Paper short abstract:

This study explores a facilitator's role in addressing challenges of interdisciplinary research, aligning methods, bridging gaps, and guiding research teams. Interviews assess feasibility, sparking a conversation on balancing disciplinary and interdisciplinary needs.

Paper long abstract:

As research questions addressing multi-level challenges become more complex, interdisciplinary collaboration becomes imperative. This prompts an examination of how science responds to the management of interdisciplinary research projects. Similar challenges are observed in other public sector domains, where adaptive methodologies like agile management, design thinking, and service design are employed for organizational transformation. Notably, frameworks such as Scrum leverage roles, like the scrum master, to facilitate and harness synergies in response to complexity (Bass, 2014; Shastri et al., 2021).

In previous research, we’ve identified a need in interdisciplinary research for a role akin to a facilitator to support achieving common understanding, agreement on disciplinary methods, overcoming hierarchies, and guiding interdisciplinary teams in their research processes (Schmitt et al., 2023).

Scientific concepts like 'boundary spanning' (Tushman, 1977) and 'knowledge brokers' (Chan et al., 2017) involve facilitating the creation and sharing of knowledge, aligning with our call for a 'facilitator' in digital transformation research. This facilitator would bring organizational expertise into interdisciplinary research processes. To explore potentials and challenges of introducing facilitators, I conducted expert interviews across private sector and academic institutions. The findings delve into applicability, transferability, common challenges, and specific differences. I aim to engage the audience in a discussion around the new role's potential of addressing interdisciplinary research needs and to debate how this role can effectively balance interdisciplinary collaboration with maintaining room for necessary disciplinary expertise. The focus is on finding a productive way to navigate and oscillate between disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity rather than adopting an either/or approach.