Inter- and trans-disciplinary research in the energy sector: an overview

Europe’s energy transition - and that of the rest of the world - is a crucial challenge for our generations to meet. All past, current and future energy challenges are entwined with, and indeed co-produced with, society; energy has only ever been an issue because of society’s apparent ‘need’ for it. Furthermore, because society’s demand for energy is linked to laws and norms regulating people’s professional and everyday lives, it is clear that achieving ambitious low-carbon aspirations will require a societal transition. Moreover, any low-carbon ‘solutions’ put forward will, however technological they seem on the surface, still be grounded in and depend upon specific social contexts. Research and action tackling these complex issues often need to have a high level of inter and transdisciplinarity. This chapter aims at getting to know what is needed to make different forms of collaborative research successful (i.e. multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral, transdisciplinary or even transformative ways of working). We briefly review existing academic literature around the need for and contribution to a better integration of SSH (Social Sciences and Humanities) in the energy field, including collaboration with other types of knowledge, to discuss what type of integration might be needed in different settings, and how to best organise these processes.