Enabling collaborative idea generation
When funders are assessing a collaborative project, they are looking for something that is greater than the sum of its parts: one discipline should not be ‘in service’ to another.
The following tips will help you create space for co-creation of creative and collaborative ideas – breaking down barriers based on discipline or seniority takes intentional time and effort.
- Carve out at least half a day to meet, with a structure which allows for informal discussion as well as structured contributions, a balance of small and large group discussion. Researchers often find it valuable to have these first meetings face to face, with follow-ups being virtual.
- Allow each collaborator to share what they are most interested in: their challenges and opportunities, as well as their strengths.
- Devote time to both generating and exploring ideas before you start critiquing, evaluating and prioritising them. Techniques such as ‘write and share’, where each individual has time to reflect quietly and write down their idea before sharing with the group, help to ensure equality of opportunity and avoid group think. It might help to set some ground rules, such as ‘we don’t dismiss an idea without first asking: what would need to be true to make this possible?’
What funders want to know about collaborative proposals
Hear from some GW4 researchers about their perspectives on how to find common ground, the importance of integrating methodologies and getting to a common understanding (there’s more on how to actually do this in the next section). As Lizzie highlights, it’s important not to race to get the research proposal in without doing this work. Our interviewees also share ideas on putting together a collaborative proposal that makes sense to funders.
In addition to what they expect from any proposal (e.g. significance, originality, feasibility, evidence that your proposal addresses the question), funders are looking for evidence that:
- You are addressing grand challenges – why being part of a collaboration helps you to do this, rather than just having two separate projects.
- There will be genuine advances in knowledge for each partner’s discipline area.
- Each partner brings something unique and identifiable – show that the overall project could not be done without any one of the partners. You may be asked to submit a collaborative track record or team narrative CV, providing evidence of your skills and expertise.
- You will work effectively together – what evidence do you have of smaller projects together?
- You understand and have experience of delivering projects – robust project management is crucial for any research project and even more so for collaborations.
- You have a clear project plan and risk mitigation strategy – have you clearly set out the project timeline, milestones and dependencies? Collaborations are risky – have you acknowledged the project and team risks and developed a clear mitigation strategy?
- You wrote the proposal together – make sure your proposal reads like a coherent co-authored document.
- There is clear leadership of the project –demonstrated via roles and responsibilities of each partner, strategic use of resources across the institutions and robust governance and monitoring.
- Host institutions are supportive of the collaboration – have they facilitated contractual agreements, financial management etc? What resources or support will the institution offer?
- You have a publishing and dissemination strategy – including how each partner will contribute and be acknowledged.
If your proposal gets to an interview stage, the key thing is that you look like a team. Decide who will lead on answering different types of questions, it looks unprofessional if you talk over each other or disagree.
Finding funding
https://www.researchprofessional.com/sso/login?service=https://www.researchprofessional.com/0/
https://www.bath.ac.uk/guides/find-research-funding-and-equipment/#research-professional
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/red/development/opportunities/
http://www.exeter.ac.uk/researchtoolkit/fundinginformation/externalfundingandresearchprofessional/
