Articles

Multidisciplinary Approach

The term "multidisciplinary research" probably has as many definitions as sustainable agriculture does.

Some folks use the term any time people from different disciplines get together to work on a project or research team, regardless of the kind of problem being studied or the approach to studying it.

The Center studies agricultural systems problems—by definition complex and often changing—using a dynamic team approach.

Building strong research teams

The Center's goal is to build and maintain strong, flexible research teams. These teams involve researchers, farmers, extension specialists, food system practitioners, nonprofit organizations, farmer networks, and others.

Because each team member has a say in setting goals for the entire team, farmers help set the research agenda, conduct research, and communicate the results.

Teams interact in a variety of ways, like field days, research team meetings, special events, seminars, fundraising activities, and other public presentations. Team members participate at the levels of commitment, time, and energy that are comfortable for them.

Want more detail? See the CIAS publication on the radial team model.

A multidisciplinary approach to agricultural systems research

The Center's research approach involves more than simply bringing researchers from different fields together:

  • This approach also builds in team members' diverse perspectives on the scope and scale of the system being studied.
  • It allows for changing perspectives as researchers from different fields, farmers, and others interact and develop their thinking about the research problems and understanding of each others' viewpoints.
  • It uses balanced role reversal: in on-farm research explorations, farmers and nonprofits on the team direct the studies and university scientists offer advice and assistance. On the experiment station projects, scientists take the lead, with advice and assistance offered by farmers.
  • It can accommodate diverse research approaches: applied, basic, or adaptive in focus, short- or long-term in scope, and integrating the biological and social sciences (and also the humanities).

Some examples of CIAS-sponsored research projects with these characteristics are: