How do you define the scope and goals of an interdisciplinary project?

To define an interdisciplinary project's scope and goals: (1) Set clear, SMART objectives; (2) Gather interdisciplinary input through research and consultation; (3) Outline the project's scope, including deliverables and methodologies; (4) Establish specific goals and milestones; (5) Assign roles and responsibilities across disciplines; (6) Develop an integration strategy for merging disciplinary perspectives; (7) Implement evaluation criteria and maintain flexibility for adjustments. This ensures a comprehensive, collaborative approach.

1. Brain storm ideas from disciplinary perspectives to build interacting variables for the research question & aim of the project 2. Create a timeline and success criteria for the deliverables acceptable by the stakeholders. 3. Create collaboration space for inputs and outputs for the project between team members/ collaborators ( AI as well). 4. Delegate roles and timelines with finalised outputs and anticipate challenges for better organisation. 5. Self and Peer Assess to fine tune product to run through disciplinary background study that can enhance the interdisciplinary approach to the project. 6. Present final interdisciplinary project with all aspects and skills developed through project.

Define the Scope and Boundaries: Defining the scope and boundaries of an interdisciplinary project is crucial for its success. In my experience, it starts with a clear articulation of the project's objectives, identifying key deliverables, and establishing timelines. Involving stakeholders early on ensures alignment and prevents scope creep. For a tech project, we recently mapped out each team's responsibilities and interfaces, which streamlined collaboration and minimized overlaps. Setting these boundaries upfront fosters a structured approach, enabling teams to work efficiently towards common goals.

When setting SMART goals and objectives consider the following: 1. Don’t mix up goals with objectives. Goals (the desired end-results) and objectives (milestone achievements toward reaching the goal) have different meanings. 2. Goal – A goal is a measurable, desired end-result that can be achieved in a relatively short period of time. 3. Objectives – Objectives are milestone improvements toward achieving the goal. 4. The acronym SMART can apply to both a goal or objective. SMART goals and objectives lay the groundwork for how to measure results through performance metrics, indicators, or targets.

When working with many partners from different disciplines: 1. Recognize that partners from various disciplines have valuable insights to share. 2. Initiate perspective-taking to understand concepts from alternative points of view. 3. Establish trust and operate with transparency to welcome feedback and recommendations. 4. Leverage additional expertise to help round out the team's blind spots when seeking to solve complex problems.

When engaging in interdisciplinary collaboration, communication is key! Writing the larger goals on a whiteboard with the team helped visualize the collaborative objectives, goals, and timeline. Keeping your vision in mind is easy with this visualization tool, as you may center subsequent goals from the center vision. Once this whiteboard exercise is completed, I found it helpful to document what was written (through a picture or transcription into a word processing software), to ensure everyone on the team can reference and use the tool! Communicate throughout the exercise to ensure the goals are refined.

If the contributors come from different professional backgrounds and have authority in specific areas, be sure to talk about how that plays a role in what each person is expected to contribute. For instance, if the topic is healthcare, a social worker can discuss government resources like Medicaid, a registered dietitian might talk about nutrition, and a registered nurse can speak to best practices for chronic disease management. It not only makes sense to break it up like this, but it also may be necessary depending on the legal scope of those involved.