The SPINE project will strengthen pathways for interdisciplinary collaboration

Many of society’s major challenges require interdisciplinary solutions. However, researchers who want to work across disciplines often have to navigate a maze of structural and practical obstacles.

“Interdisciplinary research has often been treated as a special case rather than a standard practice,” says Katrine Ellemose Lindvig, principal investigator of the new SPINE project.  

“Experience is rarely shared systematically, and researchers frequently have to navigate obstacles on their own.” 

The SPINE project, supported by the Lundbeck Foundation, responds to these challenges by investigating the infrastructures, practices, and conditions that enable or hinder interdisciplinary collaboration. The project seeks to map patterns of collaboration, identify friction points, and co-develop practical tools that can be applied across institutions and disciplines.  

“SPINE is about creating adaptable tools that can sit between disciplinary boundaries and help build bridges, making collaboration possible for all researchers, not only those with extensive networks or institutional support,” says Katrine Ellemose Lindvig.  

Mapping global practices in interdisciplinary research 

The SPINE-team is going to conduct ethnographic fieldwork and participatory action research in multiple global contexts, observing how interdisciplinary research is organised, what infrastructures exist, and how collaboration unfolds in practice. By comparing different approaches internationally, the project identifies patterns, friction points, and strategies that support collaborative teamwork. This includes examining doctoral supervision, project design, and institutional practices to understand what enables interdisciplinary work and where challenges persist.  

“For example, early mapping of PhD projects can clarify expectations between supervisors from different disciplines, while observing how teams coordinate lab access, data-sharing protocols, and joint publications sheds light on structural and cultural factors that shape collaborative practice,” Katrine Ellemose Lindvig notes. 

The SPINE-project will especially focus on challenges faced by doctoral candidates and early-career researchers, who may not yet have established networks, experience, or institutional support. 

Plug-and-play 

The insights gained from this research will inform the development of practical approaches that can support researchers and institutions in navigating interdisciplinary collaboration.  

“A concrete example of a plug-and-play solution is the onboarding of doctoral students working across disciplines,” says Katrine Ellemose Lindvig.

“An early mapping of the PhD project can establish a critical alignment of expectations between supervisors and students, helping to prevent misunderstandings and strengthen collaboration from the start.”  

Interdisciplinary research has often been treated as a special case rather than a standard practice.

By focusing on solutions such as these, SPINE aims to make it easier for researchers to implement tools and methods that support interdisciplinary collaboration, without having to redesign entire institutional structures.  

“Through international mapping, site visits, and testing in doctoral programmes, SPINE develops solutions that fit within existing institutional structures and make it possible for researchers to collaborate across disciplines and tackle complex scientific and societal challenges.”