The role played by social-ecological resilience as a method of integration in interdisciplinary research

Simone A. Beichler, HafenCity University Hamburg
Sanin Hasibovic, HafenCity University Hamburg
Bart Jan Davidse, HafenCity University Hamburg
Sonja Deppisch, HafenCity University Hamburg

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-06583-190304

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Abstract

Today’s multifaceted environmental problems, including climate change, necessitate interdisciplinary research. It is however difficult to combine disciplines to study such complex phenomena. We analyzed the experience we gained in applying a particular method of interdisciplinary integration, the ‘bridging concept.’ We outlined the entire process of developing, utilizing, and adapting social-ecological resilience as a bridging concept in a research project involving seven different disciplines. We focused on the tensions and opportunities arising from interdisciplinary dialogue and the understandings and manifestations of resilience in the disciplines involved. By evaluating the specific cognitive and social functions of resilience as a method of integration, we call for placing greater emphasis on the quality and value of the actual interdisciplinary process, rather than concentrating solely on the output of interdisciplinary work.

Key words

adaptation; bridging concept; climate change; interdisciplinarity; resilience

Copyright © 2014 by the author(s). Published here under license by The Resilience Alliance. This article is under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. You may share and adapt the work for noncommercial purposes provided the original author and source are credited, you indicate whether any changes were made, and you include a link to the license.