In our increasingly connected world, much of our work relies on collaborations with large numbers of partners, whether through communities of practice, networked improvement communities, or other collaborative endeavors. However, such collaborations have their own unique challenges, and in this post, I share some of the lessons our team has learned about creating successful ones.
Our team of researchers have been leading a three-year research project that was a collaboration between 10 university partners, with the goal of understanding and improving STEM teacher preparation. Our collaborators were spread across the country, and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we couldn’t meet in person.
Since this was a research project, we needed to gather and analyze data from our partners’ institutions and alumni and then work with our partners to draw conclusions that would be shared and disseminated to the wider field of researchers and practitioners. Our partners were experts in their field. They had experience and wisdom that would be valuable to every step of our research project. However, once funded we needed to build trust among our partners and establish roles quickly because collecting and analyzing data from their alumni had to begin within the first six months of the project.
As we progressed through the project, several challenges emerged:
- Partners arrived with different expectations for their involvement and what they would learn or take away.
- We sought to build on partners’ strengths and expertise—and enable each of them to build on each others’ expertise as well—but it took time for everyone to get to know each other and find their place within the work of the partnership.
- Some partners retired, leading to shifts in momentum.
- We needed to maintain the flow of information both across partners and from our team to each of the partners.
- We needed to collect data from each partners’ alumni while adhering to all institutions’ IRB guidelines and ensuring the anonymity of research subjects and institutions in the data we shared across partners.
Now, nearing the end of the project, we are asking ourselves what we would recommend for others embarking on similar collaborations with partners across many institutions. Here are some of our lessons learned:
- Be clear from the outset that building trust and connections and finding one’s place in the partnership takes time.
- Understand that momentum needs to be sustained throughout the project’s duration.
- Provide enough time upfront for partners to get to know each other and the research team, to strengthen their connections, and to build momentum for the collaboration.
- Create regular and varied opportunities for partners to engage with the research team and with each other. Some examples we used include informal meetings, with time for sharing personal interests; working groups or sub-committees; quarterly meetings; regular newsletters; and in-person socials at conferences.
- Be clear and regularly reinforce the study goals; the expectations for partners’ contributions, roles, and responsibilities; and how the collaborative work could benefit partners and their institutions.
By providing time for trust building, transparency, and communication, large collaborations can be successful in developing productive partnerships.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to our partners whose contributions made this study possible: University of Massachusetts Boston, Georgia Southern University, University of California Santa Cruz, Saint Joseph’s University, University of Rochester, Illinois State University, Mercy College, Northeastern Illinois University, Drexel University, and Texas A&M University.
| Jackie DeLisi, senior research scientist, leads partnerships and research and evaluation projects that strengthen STEM programs in classrooms and informal settings. Her work focuses on implementing science and engineering practices, climate literacy, computational thinking, and STEM career pathways. |
Add new comment