Quentin Loisel is part of the work package aiming to develop technologies enabling evidence-based co-creation. His work bridges technology and the fundamental human dimension within the values of the complex co-creation process. His work recently focused on how generative artificial intelligence can improve governance, collective intelligence, creativity, and rationality. With the growing influence of technology in our society, Quentin aims to enable collaboration between society’s actors to make the best of future technology.
Health CASCADE is a multidisciplinary consortium; our technology working group is an excellent effort to exchange knowledge alongside sociologists, psychologists, health professionals, urban designers, statisticians, and politicians, among others. Our team has expertise in co-creation, but also computer science, engineering, cognitive science and behaviour dynamics. However, our research areas extend further, with ethics, to politics and social sciences. Understanding the complex process of co-creation, its mechanisms and values and proposing appropriate technological solutions to improve, enrich, enable, or even transcend the process is necessary.
While collaborating on developing the technologies, my work focuses on establishing the knowledge to appropriately consider current and future technologies. Assessing the needs, evaluating the usages, classifying the technology and organising them through an ecosystem, creating recommendations for choosing the right technologies, forecasting the future technologies and establishing the ethical foundations for them are all relevant pieces of the puzzle I am willing to put together. However, since I am not an expert in all the necessary fields implying these projects, how can I manage this situation?
During my master’s in cognitive science, I discovered the different fields approaching the mind. Each of them has their angle, concepts and methodology. Eminent specialists taught each of their excellent lectures in their very own area. However, while having the same research object, the mind, they used different concepts and languages and then struggled to exchange together. They had to reach a high conceptual level to find a common ground to interact. From there, they progressed slowly through the discussion while constantly trying to keep each other on the same level.
My conclusion is that there is a need for “multidisciplinarists” to collaborate in a world of talented experts. This makes me passionate about working with different fields and finding overlapping areas to get new insights. It is full of potential but also filled with specific challenges. In the following, I will give you some tips that have helped me handle our multidisciplinary projects thus far.
1. Create your best team.
Everything starts with a team. You cannot become an expert in every field. Consequently, you must bring together the experts in the different areas your project will need and the skills you missed. Be creative and open-minded.
2. You will have to learn…
There is no need to become an expert; however, you must have a certain level of understanding of what they are discussing to innovate and find solutions. Understand the jargon and master the key concepts. Be curious.
3. … but respect the expertise.
When you have brought your experts together, respect their expertise and rely on them. Have confidence.
4. Understand the field culture.
Each field gives specific tools to shape representations and people’s communication. By experience, an engineer in computer science expects clear statements and quantitative results, while a researcher in social sciences will conceptualise an object with nuances and a qualitative approach. Understanding these different approaches and leveraging their findings is fundamental.
5. Communication is critical.
In addition to all the communication requirements for the success of a project, you need to fill two gaps: between the different representations within your team and between the different expertise. Ask people to explain, bring them together to share knowledge, and be ready to bridge the expert’s concepts when confusion arrives. Non-judgemental active listening and pro-engagement are essential.
6. Be patient and perseverant.
Sometimes, you will be confused and feel stupid, but be perseverant. Communication issues are the most likely to be the problem. Be patient and take the time to ensure that everyone understands what is needed. It is an iterative process.
7. Prepare to lead.
You are also a hub, where the knowledge passes by, and a catalyser to enable knowledge sharing between experts. However, you are also the captain of the ship. Assume this position to succeed in your project. Your team will expect you to organise and make decisions.
To conclude, some might say that being a multidisciplinary expert is not being an expert in anything. However, science is a multitude of ongoing dialogues. Dialogues where you need to start by understanding the subject, then participate in the conversation by bringing your observations and proposing hypotheses. These dialogues are made with experts and on specific topics. As a multidisciplinarist, you join the discussion by bringing new perspectives from other field discussions. You enable scientific knowledge movements between communities. With this approach, you may get the methods that will make progress or the new model that will finally connect the pieces of the puzzles in a stuck field—a tremendous innovation potential!
PS: Are there any similarities with a co-creation approach?
- piranka, Creative team working, Canva.com, accessed May 2nd, 2023, < https://www.canva.com/photos/MAEJd-L40OU-creative-team-working/>