Understanding Constraints in the Dynamics of a Research Programme Intended as a Niche Innovation

National large-scale interdisciplinary research programmes funded to boost scientific, economic and societal advancement often have difficulty realizing their goals. Reasons include: the monodisciplinary nature of academic research; insufficient interaction with societal actors; and funding conditions. To better understand the mechanisms for dealing with these tensions, we analysed the dynamics of a large and promising interdisciplinary programme in the emerging field of ecological genomics. As part of the programme, with responsibility for its societal valuation, we were able to investigate its initiation and implementation processes in depth, using participative observations, interviews, and process interventions. We adapted the multi-level perspective to analyse the constraining and enabling conditions, and derived practical recommendations for improving the societal outcomes of large research programmes. Our main conclusion is that programmes with an interdisciplinary and societal mission should work explicitly towards this mission from the start, as reorientation at later stages of the programme can be problematic.