1. Research Team Creation Part 1 Professor Benjamin Aribisala Benjamin.Aribisala@ed.ac.uk

2. Overview of Presentation What is a research team? Why create a research team? Are there rules for creating research teams? Tips Challenges of team creation

3. What is a research Team? A research team comprises of professionals and lay persons who have a shared interest in a research topic and can bring some skills, knowledge or expertise to the team.  Professionals - Design and execution  Lay members- executions, e.g. technical and admin staff How many people can form a research team  Not too few and not too many – depends on research nature/question  Must have  Principal investigator(s) or Team Leader (s)  Investigators  Research assistants  PhD Students  MSc students  Technical and administrative staff

4. Why Create a Research Team? More brain power to allow for a variety of conceptual and creative contributions towards team goals Ability to capitalize on the expertise of individuals More people to spread the word, public engagement Increased ability to support within the team during the slow phases of the project to keep up morale More people to share the workload Some researches are multidisciplinary in nature

5. Tips on Building a Successful Team Have clearly defined goal(s) of the team  Must be known to all team members  SMART Select only those who have interest in the overall goals of the team Those with relevant but diverse knowledge and skills Those motivated to demonstrate their skills and to make a difference Those who are accountable for their performances in relation to team’s performance

6. Tips on Building a Successful Team Determine the roles of each team member and how each role relates to each other and the team as a whole Make sure members openly show commitment to the team. Communicate privately with each team member having problems with commitment or slowing the team down. It is your responsibility as a leader to assist members having problems that could affect the team’s goal.

7. Challenges of Team Creation Financial  For research, transportations, publications, refreshments Administrative  Lack of proper administration could kill the team Environmental  Electricity, policy, poor university calendar, Human resources  Right people Wrong team members  Slow, do not respond to mails, late for meetings

8. Research Meeting Frequency and venue to be agreed Announce the meetings well in advance and send reminders Have an agenda and send to others prior to the meeting Make it clear what each member is expected to report Start on time and finish on time Starting late could imply punishing early comers

9. Questions?