Supporting Successful Design and Management of Research Centers

越来越多的科学和工程研究发生在大规模的，分布式的，跨学科的，网络化的团队中，这些团队面临的挑战太大，太复杂，无法由一个单一的研究人员来解决。这项研究将提高我们对这种新形式的科学探索所使用的管理实践的理解，以及这些实践是否与现有的组织设计，项目和流程管理，软件开发和科学社会研究的研究建议一致。 该研究包括深入的访谈，详细描述了广泛的网络科学和工程中心，一个研讨会，以整合经验研究结果与当前的管理实践，一项调查，以验证访谈结果和评估需求，以及一套指导方针和支持材料，为当前和未来的中心经理，项目官员，和这些努力的审查员。 该项目研究如何成功地设计和管理大规模的网络支持的科学和工程中心。在现行做法可以改进的地方，本项目将制定指导方针和材料，以支持改进。调查网络科学和工程设计和管理实践，并为它们的改进开发材料，是学习如何建立和培养研究中心的关键一步，这将是未来科学和工程进步的核心。 确定大型中心的最佳实践可能会改变网络支持的大挑战社区，从根本上提高他们的成功率，并指导未来开发适当的网络基础设施工具。这是全球医疗保健、灾害应对和气候变化等领域国家关注的重要话题。此外，网络基础设施可以使代表性不足的群体和少数群体机构的参与者加入科学和工程团队。

Increasingly science and engineering research occurs in large-scale, distributed, interdisciplinary, cyber-enabled teams engaging challenges that are too large and complex to be addressed by a single investigator. The research will improve our understanding of the management practices being used by this novel form of scientific exploration and whether these practices are consistent with those recommended by existing research on organizational design, project and process management, software development and the social studies of science. The study includes in-depth interviews yielding a detailed description of a wide range of cyberscience and engineering centers, a workshop to integrate empirical findings with current managerial practice, a survey to validate the interview findings and assess needs, and a set of guidelines and support materials for current and future center managers, program officers, and reviewers of these endeavors. This project studies how large scale cyber-enabled science and engineering centers can be successfully designed and managed. Where current practices could be better, this project will develop guidelines and materials to support their improvement. Investigating cyberscience and engineering design and management practices and developing materials for their improvement is a crucial step in learning how to build and nurture the research centers that will be central to future advances in science and engineering. Identifying the best practices for large-scale centers could potentially transform cyber-enabled grand challenge communities, radically improve their success, and guide future development of appropriate cyberinfrastructure tools. This is an important topic of national concern in areas such as global healthcare, disaster response and climate change. In addition, cyberinfrastructure can enable participants from under-represented groups and minority institutions to join scientific and engineering teams.