Researchers need new forms of community and interaction and in this case the group would meet again to develop momentum. Technology is ahead of the public mind. For example, if ethicists were involved, biotechnology would not be in the trouble it is today. This must be self-organized, it can t be imposed from the top. The collective agreement doesn t facilitate interdisciplinary research because of the way we priorize journal papers, procedures, and performance standards.
Teamwork takes more time and produces fewer publications.
Interdisciplinary research at this University tends to rely on students to take the risk and find interdisciplinary supervisors. In an example from the U of S, a faculty member in one department was part of an interdisciplinary research group and when promotion time came the interdisciplinary work was downplayed so that person was penalized for doing interdisciplinary work. Interdisciplinary research is seen as a stage in one s career. If we think of interdisciplinarity as a career path, then we should be aiming at mid-career faculty. Successful groups cultivate cross-connections.