Applying theory to practice in a large research center: creating and implementing tools for building convergence...

The continued expansion of team science underscores the urgent need for shared, actionable models that can be validated to support effective interdisciplinary collaboration in scientific teams. This paper presents a practice-grounded framework for building convergence capacity in large, multi-institutional research environments, drawing on insights from the Science of Team Science (SciTS) and Integration and Implementation Sciences (I2S). Using the U.S. NSF-funded Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center as a case study, we explore how integration expertise can be strategically embedded within leadership structures to design and implement evidence-informed toolkits and conceptual models that scaffold convergence practices. These approaches operationalize convergence through three interdependent priority focal points -scaffolding effective teamwork and group integration capacity, cultivation and management of boundary objects, and investment in the integrative capacity and professional growth of the individuals that make up the teams-each supported by specific tools, facilitation strategies, and team development approaches that align with established theories of collaboration and integration. By translating convergence theory into replicable, field-tested practices, this study contributes to the development of team science models that are adaptable to diverse research contexts and challenges. We share how one example of a large research center incorporated literature- and practice-based convergence approaches into the organizational structure and research efforts from the onset of problem formulation and team formation, and we highlight how integration practitioners serve as catalysts-structuring processes, facilitating shared meaning-making, and fostering collective metacognitive awareness essential to interdisciplinary problem solving. Our reflections and observations in this manuscript emphasize the critical role that deliberate, resourced, theory-driven intervention can play in building the conditions for sustainable collaboration and effective knowledge co-creation.