Science Policy Research Report: Infrastructure for Interdisciplinarity

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With the goal of stimulating innovation, federal funding agencies and universities have invested in interdisciplinary research, using various mechanisms, including: targetted funding opportunities; re-organization of physical work spaces; establishment of topic specific, disciplinary spanning research centers; faculty cluster hires; interdisciplinary fellowship programs; and graduate training programs like IGERT. This research synthesizes the literature to assess which mechanisms have been most effective and under what circumstances. Interdisciplinarity is a timely and nationally important science policy topic, but there are always limits to funding, and those who make and implement policy need to know how best to achieve returns on their investments. The research identifies the mechanisms and policies that have been most successful and thus made the most effective use of R&D funding. The policy report comprehensively reviews the scholarship and attends closely to the reliability and robustness of the studies reviewed. It begins by comparing the various definitions and measures of interdisciplinary research that have been proposed, and moves toward assessing the impact of interdisciplinary research and valued outcomes like scientific productivity and innovation. The policy report provides policy prescriptions based on evidence in the scientific research.