Eight institutional practices to support interdisciplinary research

By Margaret Palmer, Jonathan Kramer, James Boyd, and David Hawthorne

authors_palmer_kramer_boyd_hawthorne
1. Margaret Palmer (biography)
2. Jonathan Kramer (biography)
3. James Boyd (biography)
4. David Hawthorne (biography)

How can institutions help enhance interdisciplinary team success? We share eight practices we have developed at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) which was launched in 2011 with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

The center supports newly formed research teams from anywhere in the world to work collaboratively at its facility. The teams synthesize existing theories and data to advance understanding of socio-environmental systems and the ability to solve environmental problems.

1. Collaborative project development

Given the mission to build capacity in socio-environmental research, SESYNC leadership and staff discuss and provide feed-back to teams on proposed projects, and iterate with the team leads to revise proposals based on input from expert reviewers.

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