• Write clearly and simply to ensure that the text is accessible accessible to readers who are unfamiliar with the area of work.
• Don’t assume that, just because you have a history of interdisciplinary research, the panel will read between the lines.
• Explain the nuts and bolts of how the interdisciplinary team will work together.
• If you’re going to ‘map’, articulate what that means.
• Demonstrate the proposal offers value for money.

• Define your ‘big question.’
• Outline what has led to the development of the proposed project and how it has evolved out of ongoing conversations and relationships.
• Demonstrate why your interdisciplinary team is needed to solve it.
• Justify your approach and state what the outcomes and benefits (across disciplines) will be.
• Show it will be transformative and articulate how the project would build a new discipline over the longer term.

• Give explicit consideration to IDR as a process of designing, producing and communicating research.
• If appropriate to the funding call explain how the different disciplines/team members developed the project from defining the research question through to designing the work programme.
• Think about how the design of the project will enable the teams to work together throughout and put appropriate structures in place to support integration, for example, project management, tangible outcomes.
• Integrate work packages – don’t have separate packages with one cross cutting strand doing all of the integration work.
• Build in time in for developing shared understanding of terminology, concepts and research practices in the different disciplines covered by the team

• Ensure that your proposal clearly outlines how the interdisciplinary research is owned by all team members.
• Include measures to ensure everybody is speaking the same language. For example, set-up sessions exploring languages, definitions and cultural practices in different areas.
• Revisit definitions and practices on a regular basis to check whether everyone was still on the same page, to avoid mission drift.
• Don’t just delegate interdisciplinarity to the PDRA.
• Don’t put too much emphasis on one PDRA or one role, this is a major risk factor.

• Acknowledge issues relating to integration and the complexities of delivering interdisciplinary projects.
• Include the complexities in risk registers and build in times and processes to manage and mitigate risks such as culture clashes and disagreements.
• Identify the measures that will be in place to address the risks. 

If the application is a two stage process you may receive feedback from panel members. Advice from panel members includes:

• Respond constructively and bear in mind that some members will be reviewing from a disciplinary specialism rather than with interdisciplinary expertise.
• Be positive in your response to panel feedback, use the request as an opportunity to expand on the ideas in the outline proposal.

UKRI Presentation on Cross Council Interdisciplinary Research Scheme

UKRI Feedback on Cross Council Interdisciplinary Research Scheme