A framework for structuring interdisciplinary research management

With project-based research becoming a major form of research organisation, coordination and management has become an important task in interdisciplinary research collaborations and a key determinant of their success. Yet little theory-based information is available regarding the decisive determinants of project management success and the functions it needs to fulfil. Based on the assumption that such projects are temporary organisations, we have adapted the Competing Values Framework (Quinn, 1988; Quinn and Rohrbaugh, 1983), taken from the literature on organisation management, making it usable for project managers in interdisciplinary research projects. Via a case study from a European Integrated Project, we have developed four essential management fields, relating them to the existing literature on management of inter- and transdisciplinary research projects. Our resulting Interdisciplinary Research Management Framework makes coordinator functions explicit and plausible, while also being generic, in that specific coordination duties can be attributed to functions relatively independent of project topic. The framework can facilitate the structured planning, conducting and evaluating of management activities for large interdisciplinary projects. It can be a practical tool for project leaders and scientific administrators, but may also help to facilitate further academic discussion on interdisciplinary research management. The production of results dependent on information transfers between project consortia and target arenas (e.g. the science–policy interface) remains a major challenge. In any case, a “re-invention of the wheel” process, in the sense of personal and project-specific learning, still seems to be somewhat necessary for organising context-specific, temporary interdisciplinary research programmes.