{"646318":{"#nid":"646318","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Melkers Tackles Pandemic-Induced Social Innovations in New Research","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe coronavirus pandemic has been a global exhibit in mass adaptation in higher education, as millions of students and professors have taken their classrooms to the internet. Lab closures, travel restrictions, and other limitations forced researchers to go online, as well.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Public Policy Associate Professor Julia Melkers, whose scholarship has often focused on collaboration in academic settings, saw an opportunity in the upheaval. She and her colleague, Eric Welch of Arizona State University, are embarking on a two-year study of how scientific teams \u0026mdash; particularly those collaborating internationally \u0026mdash; adapted and innovated during the pandemic.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough technology enabled research teams to communicate and collaborate during the pandemic, they also had to shift, adapt, and socially innovate to function effectively in the online environment, Melkers noted.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EResearch groups also had to rethink activities such as brainstorming, setting research priorities, mentoring and on-boarding new researchers, and holding team meetings. For international teams, especially new ones that have to build trust and communication norms across borders and cultures, these adaptations face additional challenges, Melkers said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;It\u0026#39;s really about resilience \u0026mdash; what are the ways that people change their behavior to be resilient to the barriers presented by Covid-19?\u0026quot; she said. \u0026quot;Ultimately, science happens at the human level.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EProject Funded by NSF EAGER Program\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMelkers and Welch have taken the first steps towards answering those questions by securing funding through the National Science Foundation\u0026#39;s Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) program for their\u0026nbsp; two-year project titled \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/awardsearch\/showAward?AWD_ID=2124669\u0026amp;HistoricalAwards=false\u0022\u003E\u0026quot;Assessing the Role of Social Innovation for Resilience in Global Collaborative Research.\u0026quot;\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis EAGER funding mechanism was designed specifically to engage with international partners for the purpose of improving international collaboration in the post-pandemic era.\u0026nbsp; In addition to a focus on teams originating in the United States, Melkers and Welch will be working together with colleagues from\u0026nbsp;Spain, Austria, and Latvia to examine teams in those settings.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;The international partnerships make this project unique and globally relevant,\u0026quot; Melkers said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study will examine teams in four countries: the United States, Spain, Austria, and Latvia. Melkers and Welch selected the countries for their differences in scientific infrastructure and level of international research collaboration.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study has two major components. The first includes a series of case studies of teams, with the data being largely qualitative and derived from interviews. The second will focus on producing actionable results, with a \u0026quot;follow-on\u0026quot; survey, focus groups with researchers, and an online workshop sharing critical takeaways on social innovation mechanisms.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe concept of social innovation refers to the specific adaptations that people and populations make, in this case, due to changes in their physical workspace.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EA Highly Interdisciplinary Project\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMelkers hopes to help develop an understanding of the types of innovations research teams used and which ones worked best.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe project is a highly interdisciplinary one by necessity, given the differing norms in different research areas. Melkers and her team will draw on the academic literature on social networks, institutions, and cultural norms to inform the project\u0026#39;s direction. They also plan to use bibliometric techniques to identify the groups to be studied in the project, leveraging Dimensions, a database specializing in linked research data.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, Melkers hopes the work can help researchers, not just in navigating pandemic-related challenges but also in understanding how best to effectively work together in a world in which remote collaboration is likely here to stay.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;If people can\u0026#39;t communicate and share that knowledge and work together effectively, a project won\u0026#39;t be as successful,\u0026quot; Melkers said. \u0026quot;Science is a social enterprise and it all boils down to social interactions and human behavior.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFor more coverage of Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s response to the coronavirus pandemic, please visit our\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/c.gatech.edu\/COVID19Help\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 tabindex=\u0022-1\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EResponding to Covid-19\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;page.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJulia Melkers is embarking on a two-year study of how scientific teams \u0026mdash; particularly those collaborating internationally \u0026mdash; adapted and innovated during the Covid-19 pandemic.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Julia Melkers is embarking on a two-year study of how scientific teams \u2014 particularly those collaborating internationally \u2014 adapted and innovated during the Covid-19 pandemic. "}],"uid":"34600","created_gmt":"2021-04-09 17:31:37","changed_gmt":"2021-04-15 15:26:28","author":"mpearson34","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-04-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2021-04-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"646362":{"id":"646362","type":"image","title":"Julia Melkers","body":null,"created":"1618237710","gmt_created":"2021-04-12 14:28:30","changed":"1618237710","gmt_changed":"2021-04-12 14:28:30","alt":"","file":{"fid":"245362","name":"melkers 4x3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/melkers%204x3.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/melkers%204x3.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":76318,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/melkers%204x3.jpg?itok=pfOaPWNv"}}},"media_ids":["646362"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1289","name":"School of Public Policy"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39511","name":"Public Service, Leadership, and Policy"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:denise.ward@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EDenise Ward\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["denise.ward@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}