Everyone is teaming up these days to do science…but what does it actually mean to be part of a scientific team? How is working on a team different from managing your own project or running your own research group? We will help you apply science of team science (SciTS) literature to enhance your everyday interactions with your scientific team.
Customized Team Trainings & Workshops
Numerous bodies of literature report that teams go through different stages of development (Hall et al., 2012; Kaner, Lind, Toldi, Fisk, & Berger, 2014; Tuckman & Jensen, 1977). We will work with your team to develop and deliver a customized training based on the team’s vision, goals, stage of development, and any additional needs.
Team Science Training and Workshops
You’ve heard of science of team science (SciTS) literature, but how do you put that research into practice? Each training/workshop described below is interactive and provides practical skills based on SciTS literature. (See Training/Workshop options below)
Contact us for a customized scope of work for your team or institution. We offer discounts for bundles (e.g. trainings and online content).
About Our Trainings
Who: Whole teams, individuals, PIs, graduate students, and more!
What: Workshops and Trainings include:
- A Customized approach that includes resources and information to propel scientific discovery
- Learning that is interactive, reflective, engaging and rooted in SciTS literature
- Thoughtful pricing based on what your team needs
When: Trainings typically last 2-4 hours. Retreats, summits, workshops, and community meetings typically last 2-5 days
Where: All trainings are available virtually and in-person
A Customized Experience
Divergent Science provides a customized learning experience. The cost estimates include customization of materials to ensure they are directly tailored to your needs, and 1-2 prep meetings with the client per activity. DSL estimates spending approximately 3 hours of prep time for every hour of training/facilitation.
Customizable Team Trainings
Contact us for a complete list of trainings and ideas about how we can customize an event for your team!
New Teams
“Putting research into Practice” Team Science 101
The purpose of the training/workshop is to align Team Science literature with everyday actions.
Team Values
Creating team values helps your team stay focused on what matters most – the science! In a team values workshop, participants will outline the day-to-day behavioral and procedural activities that will set the team on the right track. This workshop bundles well with other workshops.
Team Visioning
Do you have a new team? One of the best ways to get started and build a strong foundation is to work together to craft the team’s vision. A shared vision will help align the daily activities of team members and keep everyone on the same page throughout the research project. This workshop bundles well with other workshops.
Video Description: https://teamdivergentscience.com/team-visioning/
Team Science Communication
Are you struggling with communication? Are you worried about your next team meeting? Are team members using the same word to describe different things? This interactive training/workshop provides practice tips and tricks based on SciTS Literature to improve scientific team communication.
Teams in Progress
“Putting research into Practice” Team Science 102
The goal of the training/workshop is to align Team Science literature with everyday actions. The second training/workshop will be designed to provide teams with tools, skills, and resources to navigate through inevitable team conflicts.
Proactive Approaches to Team Conflict
Numerous bodies of literature report that groups and teams will inevitably encounter periods of conflict. In facilitation literature this is called the groan zone, in group formation literature this is called storming and Hall (2012) wrote about the importance of conflict management (Hall et al., 2012; Kaner et al., 2014; Tuckman & Jensen, 1977). What can your team do ahead of time to weather the storm? What should your team do if the storm has already hit?!
Facilitation to Create New Knowledge
How is new knowledge created? How do scientific discoveries happen on large scientific teams? This training/workshop will cover facilitation basics about knowledge integration and convergence including how facilitation can improve everyday interactions, bring joy to the workplace, and increase productivity. Participants will leave the training/workshop with a basic understanding of facilitation theory and 3-4 practical activities that they can apply to their scientific teams, lab, classrooms, work groups etc.
Democratic and Semi-Democratic Decision Making
How does your team make decisions? Do you vote? Does the loudest voice usually win? Does everyone on the team generally feel heard? Does your team have a charter to provide guidance? Or maybe there is often just silence and the team assumes agreement? This workshop will provide different tips and tricks to help your team make their final decision. Want to learn more: https://i2insights.org/2021/05/25/gradients-of-agreement-tool/
Seasoned Teams
Ethical practices in team science
Working on a team can present unique challenges associated with data management and ensuring research integrity. In this training/workshop, we explore developing foundational knowledge of the various elements of responsible conduct of research (RCR) with an emphasis on practical applications in the world of team science. Practical tips for addressing data management, ownership, and authorship issues that may arise within scientific teams are given special emphasis in this training/workshop.
Fostering a Team Science Culture in your Organization
Are you are trying to change the culture in your organization? Here are some things that you can do… Reward structures are not normally set up to reward team activities, rather they are often based on individual performance. There are ways you can change how you do business to foster and promote some of the team science principles and activities to meet your organization’s goals.
Negotiation
Do you hate to negotiate? Are you looking for a new job or simply trying to improve the one you’ve got? Does the thought of asking your supervisor for a raise or a promotion make you want to run and hide? This workshop covers the basics of every-day negotiation, provides insight into communication styles in the context of negotiations, and offers a practical skill set for improving your ability to negotiate in and for your team and in your personal life. Opportunities to hone these skills will be provided through interactive exercises designed to highlight various aspects of negotiating deals in real-world situations, with an emphasis on job negotiations in academia for scientists and engineers. We will also cover potential negotiation pitfalls and strategies for avoiding them.
Online Course Bundles
We love to bundle our online courses with trainings and workshops! Bundles are an effective way for individuals or teams to process the team science research, practice the skills, and then ask questions about their experiences. Contact us about bundling! We offer bundles at a discounted rate.
How Else Can We Collaborate?
Do you have other team science facilitation, evaluation, and consulting questions? Team science is fundamentally interdisciplinary. As a chemist, sociologist, higher education administrator, student affairs professional, and team scientist we cover a lot of disciplinary ground, but there is always more. We work with a team of statisticians to do evaluation and visualizations.
Contact us for a customized scope of work for your team or institution. We offer discounts for bundles (e.g. trainings and online content).
References:
- Hall, K. L., Vogel, A. L., Stipelman, B. A., Stokols, D., Morgan, G., & Gehlert, S. (2012). A four-phase model of transdisciplinary team-based research: Goals, team processes, and strategies. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 2(4), 415–430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-012-0167-y
- Kaner, S., Lind, L., Toldi, C., Fisk, S., & Berger, D. (2014). Facilitator’s guide to participatory decision-making, second edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
- Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977). Stages of Small-Group Development Revisited Purpose of Methodology of This Review Review of the “ New ” Literature Purposive Performing. Group and Organisational Studies, 2(December), 6. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/82ce/5d6862e726c9221104fe67b0e3c8fe890b9a.pdf
