Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science

The past half-century has witnessed a dramatic increase in the scale and complexity of scientific research. The growing scale of science has been accompanied by a shift toward collaborative research, referred to as "team science." Scientific research is increasingly conducted by small teams and larger groups rather than individual investigators, but the challenges of collaboration can slow these teams' progress in achieving their scientific goals. How does a team-based approach work, and how can universities and research institutions support teams?

Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science synthesizes and integrates the available research to provide guidance on assembling the science team; leadership, education and professional development for science teams and groups. It also examines institutional and organizational structures and policies to support science teams and identifies areas where further research is needed to help science teams and groups achieve their scientific and translational goals. This report offers major public policy recommendations for science research agencies and policymakers, as well as recommendations for individual scientists, disciplinary associations, and research universities. Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science will be of interest to university research administrators, team science leaders, science faculty, and graduate and postdoctoral students.

Table of Contents

• Front Matter
• Summary
• Part I: Setting the Stage
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Science to Inform Team Science
• Part II: The Individual and Team Levels
• 3 Overview of the Research on Team Effectiveness
• 4 Team Composition and Assembly
• 5 Professional Development and Education for Team Science
• 6 Team Science Leadership
• Part III: The Institutional and Organizational Level
• 7 Supporting Virtual Collaboration
• 8 Institutional and Organizational Support for Team Science
• 9 Funding and Evaluation of Team Science
• Part IV: A Path Forward
• 10 Advancing Research on the Effectiveness of Team Science
• References
• Appendix: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
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