Social science – STEM collaborations in agriculture, food and beyond: an STSFAN manifesto

AbstractInterdisciplinary research needs innovation. As an action-oriented intervention, this Manifesto begins from the authors ’ experiences as social scientists working within interdisciplinary science and technology collaborations in agriculture and food. We draw from these experiences to: 1) explain what social scientists contribute to interdisciplinary agri-food tech collaborations; (2) describe barriers to substantiv e and meaningful collaboration; and (3) propose ways to overcome these barriers. We encourage funding bodies to develop mechanisms that ensure funded projects respect the integrity of social science expertise and incorporate its insights. We also call for the integration of social scientific questio ns and methods in interdisciplinary projectsfrom the outset, and for a genuine curiosity on the part of STEM and social science researchers alike about the knowledge and skills each of us has to offer. We contend that cultivating such integration and curiosity within interdisciplinary collaborations will make them more enriching for all researchers involved, and more likely to generate socially beneficial outcomes.
Source: Agriculture and Human Values - Category: Food Science Source Type: research