Addressing grand challenges: perceptions of interdisciplinary research and how communication structures facilitate interdisciplinary research at US research-intensive universities

PurposeThe purpose of this research was to understand the role of interdisciplinarity in research and how communication structures and processes at universities facilitates such work.Design/methodology/approachTwenty-one semi-structured interviews with administrators, faculty, and staff from US R-1 Carnegie-designated higher education institutions were conducted.FindingsInstitutional culture reportedly drives interdisciplinary research efforts and participants offered different values associated with pursuing interdisciplinary work. Participants also shared formal and informal incentives that motivate their pursuit of interdisciplinary collaborations. Participants seemed to prefer a blended centralized-decentralized approach for the communication function's support of interdisciplinary research efforts.Originality/valueThis research fills a gap in understanding of how organizational capacities, structures and processes support collaborative research work and public communication about such work.