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ABSTRACT

Interdisciplinary research teams are crucial for tackling complex societal issues but often struggle with goal alignment, leadership, and communication. This reflective inquiry article explores expanding the role of Research Administration (RA) and Research Development (RD) professionals as team coaches to address these challenges and improve team effectiveness. A team science program was created to train RA and RD staff in team coaching, using both in-person and virtual activities. Coaches helped teams from formation through the development of research products. The use of team science-informed tools and activities supported these coaching roles. Findings indicate that incorporating RA and RD professionals as coaches is beneficial to faculty, providing logistical support and non-technical perspectives. RA and RD professionals saw this coaching role as a natural extension of their work, although interpretations of the role varied among coaches. This project underscores the potential for RA and RD staff to enhance their support for research teams, particularly those teams that may encounter obstacles integrating diverse perspectives and collaborating virtually over long periods.

Keywords:

Research administration, research development, team science, team coaching, interdisciplinary research, training program

INTRODUCTION & PROBLEM STATEMENT

Real-world problems that impact multiple aspects of society, such as climate change and public health, must be addressed with expertise and perspectives from multiple disciplines (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine, 2005; Stokols et al., 2008). Diverse individuals need to work together closely and integrate ideas in an interdisciplinary manner to solve these problems (Fiore, 2008). Research along these lines has been called interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary and, more recently, "convergence science." The goal is to have a convergence of multiple fields and interdisciplinary work that will "make fundamental contributions in our drive to provide creative solutions to the most difficult problems facing us as a society" (National Research Council, 2014, p. vii).

Research teams are forming around these problems, in no small part motivated by the increased funding of research requiring collaboration across multiple disciplines and aimed at solving complex scientific and societal problems. Funding is coming from the National Science Foundation such as their Science and Technology Centers and Growing Convergence Research programs, and from the National Institutes of Health such as the Clinical and Translational Science Awards. However, a longer history exists,...

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