedback.
• Categorized interdisciplinarity into distinct modalities, particularly identifying 'long-range' interdisciplinarity as a key form.
• Used thematic and comparative analysis to link modalities of interdisciplinarity to specific impact mechanisms.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 Which modalities of interdisciplinarity are most strongly associated with societal impact?
• RQ2 How do cognitive distance and integration depth influence the likelihood of achieving societal impact?
• RQ3 To what extent is interdisciplinarity a necessary or sufficient condition for research impact?
• RQ4 How does stakeholder engagement mediate the relationship between interdisciplinarity and impact?
• RQ5 What distinguishes 'long-range' interdisciplinarity from other forms in terms of impact generation?

Key findings

• Interdisciplinarity is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for achieving societal impact in research.
• The 'long-range' interdisciplinarity modality—defined by focused problem orientation and deep stakeholder interaction—shows a stronger association with societal impact.
• Different modalities of interdisciplinarity lead to different types of impact, indicating no single mechanism applies universally.
• Cognitive distance and integration levels vary significantly across projects, but only specific configurations (as in long-range interdisciplinarity) yield measurable societal outcomes.
• Stakeholder engagement is a critical enabler in impact generation, particularly when aligned with problem-focused, interdisciplinary research design.
• The study challenges the assumption that interdisciplinary research inherently increases societal relevance, emphasizing context and form over mere collaboration.