Transdisciplinary teams are called upon to research and resolve problems associated with socio-ecological systems, which are notoriously wicked. We propose that the formation of these teams is itself a wicked problem. We support this claim by identifying in transdisciplinary team formation characteristics from Rittel and Weber’s (1973) list of wicked problem attributes. We recommend a set of strategies for managing the wickedness of team formation, drawn from our experience in forming teams to conduct research on socio-ecological systems and the team formation literature.

Norris, P. E., O’Rourke, M., Mayer, A. S., Halvorsen, K. E. (2016). Managing the wicked problem of transdisciplinary team formation in socio-ecological systems. Landscape and Urban Planning. 154: 115–122. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2016.01.008