Project FUSION: Facilitating Unified Systems of Interdependent Organizational Networks

As we set our sights on Mars, and other destinations beyond lower Earth orbit, we must enable extreme forms of teamwork across Spaceflight Multiteam Systems (SFMTSs) composed of teams that are separated by unprecedented degrees of space and time. In “Project FUSION: Facilitating Unified Systems of Interdependent Organizational Networks,” we are engaging in a transformative research program rooted in the past decade of theory and research on MTSs, but breaking new ground in how MTSs are conceptualized and studied. Our programmatic research aims to illuminate the underlying forces that give rise to the psycho-social relational states (e.g., influence, trust, shared cognition) within and between teams that underpin mission success. These crucial relationships, and the drivers of their emergence, will need to be understood, monitored, and at times, circumvented using countermeasures in order to enable coordinated efforts across the SFMTSs involved in Long-duration Exploration Mission (LDEMs). Project FUSION is a multi-pronged, multi-method, interdisciplinary project with three main research foci: (1) field investigations using NASA personnel; (2) development of an agent-based computational model capturing the drivers of relational states; and (3) controlled laboratory experiments and analog studies. Our research design is intended to be iterative. Findings within each foci are continually infusing the refinement and design of research in other foci. Further, Project FUSION is an applied research project with the ultimate goal of translating findings from three research foci in order to provide NASA with a "countermeasure toolkit" comprised of validated interventions that can be used to facilitate effective teamwork in SFMTSs. The countermeasure toolkit under development in this project consists of: (1) a SFMTS task analysis procedure, (2) a decision-making guidebook based on our agent-based computational model of SFMTS dynamics, (3) a multiteam training countermeasure ready for operational implementation with astronauts and mission controllers, and (4) a multiteam debriefing protocol ready for operational implementation with astronauts and mission controllers.

The findings from this project will have substantial implications for human life on Earth, and in particular, for the effectiveness of teams and larger systems of teams in organizations operating in high-stakes environments. The field studies, laboratory studies, and computer simulation studies aim to better understand the patterns of social relationships (e.g., trust, influence, information sharing) that are likely to form within and across teams in large interdependent organizational systems. By better understanding the patterns of relationships that are likely, we can help determine when and where teamwork interventions or "countermeasures" are necessary. Moreover, the ultimate goal of this applied research project is to develop and validate a toolkit of countermeasures, including training, debriefing procedures, and decision-making protocols that are designed to facilitate team and inter-team collaboration in complex organizational systems. These countermeasures will be able to be utilized widely across many organizational contexts beyond NASA (e.g., healthcare, the military, corporations).

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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