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Short abstract:

We present findings from a process of Formative Accompanying Research in a Horizon Europe project, reflecting on factors shaping scientific collaboration in project-based research. We highlight that fostering interdisciplinarity through funding requires considering researchers' diverse environments.

Long abstract:

The support for interdisciplinary research has been growing within the Horizon Europe funding scheme of the European Commission, particularly for climate and biodiversity research. Calls for Research and Innovation Actions, and Capacity Support Actions include the criteria to bring together researchers and actors from diverse disciplines. The program recognizes that many of the challenges faced by society today are complex and multifaceted, requiring collaboration across disciplines, including social scientists and humanities researchers working alongside STEM researchers. However, in such an environment, barriers between epistemic communities emerge, with impacts to the research and researchers.

In this paper, we present findings from a process of Formative Accompanying Research (FAR) within a Horizon Europe-funded project that aims to support the representation of social sciences and humanities within climate, energy and mobility research. FAR includes the evaluation of the outcomes and the processes of the experimental epistemic bridgings occurring within the project. We aim to identify the opportunities and barriers that emerge during interdisciplinary collaboration within the project.

Our findings suggest that factors such as time, development of soft skills, and clarification of expectations are all important components that shape scientific collaboration. We reflect on how these factors can and can’t be created through project-based research, particularly against a backdrop of neoliberal academia. We highlight that fostering interdisciplinarity through funding needs greater attention to the differences in research environments that researchers are embedded within. We consider the implications for creating the knowledge needed for societal transformations.