Lessons From a Decade of Interdisciplinary Earthquake Resilience Research Through the National Center, QuakeCoRE

This opinion paper articulates factors I believe are instrumental to the success of interdisciplinary research centers, drawing on a decade of experience with QuakeCoRE: New Zealand's Centre for Earthquake Resilience as a co‐lead in its establishment and subsequently Deputy Director and Director. The discussion follows a chronological progression from center proposal development, establishing an enduring culture, broadening disciplinary scope to become a more genuine interdisciplinary center, and ever‐present challenges. To foster enduring success, centers should craft a resonating vision and mission, be a natural monopoly with regard to topics and geography, establish deep collaboration through active leadership and transparency, and strategically broaden scope while preserving disciplinary excellence and funding flexibility. Leaders must balance collaboration with healthy competition, provide upward mobility for emerging researchers, and mitigate vulnerabilities like funding insecurity through constant evolution. Collectively, these approaches enable centers to achieve transformative societal impacts that far exceed individual efforts. Rooted in QuakeCoREs context as a natural earthquake laboratory, the insights are intended to offer practical guidance for interdisciplinary centers worldwide.