Interdisciplinarity in practice: Reflections from early-career researchers developing a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow's cities

M.E. Filippi; A. Barcena; R. Šakić Trogrlić; G. Cremen; E.Y. Menteşe; R. Gentile; M.J. Creed; L.T. Jenkins; M. Kalaycioglu; D.P. Poudel; M. Muthusamy; V. Manandhar; S. Adhikari; M. Rai; A. Dhakal; B. Barake; K. Tarbali; Carmine Galasso; J. McCloskey

doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103481

Interdisciplinarity in practice: Reflections from early-career researchers developing a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow's cities

M.E. Filippi, A. Barcena, R. Šakić Trogrlić, G. Cremen, E.Y. Menteşe, R. Gentile, M.J. Creed, L.T. Jenkins, M. Kalaycioglu, D.P. Poudel, M. Muthusamy, V. Manandhar, S. Adhikari, M. Rai, A. Dhakal, B. Barake, K. Tarbali, Carmine Galasso, J. McCloskey

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The concept of disaster risk is cross-disciplinary by nature and reducing disaster risk has become of interest for various disciplines. Yet, moving from a collection of multiple disciplinary perspectives to integrated interdisciplinary disaster risk approaches remains a fundamental challenge. This paper reflects on the experience of a group of early-career researchers spanning physical scientists, engineers and social scientists from different organisations across the global North and global South who came together to lead the refinement, operationalisation and testing of a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow's Cities (TCDSE). Drawing on the notions of subjects and boundary objects, members of the group reflect on their individual and collective journey of transgressing disciplinary boundaries across three case studies between June–December 2021: operationalisation process of the TCDSE; development of a virtual urban testbed as a demonstration case for the implementation of the TCDSE; and consolidation of frequently asked questions about the TCDSE for communication purposes. The paper argues that (1) the production of boundary objects in interdisciplinary research nurtures relations of reciprocal recognition and the emergence of interdisciplinary subjects; (2) the intrinsic characteristics of boundary objects define the norms of engagement between disciplinary subjects and constrain the expression of interdisciplinary contradictions; and (3) affects and operations of power explain the contingent settlement of interdisciplinary disagreements and the emergence of new knowledge. Activating the interdisciplinary capacities of early-career researchers across disciplines and geographies is a fundamental step towards transforming siloed research practices to reduce disaster risk.

Original language	English
Article number	103481
Journal	International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
Volume	85
Early online date	16 Dec 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103481
Publication status	Published - 16 Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) under grant NE /S009000/1, Tomorrow's Cities Hub. In addition, the authors are grateful for the comments of three anonymous reviewers that greatly improved the quality of the manuscript.

Funding Information:
The empirical basis that informs this paper draws on the individual and collective experiences of members of the Tomorrow's Cities Early Career Risk Working Group (ECRWG) collated through group autoethnography. Tomorrow's Cities is the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Urban Disaster Risk Hub, a five-year global interdisciplinary research programme that aims to catalyse a transition from crisis management to multi-hazard risk-informed and inclusive planning and decision-making for cities in low- and middle-income countries [24]. The ECRWG consisted of seventeen early-career researchers spanning physical scientists, engineers and social scientists, based in different organisations across the global North and global South,1 whose collaborative work was overseen by two senior researchers. Over the course of seven months (June to December 2021), the ECRWG was tasked with translating the Tomorrow's Cities Decision Support Environment (TCDSE) concept pioneered by a team primarily composed of senior researchers [25] into a flexible operational framework to be applied in rapidly growing and expanding cities.The authors acknowledge funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) under grant NE/S009000/1, Tomorrow's Cities Hub. In addition, the authors are grateful for the comments of three anonymous reviewers that greatly improved the quality of the manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors

Keywords

interdisciplinarity
subjectivity
boundary object
early-career researchers
disaster risk

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103481Licence: CC BY

Handle.net

Persistent link

16 Citations
1 Other contribution

Unleashing the power of the interdisciplinary in disaster risk reduction: reflections from an early career researcher group developing a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow’s Cities
Filippi, M. E., Trogrlic, R. S., Cremen, G., Barcena, A., Mentese, E., Gentile, R., Creed, M., Jenkins, L., Muthusamy, M., Tarbali, K., Dhakal, A., Manandhar, V., Rai, M., Adhikari, S., Kalaycioglu, M., Barake, B., Poudel, D. P., Galasso, C. & McCloskey, J., 20 May 2022
Research output: Other contribution

1 Active

Tomorrow’s Cities
Filippi, M. E. (Principal Investigator)
23/03/20 → …
Project: Research

Cite this

Filippi, M. E., Barcena, A., Trogrlić, R. Š., Cremen, G., Menteşe, E. Y., Gentile, R., Creed, M. J., Jenkins, L. T., Kalaycioglu, M., Poudel, D. P., Muthusamy, M., Manandhar, V., Adhikari, S., Rai, M., Dhakal, A., Barake, B., Tarbali, K., Galasso, C., & McCloskey, J. (2022). Interdisciplinarity in practice: Reflections from early-career researchers developing a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow's cities. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 85, Article 103481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103481

@article{75d80ed7c5394491bf4a96389a17b10a,

title = "Interdisciplinarity in practice: Reflections from early-career researchers developing a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow's cities",

abstract = "The concept of disaster risk is cross-disciplinary by nature and reducing disaster risk has become of interest for various disciplines. Yet, moving from a collection of multiple disciplinary perspectives to integrated interdisciplinary disaster risk approaches remains a fundamental challenge. This paper reflects on the experience of a group of early-career researchers spanning physical scientists, engineers and social scientists from different organisations across the global North and global South who came together to lead the refinement, operationalisation and testing of a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow's Cities (TCDSE). Drawing on the notions of subjects and boundary objects, members of the group reflect on their individual and collective journey of transgressing disciplinary boundaries across three case studies between June–December 2021: operationalisation process of the TCDSE; development of a virtual urban testbed as a demonstration case for the implementation of the TCDSE; and consolidation of frequently asked questions about the TCDSE for communication purposes. The paper argues that (1) the production of boundary objects in interdisciplinary research nurtures relations of reciprocal recognition and the emergence of interdisciplinary subjects; (2) the intrinsic characteristics of boundary objects define the norms of engagement between disciplinary subjects and constrain the expression of interdisciplinary contradictions; and (3) affects and operations of power explain the contingent settlement of interdisciplinary disagreements and the emergence of new knowledge. Activating the interdisciplinary capacities of early-career researchers across disciplines and geographies is a fundamental step towards transforming siloed research practices to reduce disaster risk.",

keywords = "interdisciplinarity, subjectivity, boundary object, early-career researchers, disaster risk",

author = "M.E. Filippi and A. Barcena and Trogrli{\'c}, {R. {\v S}aki{\'c}} and G. Cremen and E.Y. Mente{\c s}e and R. Gentile and M.J. Creed and L.T. Jenkins and M. Kalaycioglu and D.P. Poudel and M. Muthusamy and V. Manandhar and S. Adhikari and M. Rai and A. Dhakal and B. Barake and K. Tarbali and Carmine Galasso and J. McCloskey",

note = "Funding Information: The authors acknowledge funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) under grant NE /S009000/1, Tomorrow's Cities Hub. In addition, the authors are grateful for the comments of three anonymous reviewers that greatly improved the quality of the manuscript. Funding Information: The empirical basis that informs this paper draws on the individual and collective experiences of members of the Tomorrow's Cities Early Career Risk Working Group (ECRWG) collated through group autoethnography. Tomorrow's Cities is the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Urban Disaster Risk Hub, a five-year global interdisciplinary research programme that aims to catalyse a transition from crisis management to multi-hazard risk-informed and inclusive planning and decision-making for cities in low- and middle-income countries [24]. The ECRWG consisted of seventeen early-career researchers spanning physical scientists, engineers and social scientists, based in different organisations across the global North and global South,1 whose collaborative work was overseen by two senior researchers. Over the course of seven months (June to December 2021), the ECRWG was tasked with translating the Tomorrow's Cities Decision Support Environment (TCDSE) concept pioneered by a team primarily composed of senior researchers [25] into a flexible operational framework to be applied in rapidly growing and expanding cities.The authors acknowledge funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) under grant NE/S009000/1, Tomorrow's Cities Hub. In addition, the authors are grateful for the comments of three anonymous reviewers that greatly improved the quality of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors",

year = "2022",

month = dec,

day = "16",

doi = "10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103481",

language = "English",

volume = "85",

journal = "International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction",

issn = "2212-4209",

publisher = "Elsevier Limited",

}

Filippi, ME, Barcena, A, Trogrlić, RŠ, Cremen, G, Menteşe, EY, Gentile, R, Creed, MJ, Jenkins, LT, Kalaycioglu, M, Poudel, DP, Muthusamy, M, Manandhar, V, Adhikari, S, Rai, M, Dhakal, A, Barake, B, Tarbali, K, Galasso, C & McCloskey, J 2022, 'Interdisciplinarity in practice: Reflections from early-career researchers developing a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow's cities', International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, vol. 85, 103481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103481

Interdisciplinarity in practice: Reflections from early-career researchers developing a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow's cities. / Filippi, M.E.; Barcena, A.; Trogrlić, R. Šakić et al.
In: International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Vol. 85, 103481, 16.12.2022.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Interdisciplinarity in practice: Reflections from early-career researchers developing a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow's cities

AU - Filippi, M.E.

AU - Barcena, A.

AU - Trogrlić, R. Šakić

AU - Cremen, G.

AU - Menteşe, E.Y.

AU - Gentile, R.

AU - Creed, M.J.

AU - Jenkins, L.T.

AU - Kalaycioglu, M.

AU - Poudel, D.P.

AU - Muthusamy, M.

AU - Manandhar, V.

AU - Adhikari, S.

AU - Rai, M.

AU - Dhakal, A.

AU - Barake, B.

AU - Tarbali, K.

AU - Galasso, Carmine

AU - McCloskey, J.

N1 - Funding Information: The authors acknowledge funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) under grant NE /S009000/1, Tomorrow's Cities Hub. In addition, the authors are grateful for the comments of three anonymous reviewers that greatly improved the quality of the manuscript. Funding Information: The empirical basis that informs this paper draws on the individual and collective experiences of members of the Tomorrow's Cities Early Career Risk Working Group (ECRWG) collated through group autoethnography. Tomorrow's Cities is the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Urban Disaster Risk Hub, a five-year global interdisciplinary research programme that aims to catalyse a transition from crisis management to multi-hazard risk-informed and inclusive planning and decision-making for cities in low- and middle-income countries [24]. The ECRWG consisted of seventeen early-career researchers spanning physical scientists, engineers and social scientists, based in different organisations across the global North and global South,1 whose collaborative work was overseen by two senior researchers. Over the course of seven months (June to December 2021), the ECRWG was tasked with translating the Tomorrow's Cities Decision Support Environment (TCDSE) concept pioneered by a team primarily composed of senior researchers [25] into a flexible operational framework to be applied in rapidly growing and expanding cities.The authors acknowledge funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) under grant NE/S009000/1, Tomorrow's Cities Hub. In addition, the authors are grateful for the comments of three anonymous reviewers that greatly improved the quality of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors

PY - 2022/12/16

Y1 - 2022/12/16

N2 - The concept of disaster risk is cross-disciplinary by nature and reducing disaster risk has become of interest for various disciplines. Yet, moving from a collection of multiple disciplinary perspectives to integrated interdisciplinary disaster risk approaches remains a fundamental challenge. This paper reflects on the experience of a group of early-career researchers spanning physical scientists, engineers and social scientists from different organisations across the global North and global South who came together to lead the refinement, operationalisation and testing of a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow's Cities (TCDSE). Drawing on the notions of subjects and boundary objects, members of the group reflect on their individual and collective journey of transgressing disciplinary boundaries across three case studies between June–December 2021: operationalisation process of the TCDSE; development of a virtual urban testbed as a demonstration case for the implementation of the TCDSE; and consolidation of frequently asked questions about the TCDSE for communication purposes. The paper argues that (1) the production of boundary objects in interdisciplinary research nurtures relations of reciprocal recognition and the emergence of interdisciplinary subjects; (2) the intrinsic characteristics of boundary objects define the norms of engagement between disciplinary subjects and constrain the expression of interdisciplinary contradictions; and (3) affects and operations of power explain the contingent settlement of interdisciplinary disagreements and the emergence of new knowledge. Activating the interdisciplinary capacities of early-career researchers across disciplines and geographies is a fundamental step towards transforming siloed research practices to reduce disaster risk.

AB - The concept of disaster risk is cross-disciplinary by nature and reducing disaster risk has become of interest for various disciplines. Yet, moving from a collection of multiple disciplinary perspectives to integrated interdisciplinary disaster risk approaches remains a fundamental challenge. This paper reflects on the experience of a group of early-career researchers spanning physical scientists, engineers and social scientists from different organisations across the global North and global South who came together to lead the refinement, operationalisation and testing of a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow's Cities (TCDSE). Drawing on the notions of subjects and boundary objects, members of the group reflect on their individual and collective journey of transgressing disciplinary boundaries across three case studies between June–December 2021: operationalisation process of the TCDSE; development of a virtual urban testbed as a demonstration case for the implementation of the TCDSE; and consolidation of frequently asked questions about the TCDSE for communication purposes. The paper argues that (1) the production of boundary objects in interdisciplinary research nurtures relations of reciprocal recognition and the emergence of interdisciplinary subjects; (2) the intrinsic characteristics of boundary objects define the norms of engagement between disciplinary subjects and constrain the expression of interdisciplinary contradictions; and (3) affects and operations of power explain the contingent settlement of interdisciplinary disagreements and the emergence of new knowledge. Activating the interdisciplinary capacities of early-career researchers across disciplines and geographies is a fundamental step towards transforming siloed research practices to reduce disaster risk.

KW - interdisciplinarity

KW - subjectivity

KW - boundary object

KW - early-career researchers

KW - disaster risk

U2 - 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103481

DO - 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103481

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

SN - 2212-4209

VL - 85

JO - International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction

JF - International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction

M1 - 103481

ER -

Interdisciplinarity in practice: Reflections from early-career researchers developing a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow's cities

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Handle.net

Fingerprint

Research output

Unleashing the power of the interdisciplinary in disaster risk reduction: reflections from an early career researcher group developing a risk-informed decision support environment for Tomorrow’s Cities

Projects

Tomorrow’s Cities

Cite this