Interdisciplinary collaboration in VUCA contexts: a conceptual review for environmental upheavals management

This conceptual review develops a new theoretical framework for interdisciplinary collaboration in volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) contexts, redefining it as a dynamic, iterative, and integrative process aimed at fostering shared understanding, co-creation of solutions, and adaptive capacity. The article situates VUCA within disaster-risk contexts, conceptualizing VUCA conditions as amplifiers of risks (such as floods, extreme heat, weather-related emergencies, and cascading infrastructure failures).

The article reviews the limitations of siloed approaches in DRR; how these limitations have contributed to failures in preparedness and mitigation; and how interdisciplinary collaboration can serve as a preventive mechanism, not just a response strategy. While interdisciplinary collaboration is frequently advocated, its implementation often remains fragmented. Disciplinary silos persist, limiting the capacity to address interconnected disruptions. Moreover, current approaches tend to overemphasize uncertainty and complexity, while neglecting volatility and ambiguity, two dimensions critical to understanding rapid change and interpretive conflict. The review emphasizes the need to move beyond superficial cooperation toward genuine collaboration, characterized by plural knowledge integration, shared sensemaking, and collective adaptability.