What is convergence research?

Convergence research is a means to solve complex research problems that arise from either pressing scientific or societal needs, through deep integration across a range of expertise and disciplines.

Goals of the Convergence Science Program

The NCAR Convergence Science Program’s three overarching goals:

Clarity

Develop a clear understanding of convergence science for NSF NCAR, including what it is, how it’s done, and what it yields.

Capacity

Develop a framework for robust, sustainable capacity – at multiple levels – to support, enable, and conduct convergence science.

Growth

Foster convergence research, particularly of science problems that are strategically important and high-risk.

Example of Convergence Research

Click here to read about how convergence research helps to understand and manage future risk of increasing simultaneous wildfires.

Learn About Convergence Research

The National Science Foundation defines convergence research in the following way:  

“Convergence research is a means of solving vexing research problems, especially those focusing on societal needs. It has two primary characteristics:

  • It is driven by a specific and compelling problem, whether that problem arises from deep scientific questions or pressing societal needs.
  • It shows deep integration across disciplines. Convergence research intentionally brings together intellectually diverse researchers to develop effective ways of communicating across disciplines. As experts from different disciplines pursue a common research challenge, their knowledge, theories, methods, data and research communities increasingly intermingle.

New frameworks, paradigms or even disciplines can emerge from convergence research, as research communities adopt common frameworks and a new scientific language. In this sense, convergence research is similar to transdisciplinary research, which is seen as the pinnacle of integration across disciplines.”

Other definitions of convergence research exist – including from National Academies reports (NASEM 2014, 2021) and from scientists (Roco and Bainbridge 2013, Peek et al. 2020, Cullen et al. 2023, Sundstrom et al. 2023) – all of which broadly correspond. Distilling NSF’s definition, convergence research has four key elements:

  1. Problem-driven (the “why”): It’s driven by a complex, important scientific and/or societal problem.
  2. People from widely varying expertise (the “who”)P: It involves people from disparate disciplines, sectors, roles, and experiences coming together to tackle the complex problem.  
  3. Deep integration (the “how”): The team works together closely and regularly to co-develop and blend their ideas, knowledge, and practices.  
  4. Novel outcomes (the “what”): It generates new, innovative ways of thinking, paths, solutions, and other outcomes that are not possible otherwise.  

There are other types of research, including disciplinary, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary. Definitions of these terms are not universally shared, and the terminology has evolved as the practice of research has changed to represent new approaches and as the science of convergence – and of team science more generally – is systematically studied (NASEM 2014, 2025).  

Broadly speaking, disciplinary research involves researchers from a single discipline who work alone or collaboratively. Multidisciplinary research involves researchers from two or more disciplines who focus on common or related questions or problems and who largely work in parallel and remain separate but who interact to leverage or transfer one another’s knowledge, data, or tools. Interdisciplinary research integrates knowledge, data, tools, or methods from two or more disciplines that are focused on a given problem, but may not involve deep social and knowledge integration or develop novel frameworks. Historically, however, the term interdisciplinary has been used to describe some research that today could be considered as transdisciplinary or convergent (Rhoten 2004, Morss et al. 2018). Transdisciplinary research and convergence research are often used interchangeably and align with NSF’s definition provided above; definitions vary, however, with some specifying integration across sectors (academic, public, private) and others specifying end-user involvement. Excellent resources with definitions of the different types of research include: NASEM (2014), NASEM (2021), Peek et al. (2020), and Misra et al. (2025).  

Casting back to the four elements distilled above (why, who, how, what), research that is not convergent (disciplinary, multidisciplinary, etc.) involves some of these elements. Importantly, the distinguishing characteristic of convergence research is that it necessarily involves all four elements.  

Click here to download text of convergence primer

 

This resource was developed by NSF NCAR’s Convergence Science Program. Please contact csp_leadership@ucar.edu if you have any questions, feedback, or ideas.  This is a living document that may be updated over time (last updated January 2026)

References

Cullen, A.C., S.J. Prichard, J.T. Abatzoglou, A. Dolk, L. Kessenich, S. Bloem, ... and L.O. Mearns, (2023). Growing convergence research: coproducing climate projections to inform proactive decisions for managing simultaneous wildfire risk. Risk analysis, https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.14113

Misra, S., M.A. Rippy, and S.B. Grant. (2024). Analyzing knowledge integration in convergence research. Environmental Science & Policy, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103902

Morss, R. E., O. V. Wilhelmi, J. L. Demuth, and H. Lazrus, (2022): Advancing interdisciplinary, actionable, and convergent research in the atmospheric and related sciences: Findings and recommendations from a project at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. NCAR Technical Note TN-572+STR. https://doi.org/10.5065/rpt1-s628

NASEM (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine), 2014. Convergence: Facilitating Transdisciplinary Integration of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering, and Beyond. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/18722

NASEM, 2021. Measuring Convergence in Science and Engineering: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26040

NASEM, 2025. The Science and Practice of Team Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/29043

Peek, L., J. Tobin, R.M., Adams, H. Wu, and M. C. Mathews, (2020). A framework for convergence research in the hazards and disaster field: The natural hazards engineering research infrastructure CONVERGE facility. Frontiers in Built Environment. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2020.00110

Rhoten, D., (2004). Interdisciplinary research: Trend or transition. Items and issues. https://items.ssrc.org/from-our-archives/interdisciplinary-research-trend-or-transition/

Roco, M. C., and W. S. Bainbridge, (2013). The new world of discovery, invention, and innovation: Convergence of knowledge, technology, and society. Journal of nanoparticle research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-013-1946-1

Sundstrom, S.M., Angeler, D.G., Ernakovich, J.G., García, J.H., Hamm, J.A., Huntington, O. and Allen, C.R., 2023. The emergence of convergence. Elem Sci Anth,  https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2022.00128