Introduction
Collaboration is a powerful tool, but it’s not a magic bullet. If you don’t have the right strategy, you can end up with more problems than you started with!
That’s why we’re here to help you figure out how effective your collaboration strategy really is.
Collaboration Is Key to Your Scientific Advancement
When it comes to effectively establishing and maintaining collaborations, there are a few things to consider. First, your potential collaborators should be knowledgeable in their field, excited about your research and most importantly committed to making the collaboration work. This sounds obvious; however, it can be challenging to find someone with all of these qualities.
Collaboration Requires Good Communication
Second, make sure you are both clear on the goals of the collaboration and how those goals will be achieved. The best way to do this is by developing a written agreement that clearly defines each collaborator’s role and the deliverables for each step of the collaboration. If all of this is not clearly defined up front, then you may find yourself having different expectations as the project progresses, which can lead to frustration and ultimately an unsuccessful collaboration.
Third, make sure you have a clear communication plan in place. Without proper communication, a collaboration will quickly fall apart. It is always best to establish how often you will communicate at the beginning of a project. I usually suggest communicating weekly until the project has moved beyond its initial stages, at which point biweekly or even monthly communications may suffice until something comes up that requires more frequent contact.
Collaboration Is Not Always Easy
Sometimes collaboration is not always easy for scientist. They have to depend on others, who may have different interests, or may not be good at communicating. In some cases, there are also issues of intellectual property rights or concerns about whether their contribution will be recognized properly. For example, the case of Rosalind Franklin and her contribution to the discovery of the DNA double helix is well known.
Collaboration is a key factor in scientific success, and scientists need to do it right in order to get their ideas heard and implemented. So how can they do that?
Establish communication with colleagues as early as possible: Be clear about what you want to achieve with your collaboration and what you expect from your collaborator. This will help you align your expectations with those of your peers and make sure that everyone is able to contribute effectively.
Work together on projects that interest both parties: If you’re collaborating on something that’s important only to one person, it’s unlikely that anyone else will take much notice – and even less likely that they will put any effort into helping out!
How Effective Is Your Scientific Collaboration Strategy?
Scientific Collaborative opportunities are out there, keep an eye out for them.
A new study suggests that the most prolific researchers have a knack for collaboration. This should be no surprise.
In many areas of science, it is not typically possible to investigate a single research question alone. Sufficient data are rarely available and often require multiple research groups to acquire the information necessary to draw a conclusion.
The ubiquity of scientific collaborations has been recognized by several institutions, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), which have implemented programs and policies to foster collaboration.
Such efforts may include incentives to collaborate across different disciplines or across different institutions and geographic regions.
Collaboration Makes the World of Science Go Round
Working alone is no fun. It’s also not very effective if you want to get things done quickly and effectively. Collaboration is key to success in just about any endeavor, but especially in science.
Scientists can’t know everything, so they have to rely on the expertise of their peers, who specialize in different fields. By combining their knowledge, scientists can help each other get much further than they could have gotten working alone.
Collaboration is also the best way to exchange knowledge, and science is all about the exchange of ideas and discoveries. For example, it’s rare for a scientist to make a major discovery on their own; more often than not, they build on the discoveries made by others before them.
Sure, there are some scientists who prefer to work alone, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t collaborating with others. Any scientist who has an idea will probably be able to think of another scientist who has studied something similar. They can contact that other scientist for advice or even a collaboration on a project together!
That’s Where Collaboratory Comes In
Collaboratory allows scientists to discover potential collaborators and make connections. You can create a collaboration profile, view other people’s collaboration profiles, and contact potential collaborators through the website.
Even while using Collaboratory, it’s still important to leave no stone unturned. Of course, Collaboratory is just one more platform for scientists to use for collaboration. Other useful platforms exist as well. If you discover a great potential collaborator through one of these platforms, don’t neglect the other options. Some of your best collaborators are just a click away.
Conclusion
So, how effective is your collaboration strategy?
The truth is, you can’t always tell if your collaboration strategy is effective right away. But here are some signs that it might not be:
- You’re not getting the results you want from your team.
- You feel like no one is really listening to what you have to say.
- Your coworkers don’t seem to be as interested in working together with you as they used to be.
If any of that sounds familiar, then maybe it’s time for a change! Try out some of these tips and tricks, and see if they help bring your team together more effectively. Collaboration strategy is the key to success in any organization.