Value landscapes in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and assessment: exploring indeterminacies and...

Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research are promoted because of their contribution to addressing complex societal challenges. However, barriers to these research modes persist, some of which emerge from challenges in assessing inter- and transdisciplinary research. We employ the sensitising concept of 'values' to study the entanglement of inter- and transdisciplinary research practices and their assessment. Acknowledging normative and pragmatic approaches to values, we use the metaphor of 'value landscapes' to offer a rich perspective on how values permeate research practices and research assessment. Thereby, we seek to contribute to the discussion of values in inter- and transdisciplinarity by offering a perspective on the barriers emerging at the intersection of research practices and research assessment, which have been attributed to gaps in values and valuations. Based on a systematic literature review, we identify two value landscapes in which inter- and transdisciplinary research practices and assessments are embedded: the value landscape around societal relevance, and the value landscape around the research merit of inter- and transdisciplinary research. We outline which values constitute these two value landscapes, and how they relate to each other, as well as to inter- and transdisciplinary research practice and assessment. Two main insights from our study are discussed: (i) the indeterminacy of values around inter- and transdisciplinary research, which has implications for questions around power in their assessment, and (ii) the disconnect that characterises expectations that inter- and transdisciplinarity face, which prompts us to revisit related notions of accountability. We conclude by highlighting the need for new ways of understanding values and their roles in inter- and transdisciplinarity.