Grant Partnering
As Dr. Mote said in his “State of the Campus” address to the University Senate in fall 2006, interdisciplinary work – and particularly large interdisciplinary grants – has vastly increased on the campus and will only continue to grow. As this type of large collaborative effort has become embedded in the ethos of the University, the challenges inherent in these arrangements are as real as the benefits. As a result, the CLOC team has developed services to help project primary investigators (PIs) successfully negotiate the complexity of pulling together interdisciplinary (and often multi-sector) research teams.
Different disciplines and organizations have different cultures, and, in fact, “speak different languages.” Often you don’t have any idea how different they are until they bump up against one another. When even intra-disciplinary misunderstanding is common, imagine the potential for inter-disciplinary, or even inter-sector, misunderstanding. Groups have internalized norms about communication styles, methods and frequency, and about decision-making, deadlines, accountability and time horizons. The CLOC process takes a proactive partnering approach to help groups identify and navigate those norms at the front end of a project.
This process helps teams to...
This service might be for you if...
This process helps teams:
- Create a common vocabulary;
- Be deliberate in making explicit and establishing norms at the start of the process;
- Identify clear lines and methods of communication and set up positive communication structures;
- Build a framework for decision-making;
- Clarify roles and responsibilities to avoid turf issues;
- Develop non-hierarchical, collaborative methods;
- Agree on dispute resolution methods to employ;
- Develop timelines and accountability structures;
- Determine check-in and follow-up processes to keep the project running smoothly.
Some PIs have successfully included grant partnering processes in their original grant proposals; others have discovered the need for such a process when well into a project and have been able to devote a portion of administrative funding to it. Obviously this type of effort is most effective when it is in place at the outset, but it is never too late to bring the benefits of a grant partnering process to a research project.
In addition to this partnership-building service, CLOC also provides meeting design and facilitation services services for grants that include prescribed meetings or retreats with stakeholder groups to obtain input, engage in planning, or get feedback on project outcomes.
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This service might be for you if:
- You are you applying for a new inter-disciplinary or inter-sector grant.
- You want to ensure that various grant stakeholders are able to work together.
- In your past experience working with these grant partners there was miscommunication that impacted the work – OR – you haven’t worked with these individuals before and are concerned about this.
- The question of who makes final decisions and what process is used for decision-making is not resolved.
- Your group is unclear about who will handle administrative and logistical considerations or how it will address inevitable conflicts.
- Your grant requires heavy interaction with external stakeholders.
- You are uncertain how to distribute the workload fairly and unclear about how will you hold each other accountable.
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