RoRI consortium annual meeting in Hannover, December 2023

In December 2023, researchers and funding professionals from the RoRI consortium and beyond gathered in snowy Hannover for two days to share evidence and ideas linked to our latest wave of projects.

The first day explored the funding and evaluation of transdisciplinary research (TDR)—the focus of RoRI’s Undisciplined project. We heard about new initiatives from South Africa, the United States and across Europe, being led by a mix of funders, higher education institutions and researchers.  Sessions centred on the role of funding organisations in building more TDR capacity within research systems. 

For a taste of the discussion, you can watch the opening talk by Sir Peter Gluckman (President of the International Science Council) in which he urged funders to ensure that their funding instruments are compatible with TDR research design and methods:

The second day of the Consortium meeting ranged across initial findings from our other nine projects, new and emerging priorities, and ways to strengthen our collaborative working methods. 

We reflected on what’s next for research on research, the importance of aligning metascience with government priorities, and new approaches to impact, research policy and funding experimentation.

The meeting was a powerful reminder of the value of meeting in person, and of the potential of co-creative, collaborative working methods to shine new light on these debates.

A full report summarising the two days of discussion can be read here.