ABSTRACT
Complex adaptive systems consist of multiple, interacting agents capable of adaptive behavior. It is a small step to realize that academic departments and their research divisions display the properties and mechanisms, thus satisfying the definition of complex adaptive systems. The research director must be prepared for the eventualities, must look for the leverage points, and must seek to support adaptation through emergence in an ever-changing fitness landscape. Complex research units will display complex behaviors such as non-linear dynamics and co-evolution. In addition, the degree of connectedness has an impact on the system's dynamics; poorly connected systems display periodic dynamics, highly connected systems display chaotic dynamics, and critical systems with their power law dynamics have intermediate numbers of connections. Weakly connected systems have greater capacity for complexity than fully connected systems, because they have greater capacity for combining novel patterns.
