Collaborating across the sectors: the relationships between the humanities, arts and social sciences (HASS) and science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM) sectors

This CHASS report details the benefits to Australia of encouraging big collaborative research projects, to provide solutions to the big problems the country faces. These 'big issues' include caring for an aging population, maintaining water supply, cyber crime, and aboriginal health and welfare. This CHASS report details the benefits to Australia of encouraging big collaborative research projects, to provide solutions to the big problems the country faces. These 'big issues' include caring for an aging population, maintaining water supply, cyber crime, and aboriginal health and welfare. The world?s problems have scant respect for disciplines or knowledge sectors. Key issues now confronting us?global warming, energy insecurities, terrorism?require solutions that harness the talents of all, wherever intellectually located. Most people feel secure within the narrow confines and well-trodden paths of their own upbringing. For researchers and educators, the disciplines remain powerful units of organisation. Moreover, crossdisciplinary approaches rely upon strong disciplinary expertise. Similarly, the broad sectors of knowledge?science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM) and the humanities, arts and social sciences (HASS)?provide time-honoured yet segregated playgrounds for discovery and interpretation. These sectors uphold different economies and promote different methodologies. Our biggest challenge is to find ways in which these sectors can collaborate better and turn their differences of perspective into pandisciplinary strengths. This study has brought together linguists and technologists, engineers and economists, in probing the current limits of cross-sectoral collaboration and proposing less constricted ways of moving forward. Our findings are so unsensational as to border on common sense, yet our recommendations will still be hard to implement. They confront current high rewards for atomised and niche-based thinking. At the same time, the report recognises that collaboration is not appropriate in all situations.