Fostering the Culture of Convergence in Research Proceedings of a Workshop (2019) / Chapter Skim
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2 Convergence in Practice: Opportunities and Challenges
2 Convergence in Practice: Opportunities and Challenges
Pages 11-24
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From page 11... ...
She noted that this task is not a trivial one, and relies on developing shared understandings of a culture that will enable convergence, as well as how current incentives and disincentives affect research systems. Based on this knowledge, the strategies and practices that can alter disincentives to minimize or overcome current barriers to convergence will need to be identified.
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From page 12... ...
. Integrating perspectives from multiple disciplines contributes to almost everything that the NAM does in addressing current challenges, such as achieving healthy longevity or promoting population health.2 To address these and many other medical challenges, Dr.
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One example offered was to take a critical approach to "adapting the merit review process to represent the broad expertise needed" to identify the most promising convergent research ideas. THE PROMISE OF CONVERGENCE FOR SCIENTIFIC CHALLENGES: HOW SCIENCE CAN PROPEL SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND LOWER THE SECTOR'S GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS The opening panel focused on what convergence can achieve when applied to example areas of science, in this case advances with implica 4 See NSF's 10 Big Ideas, available at https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/big_ ideas/index.jsp; accessed February 12, 2019.
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Dr. Chu was joined by Richard Broglie, Chief Technology Officer of Pivot Bio, and Zach Serber, Chief Science Officer and Vice President of Development of Zymergen, who each shared examples of research and development goals being pursued by these companies.
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He presented a set of institutional leverage points for convergence, including leadership priorities and campus mission statements, practices for promotion and tenure and for awarding academic credit, seed grant programs, shared space and facilities, and education and mentorship.
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Numerous additional elements also affect the culture of convergence and the ability to be successful, including the system of institutional incentives, funding agency and foundational support, and other policies and practices that affect the research, as well as the interactions with multiple other experts and teams also conducting relevant research. SOURCE: Stokols 2018, used with permission.
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Whether freestanding or part of universities, these convergence centers and organizations were generally all established to address focused missions, which in some cases evolve over time. For example, the Danforth Center's mandate is to "improve the human condition through plant science,"9 while GoMRI was established by BP as an independent research program in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.10 The research themes of the Woese Institute of UIUC are reviewed every 5 years with decisions 7 See the website for the Team Science Toolkit, available at https://www.teamsciencetoolkit.
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Poste from CASI, which found that combining skilled project managers and research faculty has been critical in progress and successful efforts to date. LEADING FOR CONVERGENCE The next panel convened academic leaders and focused particularly on campus efforts to support and incentivize convergence.
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From page 19... ...
These commonly include the use of seed funding programs. UCI has established a program, for example, in which faculty submit proposals for university seed funding that are peer reviewed and the investigators of successful projects are encouraged to consult with a UCI team science experts group.
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Members of the panel noted that academia is seen as risk averse and they have had to create some changes for themselves, including pursuing affiliations at additional schools to bring together the expertise and resources necessary to address their research goals, creating spaces and opportunities for people of different skill sets to mingle within their laboratories, or even founding start-up companies to pursue ideas. Institutional trust and flexibility were seen as important to faculty success, with one panelist noting the advantage of starting at an institution such as Bell Laboratories, which did not follow an academic promotion and tenure process.
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Meanwhile, junior faculty are under intense pressure to obtain grants and make progress along the tenure pathway. In some fields, these pressures involve low funding success rates, increased time before obtaining major grant funding, and long tenure timelines.
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The human dimensions, especially the critical roles of institutional culture and of how to nudge and influence human behaviors, along with distinct differences in the current challenges faced by different disciplines, will all affect the success of efforts to integrate expertise across and within knowledge boundaries and toward convergence. STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVES The final panel of the workshop brought together perspectives on the tension points and challenges in fostering effective cultures of convergence and possible steps to move forward.
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From page 23... ...
There may also be generational differences in interests and expectations. Panelists noted that the culture of convergence is already infused in younger generations of researchers, and thus there is a need to "enable young ideas and get out of the way." As panelists looked ahead, they noted several enduring challenges: how to build bridges to people who may not currently support convergence, how to influence patterns of behavior and create the structures, policies, and practices to make convergence work at scale, and how to measure the value of convergence approaches.
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From page 24... ...
Funding Structures That Support Convergence. Chair: Sue errilees; M Deputy Chair and Rapporteur: Norbert Tavares 3.
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