Lean-to Collaborations
We’ve been creating dynamic, memorable, curiosity-driven workshops for top-notch researchers since 2006. When we started, the buzzword was “interdisciplinary”. Then “transdisciplinary” was all the rage. Now, the focus is on “convergence research”. Let’s not quibble about terminology. All signs point to collaboration beyond research as usual.
Exploring convergence means creating a space where a multitude of perspectives can not only co-exist, but interact, blend, and belong.
This is the source of innovation. This is our specialty.
Generate many paths forward while connecting across ways of knowing & doing. Informed by organizers, rooted in team science, and driven by participants, our approach expands on 12 years of designing and evaluating interdisciplinary conferences & grants at the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. We’re pretty confident in our approach. The model has been successfully replicated and referenced in several publications & NASEM reports.
Anne co-authored the book about it. Impressive, eh?
In April 2022, Anne was invited to speak as part of the NSF Growing Convergence Research webinar series. Here, she talks about how the model NAKFI developed could be used by colleges & universities, private funders, and others wanting to activate research collaboration on societally-relevant topics.
“For me, it redefined the potential for creating engaging educational experiences.”
“The workshop promoted conditions for researchers belonging to different fields & with different expertise to discuss at length about transformative, big picture concepts, methods, and ideas that could impact multiple fields of science”.
WE BELIEVE
Convergence research isn’t only about creating new scientific knowledge, it is a transformative process for those involved.
You’ve been funded! Congratulations! You don’t expect a new and diverse team to work well by magic, do you? Of course not! There’s a science for that. Our team launch packages clarify your team’s purpose (hint, it’s different from your research aims!), develop trust, bust jargon, create culture, and build teamwork skills. You know…the factors research shows will make a difference in performance. Launching well may save you time and headaches later.
Wouldn’t that be a breath of fresh air?
WE BELIEVE
Interdisciplinary research needs a robust architecture for interaction, communication, knowledge building, and experimenting. It demands a higher level of leadership, engagement, and commitment from teams.
Apply the world-class Team Diagnostic Survey (TDS) for a quick & in-depth analysis of your team’s effectiveness. Psychometrically sound, peer-reviewed, and validate on over 1,000 teams worldwide, the TDS provides qualitative and quantitative data on your team’s performance. Get a deeper understanding of your team and know precisely where to intervene. Even more, you’ll have data and a narrative to include in your next funding proposal or review.
How many other PIs do you think have that?
WE BELIEVE
Convergence research means intentionally stepping out of our professional and disciplinary boxes into the box of shared humanity.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to fostering highly collaborative research. We get jazzed about putting together the pieces that meet a client’s unique needs. That might look like designing a customized workshop or combining services to suit your needs. Want to add team development after an ideation workshop? Need a long-term partnership for the first 18-months of a new research center? Have another idea?
We’d love to learn more.
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