Socializing Scientists into Interdisciplinarity by Placemaking in a Multi-sited Research Center

Abstract

The importance of physical place for interdisciplinary research collaborations is often taken for granted by scientists and policy makers. One result of this is a trend of funding interdisciplinary research centers where scientists are colocated in the same building. Previous research findings on the matter are, however, ambiguous and show that though geographical proximity clearly matters, proximity is insufficient to foster interdisciplinary collaboration. This paper is based on an ethnographic study of a multi-sited Norwegian biotechnology research center—the Centre for Digital Life Norway (DLN), funded in 2015 to stimulate a transition in biotechnology research toward inter- and transdisciplinarity and digitalization. The multi-sited character makes DLN different from the much-studied trend of colocation of research groups in research centers. The paper asks: how are scientists socialized into an interdisciplinary mentality in a multi-sited research center? The analysis focus on three aspects: place, socialization, and the role of affective features and experiences. The paper’s main contribution is to demonstrate the role of placemaking in motivating for inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration, in particular by allowing for development of affective relations among the participating scientists.