The Science of Team Science:

Distinctive Concerns

Stokols, D.S. (2015). The Science of Team Science: Distinctive Concerns. National Science Foundation Sponsored Workshop on

Fundamentals of Team Science and the Science of Team Science (June 2), Bethesda MD.

Dan Stokols, Ph.D.

School of Social Ecology

University of California, Irvine

Science

Studies

Science

of Teams

Shared Foci:

Study and management of

individual, small group,

organizational, institutional,

societal factors that

influence effectiveness of

cross-disciplinary science

teams and research

initiatives

Overlapping Strands of Research on

Scientific Practices and Outcomes

Science of

Team Science

History and philosophy

of science; sociology

and psychology of

science; science and

technology studies

Psychology and

management studies of

processes and outcomes in

non-science as well as

science teams

Program evaluations of large-scale scientific, training,

and policy initiatives designed to foster cross-

disciplinary scientific innovation and evidence-based

solutions to complex societal and global problems

Science Studies

An interdisciplinary field broadly concerned

with social, political, technological, historical,

philosophical, and psychological influences on

the course of scientific research

The Science of Teams

...a research domain at the interface of organizational, cognitive, and

applied psychology concerned with understanding the composition,

dynamics, and effectiveness of diverse teams and organizations

Types of Teams

• Military Teams

• Factory Teams

• Corporate Teams

• Surgical Teams

• Emergency Response Teams

• Science Teams

National Research Council Workshop on Team Dynamics and Effectivness, July 1, 2013, Washington,

DC http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/BBCSS/DBASSE_083679

See also distinctions between production and action teams (Sundstrom, De Meuse, Futreel, 1990; and

project teams (Hollenbeck, Beersma, Schouten, 2012; Edmondson & Nembhard, 2009).

Facets of Team Effectiveness

(Hackman, 1987; Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006; McGrath, 1964)

Performance Outputs

judged by relevant others external to team

Member Satisfaction

how well the team meets members’ needs

Team Viability

the willingness of members to remain in the team

Collaborative Processes and Emergent States

That Influence Team Effectiveness

(cf., Bell & Kozlowski, 2011; Cooke et al., 2013; De Church & Mesmer-Magnus, 2010; De Dreu & Weingert, 2003; Edmondson, 1999, 2002;

Gully et al., 2002; Jehn, 1997; Kozlowksi & Ilgen, 2006; Marks et al., 2001; Mathieu et al., 2008; Salas & Fiore, 2007; Thatcher & Patel, 2011)

See also National Research Council Workshop on Team Dynamics and Effectivness, July 1, 2013, Washington, DC http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/BBCSS/DBASSE_083679

Cognitive

• Team mental models

• Transactive memory

• Team Learning

Affective

• Team Cohesion

• Team Efficacy

• Team Conflict

Behavioral

• Communication

• Member Competencies

• Team Regulation

Key Leverage Points for Influencing

Team Processes and Effectiveness

(cf., Dyer, 1984; Hackman & Wageman, 2005; Klimoski & Jones,

1995; Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006; Salas et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2014)

• Team Composition and Assembly

• Education and Training

• Leadership and Management

Collaboration in Geographically Dispersed Multi-Team Systems and Collaboratories

Members of the Alice Experiment Team in CERN

http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/General/Members/index.html

Members of the Large Hadron Collider

Beauty Experiment Team in CERN

http://lhcb-public.web.cern.ch/lhcb-public/

http://www.trecscience.org

The Science of Team Science

…an interdisciplinary field concerned

with understanding and managing

circumstances that facilitate or hinder

the effectiveness of collaborative (and

often cross-disciplinary) research,

training, and translational initiatives

http://www.scienceofteamscience.org http://www.nap.edu/catalog/19007/enhancing-the-effectiveness-of-team-science

Distinctive Concerns of SciTS Research

• Diverse units of analysis studied by SciTS scholars (including teams,

organizations, institutions, research centers and institutes)

• Multi-network structure of scientific collaboration; diverse contexts and

pathways of collaboration (e.g., multi-team systems, citizen science)

• Predominant emphasis in today’s science teams on cross-disciplinary

integration and innovation at scientific and societal levels

• Evaluations of large-scale institutional and science policy initiatives designed

to promote and sustain effective team science

• Establishing reliable, valid, consensually agreed-upon criteria for gauging the

effectiveness of science teams and team science initiatives

• Translational and educational goals of the SciTS field, especially improving

future scientific teamwork and new initiatives to promote effective team science

NAS Report on Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science, 2015

http://sites.nationalacademies.org/dbasse/bbcss/enhancing_effectiveness_of_team_science/index.htm

Maximize cross-disciplinary integration

and innovation while minimizing the

costs incurred through scientific and

translational collaboration.

Strategic Team Science

High-Leverage Collaboration Readiness Factors

• Team members have worked together on prior projects

• Participants share a strong commitment to CD collaboration

• Diverse competencies well matched to collaborative tasks

• Leaders with collaborative, inclusive, and empowering orientations

• Ample training and experience in cross-disciplinary team science

• Strong institutional support for cross-disciplinary collaboration

• Environments and technologies that enable collaboration

Externalizing Shared Values and Team Identity

Through the Physical Environment

Pacificare, Cypress, CA LSA Associates, Irvine, CA

Google-Zurich LSA Associates, Irvine, CA

Modeling and Measuring the Emergence of

Team Cognition, Cohesion, and Integrative Capacity

TD center publications have longer start up period compared to

R01 grants but become more productive over time.

Publications Generated by TD Center Grants and R01 Investigator-Initiated Grants

(Hall, Stokols, Stipelman,Vogel, et. al., Assessing the Value of Team Science: A Study Comparing Center-

and Investigator-Initiated Grants, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2012, 42(2), 157-163)

Dimensions of Transdisciplinary Innovations

• Temporal scope – near-term vs. mid-term and longer-term research

outcomes and impacts

• Within domain vs. cross-domain advances in scientific thinking and

research methods, metrics and measures

• Paradigm elaboration vs. paradigm shifting and paradigm creating

innovations (incremental vs. radical innovations) cf. Hage, Jordan, & Mote, 2007

• Translational value of scientific innovations for developing new and

more effective public policies and targeted interventions to alleviate

community problems

(cf., Jordan, 2013; Holbrook, 2013)

Training Resources for Team Science

https://www.teamsciencetoolkit.cancer.gov

https://ccrod.cancer.gov/confluence/display/NIHOMBUD/Home

http://www.teamscience.net

http://www.scienceofteamscience.org/scits-a-team-science-resources