Identification of Factors to Promote Interdisciplinary Research: A Trial at COINS

Due to the complexity of modern science and growing need for innovative breakthrough, interdisciplinary research (IDR) is expected and widely promoted to solve complex social problems by integrating knowledge from multiple academic fields. However, conventional indicators such as the impact factor and the number of citations are not fully applicable for the evaluation of IDR. Furthermore, publications and patents are ex-post output that can be obtained as a result of research, owning a fatal time lag when conducting R&D management. To address these issues, the present study aims to explore activity-based leading measures that indicate the performance of IDR and can be utilized for the real-time management of IDR. A survey-based empirical study at an institute for IDR as a case revealed that researchers who prefer IDR represented significantly higher degrees of (i) relational skills and (ii) a satisfaction with resources provided by the institute. These findings were verified with a subsequent qualitative observation and an organizational design of an institute to promote IDR was discussed.