Abstract
Managers of transdisciplinary collaborative research lack suitable didactic material to support the implementation of research methodologies and to build ongoing partnerships with community representatives and peers, both between and within multiple academic centers. This article will provide insight on the collaborative efforts of project managers involved in multidisciplinary research and their subsequent development of a tool kit for research project managers and/or directors. Project managers from the 8 Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities across the nation participated in monthly teleconferences to share experiences and offer advice on how to achieve high participation rates and maintain community involvement in collaboration with researchers and community leaders to achieve the common goal of decreasing health inequities. In the process, managers recognized and seized the opportunity to produce a tool kit that was designed for future project managers and directors. Project managers in geographically distinct locations maintained a commitment to work together over 4 years and subsequently built upon an existing communications network to design a tool kit that could be disseminated easily to a diverse audience.
Highlights
Over the years, managers of scientific research projects have played critical roles in the design and successful implementation of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research initiatives
The 8 Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities (CPHHD) were funded by 4 divisions within National Institutes of Health (NIH) to ‘‘create environments conducive to interdisciplinary and reciprocally beneficial collaborations among biomedical scientists, social scientists, and affected communities with the common goal of improving population health and reducing health disparities.’’2 The CPHHD Project Managers’ Working Group (PMWG) emerged in the spring of 2004 during the second annual meeting of the CPHHD, when managers were becoming increasingly aware of the challenges of maintaining their Center partnerships while playing a more central role in facilitating collaborative efforts across the 8 national Centers
Gray reported on the challenges of working in a transdisciplinary effort, including coordinating research that incorporates the application of evidence-based medicine to improve health, and understanding the critical role of leadership in the success of transdisciplinary research.[5]
Summary
Managers of scientific research projects have played critical roles in the design and successful implementation of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research initiatives. The 8 Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities (CPHHD) were funded by 4 divisions within NIH to ‘‘create environments conducive to interdisciplinary and reciprocally beneficial collaborations among biomedical scientists, social scientists, and affected communities with the common goal of improving population health and reducing health disparities.’’2 The CPHHD Project Managers’ Working Group (PMWG) emerged in the spring of 2004 during the second annual meeting of the CPHHD, when managers were becoming increasingly aware of the challenges of maintaining their Center partnerships while playing a more central role in facilitating collaborative efforts across the 8 national Centers. This article (1) outlines key characteristics and research foci of the Centers in which the project managers operated, reflecting the diversity and potential complexity of the relationships/interactions; (2) highlights collaborative strategies project managers used to develop the tool kit; and (3) presents the key tool kit content areas designed for research project managers as they move increasingly into supporting both multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and community-based initiatives
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