Pathways to interdisciplinary collaboration in the Water Energy Food Nexus projects

This research study aims to analyze the interdisciplinary collaboration in the Water, Energy, Food (WEF) Nexus for developing solutions for complex challenges. It acknowledges the need to transition from a siloed approach to a holistic approach by focusing on the interdependencies between the water, energy, and food sectors and the different disciplines that encompasses them. The study identifies challenges in implementing interdisciplinary collaboration within the WEF Nexus, including the coordination between disciplines. It emphasizes the significance of knowledge exchange and communication platforms to facilitate interdisciplinary cooperation. The research aims to evaluate the extent of interdisciplinary collaboration in three WEF Nexus projects: Sim4Nexus, NEXOGENESIS, and WEF Tools through answering the research questions (1) What practices are being used to develop an interdisciplinary collaboration across different disciplines in the selected WEF Nexus projects? (2) What are the key challenges, lessons learned, and opportunities for effective collaboration across disciplines in the identified projects? The research analyzed best practices in interdisciplinary collaboration, examining key factors, challenges, and lessons influencing interdisciplinarity in identified projects. Moreover, it provided recommendations to explore pathways to practice interdisciplinarity across disciplines in a structured manner. The literature review discusses the conceptualization of the WEF Nexus, emphasizing the holistic approach and interdependencies among water, energy, and food resources. However, it identifies limitations in the current Nexus collaboration and the lack of interdisciplinary approaches. The review highlights the need for incorporating additional disciplines and dimensions to enhance effective collaboration. A self-assessment survey on interdisciplinary collaboration as well as interviews with the concerned professionals involved in the three projects was the ap