Virtual Leadership in Complex Multiorganizational Research and Development Programs

A 2002 congressional mandate initiated the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Centers of Excellence programs with a requirement to conduct cross-organizational research and development. The resulting complex multiorganizational programs required more effective virtual leadership and management strategies. Despite the growing government investment in these programs over the past decade, evidence indicates a persistent lack of complex virtual management strategies that account for the intended research outcomes and interdisciplinary expectations of these multiorganizational programs. As top academic researchers are drawn upon to organize and manage multiorganizational programs, the management challenge in a virtual collaborative context engenders interesting research questions. Using complex-systems and leader-member exchange theories, we report findings from a case study of Centers of Excellence program participants' perspectives regarding virtual leadership. The findings inform the development of an engagement framework and suggest that targeted training might be conducive to positive social change for future leaders of similar complex multiorganizational virtual programs.