Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science (2015) / Chapter Skim
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requested that the National Research Council (NRC) appoint a committee of experts to conduct a consensus study that would "recommend opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of collaborative research in science teams, research centers, and institutes." Elsevier also provided funding for the study.
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The committee's definitions reflect prior research that has defined a "team" as two or more individuals with different roles and responsibilities, who interact socially and interdependently within an organizational system to perform tasks and accomplish common goals. Because this prior research has focused on small teams typically including 10 or fewer members, similar in size to most science teams, we refer to a group of 10 or fewer scientists as a "science team." Recognizing that what is important for successful collaboration changes dramatically as the number of participants grows, we refer to groups of more than 10 scientists as "larger groups of scientists" or simply "larger groups." Although team science is growing rapidly, individual scientists continue to make critical contributions and important discoveries, as exemplified by Stephen Hawking's stream of new insights into the nature of the universe.
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It is important for scientists and other stakeholders to strategically consider the particular research question, subject matter, and intended scientific and/ or policy goals when determining whether a team science approach is appropriate, and if so, the suitable size, duration, and structure of the project or projects. BOX S-2 Charge to the Committee on the Science of Team Science An ad hoc committee will conduct a consensus study on the science of team science to recommend opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of collaborative research in science teams, research centers, and institutes.
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The research on teams in other contexts has frequently focused on small teams, typically including 10 or fewer individuals, making it more applicable to science teams than to larger groups. However, larger groups of scientists (e.g., participants in a research center)
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Science teams and larger groups often need to incorporate one or more of these features to address their particular research goals, but the features also pose challenges that are important to carefully manage. The committee returns to these seven features throughout this report in interpreting the implications of the research.
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• Goal misalignment with other teams. Large groups of scientists, such as research centers and institutes, typically include multiple science teams engaged in research projects relevant to the higher level research or translational goals of the center or institute.
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Actions and interventions that foster positive team processes offer the most promising route to enhance team effectiveness; they target three aspects of a team: team composition (assembling the right individuals) , team professional development, and team leadership.
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Recommendation 2: Team-training researchers, universities, and sci ence team leaders should partner to translate, extend, and evaluate the promising training strategies, shown to improve the effectiveness of teams in other contexts, to create professional development opportuni ties for science teams. Although research has demonstrated that training for current team members can increase team effectiveness, educational programs designed to prepare students for future team science have only recently emerged and have not yet been systematically evaluated.
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Research to date has not shown whether the acquisition of the targeted competencies con tributes to team science effectiveness. Leadership for Team Science Currently, most leaders of science teams and larger groups are appointed to their positions based solely on scientific expertise and lack formal leadership training.
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Some universities have recently sought to promote interdisciplinary team science by, for example, merging disciplinary departments to create interdisciplinary research centers or schools, providing seed grants, and forging partnerships with industry. However, little is known about the impact of these efforts, while the lack of recognition and rewards for team science can deter faculty members from joining science teams or larger groups.
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Public and private funders are in the position to foster a culture within the scientific community that supports those who want to undertake team science, not only through funding, but also through white papers, training workshops, and other approaches. Recommendation 7: Funders should work with the scientific commu nity to encourage the development and implementation of new col laborative models, such as research networks and consortia; new team science incentives, such as academic rewards for team-based research (see Recommendation #6)
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Research has shown that engaging team members in explicit discussions of how to coordinate and integrate their work enhances effectiveness, as does the development of team charters that outline team directions, roles, and processes. In addition, research has found that large, multi-institutional groups of scientists often benefit from establishing formal contracts outlining roles and assignments.
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in supporting science teams and larger groups. They should also collaborate with universities and the scientific community to facilitate researchers' access to key team science personnel and datasets.
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• Recommendation 2: • Foster positive team processes Partner with team-training and thereby enhance researchers and universities effectiveness. to create and evaluate professional development opportunities for science teams.
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• Recommendation 3: Partner • Increase capacity of team and with leadership researchers group leaders and funding and team science leaders agency program officers to create and evaluate to facilitate positive team leadership development processes and thereby enhance opportunities. effectiveness.
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• Recommendation 2: Partner • Foster positive team processes with science team leaders and thereby enhance and universities to create effectiveness. and evaluate professional development opportunities for science teams.
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