Innovative interdisciplinary practices for academic, commercial, NGO, practitioner and voluntary sector contexts. Interdisciplinary living crosses all boundaries and interfaces. In all our daily routines, tasks and jobs we blend knowledge with experience, merge skills with talents, adapt and innovate in forming practices and applying solutions to achieve whatever it is we are doing. Our ability to step seamlessly between diverse activities and practices lies at the very heart of of interdisciplinary living.

Such an inclusive understanding of interdisciplinarity has profound implications for what this means for doing interdisciplinary work. Labourers, tradespersons, professionals, practitioners, academics, vocational and volunteer workers are all engaged in their own areas of activity, each area having its own discreet and often specialist methods, rules, skill-sets, practices, ways of learning and sharing forms of knowledge and experience appropriate to those areas and activities.

Interdisciplinary work takes place simultaneously in local, national, international and global contexts. Inclusive interdisciplinarity recognises life is constantly lived at the interface of all these contexts. They are fluid, dynamic and ever changing areas of activity and ways of living. We have become creative centres where experiences, knowledge and practices mingle, merge and are re-made on a daily basis.

Progressive Connexions is exploring what is happening at the interface of all these contexts and mapping the possibilities for professional enrichment and creative innovation. Assessing how they can work together, merge, blend, learn and adapt from each other is key to being able to equip people with the tools they need to live their lives more effectively in the world and bring creative solutions to all areas, professions and practices.

We are focusing on the meaning and implications of inclusive interdisciplinary living across the following areas;

Commercial Interdisciplinarity
Programmes will focus on creating the conditions under which knowledge and experience can be shared between and across boundaries. Innovation grows through the development of new models for practice, new structures and processes for working and fresh insights into how to create spaces for the dynamic exchange, interchange and growth of knowledge and experience along with what this means for organisations, institutions and businesses to foster and encourage these kinds of activities.

Educational Interdisciplinarity
Normally seen as the ‘home’ of interdisciplinary work, approaches within these contexts frequently fail to achieve a coherent and cohesive vision. Programmes will look at how to overcome some of the straight-jackets and restrictions blocking the way to realising interdisciplinary growth and promote models which advance the core principles of interdisciplinary education. These will look at interdisciplinary leadership, the promotion and, more importantly, the recognition of interdisciplinary research, growing international collaboration and maximising funding, along with setting the conditions for interdisciplinary publishing and reviewing.

Practitioner Interdisciplinarity
The interdisciplinary practitioner draws on the knowledge and experiences acquired and continually seeks to introduce innovation and novelty into their practices. Programmes will explore and enable professional and personal development through linking interdisciplinary methods and research with the formation of experimental and creative practices, how this can be achieved in the context of public and private practices and how shared practices can shape and influence policy decision making.

Professional Interdisciplinarity
We are working with partners, networks, professional bodies to encourage the recognition of interdisciplinary living and thinking as an engine for growth, change and creative building. We are always happy to work with you to provide bespoke programmes and training for government, education, industry, NGO, voluntary and charity groups, companies and institutions. It is always fascinating to see what people are doing and help them to engage with growing diverse ranges of interdisciplinary practices.