Inter- and transdisciplinary social science research in Leiden
How do social science disciplines collaborate in the field of health and well-being? How do we collaborate within our Faculty? And how do we collaborate with our societal partners in Leiden? These are topics that really resonate with many of our researchers, as was clear at the Food for Thought FSW Health lunch on 3 March.
Resilience and improving access to palliative care
The plenary discussion was introduced by two presentations about the outcome of the FSW LHSC booster subsidies.
- First, Anna van Duijvenvoorde (Psychology) described how she, Anne-Laura van Harmelen (Education and Child Studies), and Marieke Bos (Psychology) set up a study to better measure adolescents’ flexibility in coping with societal uncertainty.
- Then Annemarie Samuels (Cultural Anthropology and Developmental Sociology) presented the project she developed with Liesbeth van Vliet (Psychology): they created a network of societal partners to improve access to palliative care in Leiden, specifically for people who have difficulties connecting with health care.
The opportunities and challenges of transdisciplinary research
After these two presentations, in a well-filled Living Lab, moderator Sandra van Dijk (Psychology) chaired a lively plenary discussion about the opportunities and challenges of transdisciplinary research. How do we prevent ‘research fatigue’ setting in among our societal partners?
A selection of the answers: join forces, ensure good online visibility about who the collaboration partners are, and strengthen links with universities of applied sciences and secondary vocational schools. The Leiden Health Society Center was mentioned as a unique opportunity to pursue these goals. How can we foster fruitful collaboration? Some of the attendees pointed out how important it is to involve target groups and partners in the research right from the start: one possibility would be to design the research project in consultation with local residents and explore whether there is some ‘product’ the researchers can provide that will really be useful for residents. This way, you can ensure right from the proposal stage that everyone will benefit from the results of the research.
A fruitful collaboration starts at the beginning
We live in a society with many health challenges, but also many initiatives and ambitions to improve health. In this context, transdisciplinary collaboration is indispensable. Collaboration of this kind is high on Leiden’s agenda. And within FSW too this conversation is certainly very much ongoing, the presenters of the Food for Thought session concluded.
Future of transdisciplinary collaboration
Health challenges and initiatives to improve well-being require a strong, collaborative approach. In Leiden, transdisciplinary cooperation is high on the agenda, both within the city and within the Faculty of Social Sciences. This conversation is sure to continue, the day's speakers concluded.