Exploring Collaboration Series: resetting and recovering collaborations

What you'll do
Research collaborations, like many other collective endeavours, often face challenges in the delivery of the project. These challenges can arise from difficulties in project delivery (e.g. data collection being problematic, null results) or through the degradation of relationships within the collaboration. This workshop explores how to avoid some of these challenges in research collaborations but will focus primarily on the leadership approaches to take collaborations forward when there are relationship challenges with collaborations.

What we'll cover
Diagnosing Issues:

• Understanding why partners may disengage
• Approaches to reporting to spot issues early
• Developing a reflective approach as a collaboration

Realigning Collaborations:

• Joint problem-solving approaches
• Resetting expectations and revising collaboration agreements
• Managing conflict over budgets or roles

Repair and Exit Strategies:

• Rebuilding trust and psychological safety
• Managing reputational risk
• Deciding when to exit a collaboration

After this session, you'll be able to:

• Recognise signs of collaboration breakdown and intervene constructively.
• Navigate difficult conversations and renegotiate terms.
• Restore trust and alignment when issues arise mid-project.
• Create contingency plans when recovery isn’t possible.

Important to know
This workshop is part of a ‘Exploring Collaboration Series’ designed to equip researchers with the skills, confidence, and tools to lead and sustain effective collaborations. Each of the workshops are standalone but there will be themes which build across the workshops for participants who attend all the sessions.      

This session is facilitated by Robin Henderson.