Lessons from research and innovation: identifying and engaging collaborators

International, collaborative and interdisciplinary research can generate impact that is far greater than the sum of the parts. However, it isn’t without challenges and requires team members to have a different set of skills. This guide reflects on some of the lessons that the Frontiers programme participants have learned over the course of working across sectors, disciplines and cultures.

Tools and tips

• Take time to recognise and understand the different interests and see how these can be integrated into the project.
• Understanding expectations is core to success, so acknowledge that compromise will be needed.
• Have regular check-ins on project goals to ensure everyone has the same understanding.
• Embrace diversity and different perspectives.
• Learn how to collaborate. There are many different trainings and courses that can help improve this skill.
• Manage expectations among team members, especially for instant, quick solutions.
• Have integrity and be honest when things are not going according to plan.
• Set common objectives.
• Seek out good leadership.

Resources

Participants identified several helpful resources:

• How to write a logical framework, Tools 4 Dev.
• Funded programmes and research partnerships such as the Newton Fund and Global Challenges Research Fund, The Turing Scheme, and opportunities offered by the British Council.
• Educational links, such as the UK–India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI). 
• Integrated impact courses.
• Scientists call for a moratorium on climate change research until governments take real action, The Conversation.

For more insights, tools and tips like the ones in this report, check out all the resources on the Frontiers programme website, including:

• Post-event reports of Frontiers symposia
• Lessons from research and innovation at the Frontiers of global development
  • Remote working looking forward
  • Sector perspectives and working collaboratively
  • Diversity
  • Maintaining connections
  • Building sustainability
• Frontiers champions case studies

Case studies

Case studies

Kristine Magtubo, Ignite Impact Fund 

“Being a multi-hyphenate is key to the collaborative work I’ve done and my success in cross-sectoral and multi-sectoral work. Collaboration at the end of the day is all about communication.”

Working collaboratively depends on good communication. Kristine used her experiences to emphasise the importance of mutual understanding and language in cross-sector projects. Kristine considers herself a multi-hyphenate, meaning that she fills a wide range of diverse roles such as physician, researcher, innovator, mentor, consultant, and more. This allows her to understand different perspectives.

In her experience, everyone brings their own ideas to a collaboration informed by their respective backgrounds. Bringing these diverse viewpoints together to accomplish a mutual goal can be complicated. For instance, engineers may focus on the technicalities and functionalities of a project, while policymakers may be more concerned with regulations. However, Kristine stressed that a ‘mutual language’ – terms all collaborators can understand – can help ensure success. It can also be helpful for teams to identify ‘translators’: people who have experience across a variety of sectors and can communicate different perspectives within the group.

Jing Pang, Imperial College London

With a background in research and development for technology, Jing Pang has experience supporting research collaboration in different sectors from an academic perspective. To help demonstrate what he believes are key elements to a successful collaboration, he used an example of a competition hosted by the Design Museum in London where students from different backgrounds came together to compete. Students from the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London would present a product idea and then collaborate with other business, engineering and design students to create the product. Critical to the success of the groups, according to Jing, was the use of a neutral party who understands the different perspectives. In this case, this role was filled by representatives of the company Engine. 

Jing closed his presentation with several recommendations. He suggested starting cross-industry collaborations with a blank sheet, figuratively, that allows everyone to present their own ideas on equal standing. While this is a positive starting point, it is also important to continue this mentality throughout the collaboration. Although not everyone involved in the project may have the same background, actively listening to others is critical. They might not speak the same ‘language’, like Kristine mentioned, but creating and working in a collaborative language is helpful. To close, Jing underlined the need to always keep the big picture in mind. 

“Collaboration has to be in line with the priorities and needs of the community… These are people’s lives and the commitment must be long term if we’re going to develop meaningful and equal collaborations and achieve sustainable development.”

Jo Rose, Senior Lecturer in Humanitarian Response, University of York

Principles

• Stakeholders may have different – and sometimes competing – priorities, such as policy impacts, academic publications or profit. Despite this, they must keep in mind the common mission must be kept in mind and foster an environment where everyone can contribute.Taking the time to understand stakeholders’ different priorities will help to manage expectations and integrate the appropriate outputs into work.
• Finding a common ‘language’ – or terms that every industry can understand and work in – helps make discussions more productive. A ‘translator’ or a person who has experience working across industries can act as a bridge between different languages.
• In cross-sector collaboration, every industry also brings with it important strengths and concerns that can balance weaknesses of their peers. For example, NGOs can help link projects to those ‘on-the-ground,’ while working with the private sector can enable greater access to funding and technology. 
• Embracing diversity can allow for a more impactful, well-rounded project. However, make sure communication and priorities are clear and that there is a culture of respect.
• Engineers can show people that technology opens the doors to new

Communication

Communication can make or break collaborative projects. To maintain partnerships both during and after projects are completed, a common ground for communication must be identified. Participants identified several elements of good communication:

• Clear communication is a constant. It requires understanding cultural differences, being open-minded, preparing ahead of time, and being flexible to others’ needs and limitations.
• There will be a lot of ‘give and take’ in a collaborative relationship. It is founded on mutual respect. This can be achieved if you create a sense of shared responsibility for your project and shared ‘language’ that people from different backgrounds can understand.
• Use a mixture of ways to communicate and build relationships, depending on preferences and access. Meeting face-to-face, if possible, can be an important first step. Maintaining the relationship long term can be done via email, social media, phone calls, events, and more.

Understanding barriers

Partnerships often encounter barriers that can limit the ability to forge new collaborations or continue with collaborative projects. Participants shared many of the challenges they have faced in engaging collaborators, falling into four categories:

Partnerships:

• uniting different partner priorities
• time limitations to get to know new partners
• not speaking the same ‘technical language’
• balancing of leadership between partners in the Global North/Global South.

Institutional:

• funding constraints
• administrative approvals among the different organisations involved.

COVID-19:

• the end of in-person meetups
• infrastructure such as internet connection and access to technology.

Other:

• lack of networking opportunities
• non-inclusion of other actors like NGOs and local communities.