NSF Award
1262754
Finding solutions for many of society's most challenging problems requires the collaboration and integration of teams of individuals from diverse fields of science. Millions of dollars are spent in the public and private sectors to support research collaborations among scientists who possess the breadth and depth of expertise to address these complex problems. An increasingly prevalent approach to integrating diverse expertise is the use of interdisciplinary science teams. Although interdisciplinary scientific collaboration has many success stories, it is also true that in many cases these teams fail to successfully integrating the knowledge needed to address a problem. The goal of knowledge integration among diverse scientists is often elusive due to the make-up of the teams, lack of understanding about best practices for managing collaborations, and team leaders who are scientific experts but have not been trained to lead diverse teams of professionals. The consequence can be a costly investment in scientific endeavors that do not reap the expected benefits. It is critical that interdisciplinary science teams have the capability to collaborate and integrate their knowledge. A team's integrative capacity is a core competence necessary for these teams to perform successfully. Integrative capacity is a capability that is sustained through an interactive system linking social, psychological, and cognitive processes and emergent states in the team that can provide them with the resources needed to succeed. This research investigates how the development of a team's integrative capacity and subsequent knowledge outcomes are impacted by: (1) boundary-spanning leadership behaviors and (2) communication structuring interventions. Exposure to these interventions can nurture team members' trans-disciplinary intellectual orientation, the enduring values, beliefs, skills, and behaviors that support collaboration with teammates who have diverse disciplinary backgrounds, which in turn fosters the development of integrative capacity. <br/><br/>Broader Impact. Given the reliance of society on interdisciplinary science teams for advancement in key areas such as medicine, education, security, and technology, the development of theoretical and practical knowledge about how to build and maintain integrative capacity in these teams is imperative. This research directly supports the aims of the SciSIP program and the NSF by investigating the structures, processes, and interventions that facilitate the development of usable knowledge by interdisciplinary science teams. First, this study sheds light on how leader and communication interventions can enhance a team's integrative capacity and team members' trans-disciplinary intellectual orientation, both of which can support teams working across boundaries to generate new solutions to complex problems. Second, training material and digital metrics developed in this research can be leveraged to foster improved scientific collaboration in teams beyond those included in this study. The insights gained from this research can foster improved scientific collaboration and the resulting scientific breakthroughs that are the promise of interdisciplinary science teams.
