Transdisciplinary team science: a field study in understanding and improving complex scientific problem solving

Introduction Transdisciplinary team science requires foundational teamwork competencies that support complex collaborative problem solving. This study examined the development of these competencies among graduate students from different disciplines. Methods We conducted a field study of a training program grounded in foundational competencies for scientific teamwork. We examined participants’ self-reported collaboration competencies and the relationship between their teamwork self-ratings and independent expert evaluations of their scientific output. Results Participants reported improved collaboration competencies following the training program. Their teamwork self-ratings also correlated with independent expert evaluations of their scientific output. Discussion These findings suggest the value of competency-based training for transdisciplinary scientific teams and connect participants’ perceptions of teamwork with independently evaluated scientific output. They inform the development and testing of team science principles and approaches to studying complex collaborative problem solving.