This 180 minute workshop is focused on the integration of global cultural differences into the practice of team science. Interest in and the recognized need for team science continues to escalate, with the more recent additional focus on inclusive practice. It has been repeatedly shown that well-managed interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary team science leads to greater creativity and innovation, and that this is in large part due to the different skill sets and approaches brought to the team from diverse participants. Yet cultural differences among team members, specifically the fundamental values and assumptions from countries of origin, are often not explicitly considered when building and managing a diverse team. This workshop will highlight awareness of cultural norms in professional interactions and provide a deeper understanding for how to consider them along with the other dimensions of difference and diversity when building and sustaining science teams.

Content:

• Incorporating culture into the practice of team science takes place at three levels.
  • The individual level: Knowing and understanding one’s own orientation to collaboration factors such as trust, decision-making, and communication is vital for engaging in dialogue with others.
  • The team level: Developing awareness across team members about each other’s areas of comfort and discomfort can help establish agreed upon values and norms by which the team can operate more effectively.
  • The organizational level. When institutions honestly evaluate their current organizational culture and consider it in the context of the many cultural differences represented within its walls, virtually or physically, they can use this information to intentionally create conditions that support collaborative research teams and the desires to leverage difference and diversity.

Format:

• Facilitators have extensive experience developing, designing, and facilitating highly interactive workshops. Using Zoom for communication and the whiteboard tool Mural for interactive engagement, the workshop will include:
  • Scene setting using a minimum number of slides
  • A series of activities that engage participants in discussion and synthesis.
  • The benefit of small and large group discussion (these will be varied over time – groups will not stay together so energy stays high)
  • Capture of information on Mural over the duration of the training that can be shared back with participants
  • Anticipating the participation of people with various roles, responsibilities, expertise - the engagement is designed to resonate with several audiences simultaneously