Margaret Meredith Catalina Quiroz Niño Erasmus Mundus Social Economy Project 3 rd June 2013

1. With the support of the Erasmus Mundus Programme of the European Union How can Multicultural, Multidisciplinary Research Teams Work Togetherand What are the Pitfalls? Margaret Meredith Catalina Quiroz Niño Erasmus Mundus Social Economy Project 3rd June 2013

2. Objectives During this presentation we aim to: • Set the context – five day face-to-face planning meeting within a project. • Explain the importance of a dialogic and consensus-based approach • Explain how a dialogicapproach informed the planning meeting. • Share team members’ evaluations of this.

3. 1. Context: The project • What is the project about? • What issue are we aiming to address? • Who is involved? • What is the proposed outcome? www.yorksj.ac.uk/socialeconomy

4. “Higher education institutions bear a profound, moral responsibility to increase the awareness, knowledge, skills and values needed to create a just and sustainable future” (Cortese 2003 cited in Kreber 2013) Social Justice in Higher Education Social Justice through Higher Education

5. How can this multicultural and multidisciplinary teamconstruct and negotiate knowledge?

6. 2. Why is a dialogic approach important? Whose contributions count most? Whose perspective is the most valid? • Our practice as country house? • Our practice as home we build together? (Sacks 2007)

7. What is dialogism? Dialogism “Looks upon knowledge as constructed, negotiated, and (re) contextualised in situ and in socio-cultural traditions; and in dialogue with others.” (Linell2003)

8. 3. How the approach informed a meeting of a multicultural and multidisciplinary team Five day, face-to-face strategic planning meeting: • Expectations clarified and agreed upon • Criteria for theme of project defined

10. When is consensus important? • And when should consensus not be sought?

13. 4. Comments from evaluations • “The unification of the team around specific goals.” • “Very good methodology of work: participative and dynamic …. bring opinions together and arrive at a consensus.” • “… we have achieved consensus about criteria.” • “It gave me clarity about the project and I committed myself to it.” • “Engagedparticipationfromtheparticipants”

14. How can we maintain team work and common understanding? …… • Some issues affecting following agreed action plan: • Pace of work • Work needs adapting • Availability of third parties • Unexpected opportunities which take up time • Some things taking much longer than expected • Flexibility of national groups – ability to work effectively within own parameters • Relationships within sub groups

15. ….at a distance? • Google docs for meeting agendas and for developing research methodology – very limited engagement • Group meetings via Skype • Other video conferencing software • Individual meetings (phone/videoconferencing) to get deeper understanding

16. References • Kreber, C. (2013) Authenticity in and through teaching in higher education. London. Routledge. • Linell, P. (2003) What is dialogism? Linköping University, Sweden Department of Communication Studies (available www.umass.edu/.../llc/.../Linell%20Per%20what%20is%20dialogism ) • Sacks, J. (2007) The home we build together: recreating society. London. Continuum.

17. Comments and ideas please