EAGER: Assessing the Role of Social Innovation for Resilience in Global Collaborative Research (NSF)

This project addresses the topic of global social innovation in science capacity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic by examining three intertwining features of the social dynamics of international collaborative teams: Social innovation, Adaptation and Resilience, and Learning and Transferability. Social innovation refers to new and different ways of modifying individual and group behavior within the context of team science. The research design builds on interdisciplinary knowledge about individual conduct and group dynamics within the context of teams. The project involves a series of case studies focused around distinct internationally collaborative teams across four countries: Austria, Latvia, Spain and the United States. Data are drawn from bibliometric data sources, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and a survey of researchers. Teams include new emergent collaborations that establish norms for interaction during the pandemic, or adaptive collaborations that adjust to the barriers and constraints of the pandemic. A novel methodological approach to identifying teams for case study is employed by implementing advanced computing techniques in a new and robust bibliometric dataset, complemented by other snowball sampling techniques. The project will conclude with an international workshop to share and disseminate findings that further international collaboration.