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Paper short abstract

To investigate the skills required for high-quality collaborative research, I interviewed research professionals from the Transforming the UK Food System programme. I argue that the keys skills required are not fully recognised, damaging careers and limiting the impact of such research.

Paper long abstract

Research that crosses disciplines and sectors is seen as a key component of efforts to reduce, for example, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with agriculture and rising rates of chronic disease related to poor diets. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has invested several million pounds in Transforming the UK Food System (TUKFS) a five-year research programme that aims to provide a range of solutions to improve the health of the population and the environment. Inter-, multi-and transdisciplinary research is central to this programme as many of the TUKFS projects and consortia describe themselves as conducting some form collaborative research.

This presentation describes a piece of exploratory research investigating the collaborative research undertaken within some of the 27 TUKFS projects. It draws on an ongoing series of qualitative interviews conducted with researchers and research professionals from these projects. My analysis draws on approaches from science and technology studies, the scholarship on inter- and transdisciplinary research and feminist studies of academic labour. My results describe some of the skills and attributes required by researchers and research managers when researching complex social problems, and explore some of the ethical, epistemic, cultural, and practical tensions inherent in such collaborations. In conclusion, I highlight some of unacknowledged labour that is part of high-quality collaborative research, arguing that a more accurate model of the skills required could improve both the design and societal relevance of such research.