Improving Outcomes from Interdisciplinary R&D

从生命科学到电子等工业部门的先进研究和开发，需要跨学科的努力来汇集知识，以扩大技术前沿。该项目将为管理方法提供信息，以提高跨学科研发项目的商业成功机会。美国国立卫生研究院的纳米医学发展中心(NDCS)是一项研究计划，设计了十年的视野，不仅为基础纳米医学科学提供资金，而且将其转化为临床结果，为研究科学的组织和结果提供了机会。临床应用预计将改善健康结果和美国医疗体系的效率。NDC的研究人员来自不同的学科，包括生物学、综合生理学、计算生物学、神经生物学、遗传学、化学、生物分子工程、肿瘤学和眼科，因此了解他们从事跨学科整合的能力对他们的成功至关重要。这项研究将有助于改进组建和管理跨学科团队的策略。这个项目引入了一种分析方法来检查跨学科R&D的前置因素和回报。这项研究考虑了研究人员在跨学科研究方面的先前经验，以及他们各自的NDC团队中代表的学科的多样性、距离和相互依存关系。本研究以人力资本积累理论为基础，将人力资本积累定义为个体的知识、经验和技能。一份相关的管理文献考察了人力资本如何对创新和企业财务绩效做出贡献。本研究通过分析跨学科互动如何影响人力资本积累和科学成就，对这些文献进行了扩展。这项研究使用了两个主要的科学影响衡量标准：每个研究项目产生的对出版物的质量加权前向引用；以及在商业应用方面取得的进展。调查数据为跨学科团队成功的驱动力提供了更多的洞察。

Advanced research and development in industrial sectors ranging from life sciences to electronics, requires interdisciplinary efforts to pool knowledge in order to extend the technological frontier. This project will inform managerial approaches to heighten the chance of commercial success for interdisciplinary R&D programs. The National Institutes of Health's Nanomedicine Development Centers (NDCs), a research program designed with a ten-year horizon to fund not only basic nanomedicine science but its translation into clinical outcomes provides an opportunity to study the organization and outcomes of science. The clinical applications are expected to improve health outcomes and the efficiency of the U.S. healthcare system. The NDC researchers come from a variety of disciplines, including biology, integrative physiology, computational biology, neurobiology, genetics, chemistry, biomolecular engineering, oncology and ophthalmology, and thus understanding their ability to engage in interdisciplinary integration is paramount to their success. This research will help improve strategies for forming and managing interdisciplinary teams. This project introduces an analytical approach to examining the antecedents and payoffs to interdisciplinary R&D. This study considers the researchers' prior experience with interdisciplinary research, in conjunction with the variety, distance, and interdependence of the disciplines represented in their respective NDC teams. This research is grounded in the theory of human capital accumulation, defined as the knowledge, experience and skills by individuals. A related management literature has examined how human capital contributes to innovation and firm financial performance. This research extends these literatures by analyzing how interdisciplinary interaction influences human capital accumulation and scientific achievement. Two primary measures of scientific impact are employed by this study: quality-weighted forward citations to the publications resulting from each research program; and the progress made towards commercial application. Survey data provide additional insights into the drivers of success for interdisciplinary teams.