TOP > Publications > To Realize the Collaboration between Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and Humanities in Japan -Measures and Pioneering Practices-／CRDS-FY2018-SP-01
Oct. /2018
(Strategic Proposals)
To Realize the Collaboration between Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and Humanities in Japan -Measures and Pioneering Practices-／CRDS-FY2018-SP-01
Executive Summary

Society of the 21st century faces challenges which are complicated and expanding on a global scale, and the influence that new technologies brings in the society becomes larger as never before. In these situation, to find out human dignity and the future direction of our society, we need to work on these difficult missions based on diverse views and knowledge of multiple fields. Particularly, in the discussion on utilization of new technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced biotechnology, in which the significant value judgment for human being is required, the views and the knowledge of both natural sciences and social sciences and humanities (SSH) are significant.

Under the awareness of challenges mentioned above, necessity of collaboration between natural sciences and SSH receives greater recognition among those in the community of research and innovation policy. In the 5th Science and Technology Basic Plan of Japan (2016-2020), the necessity of collaboration between both field are described in several sections including that of Society 5.01. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of United Nations, the collaboration between natural sciences and SSH is regarded as an essential element. In Horizon 2020, the research and innovation program of Europe Union (EU) from 2014 to 2020, the participation from SSH are embedded in some of the calls of the program. As a trend in international academies, International Council of Science (ICSU), the academic organization of natural sciences, and International Social Science Council (ISSC) was merged to International Science Council (ISC) in July 2018.

In Japan, however, the necessity of collaboration between natural sciences and SSH has been just mentioned as a basic and general concept of policy-making and the practical measures to stimulate collaboration between both fields have not been considered to the present. Consequently, Center for Research and Development Strategy (CRDS) of Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) started to investigate "the measures for cooperation" to stimulate the collaboration between both fields effectively after clarifying the problems in collaboration. Six items of "the measures for cooperation" proposed are as follows.

  • Proposal 1: Recognize the problems in the collaborations and share them among actors to stimulate implementations of Proposal 2 to 6.
  • Proposal 2: Encourage the movements to set meeting places (called "ba" in Japanese) and to build networking.
  • Proposal 3: Encourage the activities to explore or identify societal issues and to illustrate visions of future societies.
  • Proposal 4: Support research and development activities that collaborations are needed.
  • Proposal 5: Facilitate efforts of implementing research results.
  • Proposal 6: Improve the abilities of organizations and individuals as a foundation for collaborations.

The actors of these proposals are as follows. Their major affiliated institutions are shown in parentheses.

  • Planner of basic policy and measures (governmental organizations)
  • Driver of institutes or projects
    • Person in charge of planning and management of R & D programs (governmental organizations or funding agencies)
    • Managers of R & D programs (funding agencies, universities, public research institutes, private companies, etc.)
    • Managers of organization and R & D manager (universities, public research institutes, private companies, etc.)
  • Researcher and practical specialist (universities, public research institutes, private companies, etc.)

Based on the purpose of the collaboration and situation of the institutions that actors belong to, necessary actions should be selected from the six proposals and be operated flexibly. The goal through the implementation of proposals in the short and the medium term is the accumulation of collaborations respond to social challenges. In the long term, the goal is to realize sustainable society and to recover comprehensiveness of sciences that are subdivided in history of modern science.

Report on the following pioneering practices of collaborations between natural sciences and SSH (some case studies) are also included in this document.

Pioneering practices of collaborations

Research themes or activities:

Measures for cooperation:

  • (1) Call process in the research program of JST-RISTEX, "Designing a Sustainable Society through integrational Co-creation" (https://ristex.jst.go.jp/i-gene/en/ (Accessed August 3, 2018), web site of the program)
  • (2) Project formulation in Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (http://www.chikyu.ac.jp/rihn_e/ (Accessed August 3, 2018), web site of the organization)
  • (3) Team reorganization in the research program of JST, "Creation of Fundamental Theory and Technology to Establish a Cooperative Distributed Energy Management System and Integration of Technologies Across Broad Disciplines Toward Social Application" (https://www.jst.go.jp/kisoken/crest/en/research_area/ongoing/areah24-1.html (Accessed August 3, 2018), web site of the program)
  • (4) Efforts at Center for the Promotion of Interdisciplinary Education and Research, Kyoto University (http://www.cpier.kyoto-u.ac.jp/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2016/07/CPIER_English.pdf)
    - Multidisciplinary networking event
    - Symposium "The academic world" (researchers from 79 disciplines participated this event)
  • (5) Networking event in Toyonaka campus, Osaka University
  • (6) Activities by university research administrators network for SSH
  • (7) Institute for Liberal Arts （ILA）, Tokyo Institute of Technology (https://educ.titech.ac.jp/ila/eng/ (Accessed August 3, 2018))
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