Program: Growing Convergence Research

The Growing Convergence Research (GCR) program at the National Science Foundation was identified in 2016 as one of the National Science Foundation's "10 Big Ideas"--an area for future investment at the frontiers of science and engineering to bring together diverse disciplinary perspectives to support convergence research. 

Convergence research is a means for solving vexing research problems, in particular, complex problems focusing on societal needs. It entails integrating knowledge, methods, and expertise from different disciplines and forming novel frameworks to catalyze scientific discovery and innovation. 

Convergence blends scientific disciplines in a coordinated, reciprocal way and fosters the robust collaborations needed for successful inquiry. Convergence builds and supports creative partnerships and the creative thinking needed to address complex problems.

GCR identifies Convergence Research as having two primary characteristics:

• Research driven by a specific and compelling problem. Convergence Research is generally inspired by the need to address a specific challenge or opportunity, whether it arises from deep scientific questions or pressing societal needs.
• Deep integration across disciplines. As experts from different disciplines pursue common research challenges, their knowledge, theories, methods, data, research communities and languages become increasingly intermingled or integrated. New frameworks, paradigms or even disciplines can form sustained interactions across multiple communities.

A distinct characteristic of convergence research, in contrast to other forms of multidisciplinary research, is that from the inception, the convergence paradigm intentionally brings together intellectually diverse researchers and stakeholders to frame the research questions, develop effective ways of communicating across disciplines and sectors, adopt common frameworks for their solution, and, when appropriate, develop a new scientific vocabulary. Research teams practicing convergence aim at developing sustainable relationships that may not only create solutions to the problem that engendered the collaboration, but also develop novel ways of framing related research questions and open new research vistas.