COLLABORATION IN RESEARCH PROJECTS

OMEKE MICHAEL(PHD)

KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND ENTREPRENUERSHIP

What is Collaboration?

• Working together
• Accomplishing a task together
• Solving a problem together
• Networking together
• Coordinating
• Patterning

With other

• People
• Researchers
• Experts
• Professionals
• Practitioners
• Mentors
• Policy makers
• Regulators
• Funders

Levels of Collaboration

Collaboration at different strands:

• Discipline/expertise
• Geographical/country

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• Peer/ friendship basis
• Institutional

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• Organization
• Individual or group
• Community
• Internal and External

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What is a Collaborative Research Project?

Research Project/Planned Research /assignment

• Writing a Fundable Research Proposal

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• Data Collection & Research Reporting

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• Research Publication Project

What is a Collaborative Research Project?

Window for Collaboration

• Outsourcing /searching for Collaborations

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• Seeking for Collaboration

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• Academic programme research requirement

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• Research Programme/project requirements

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• Attachment to experts/institutions

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• Head hurting opportunity-due to expertise or peculiarity of discipline/skill

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Requisites for Effective Collaboration in Research work

• Competence/expertise/ knowledgeability
• Team / cooperative spirit

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• Respect of the partners/peers/Guild

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• Common interest/ objective / field of specialization

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• Commitment to the task and time lines
• Clearly cut out roles and benefits of the collaboration

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• Clear leadership and management structures

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Continuation of Requisites.....

• Clear budgetary and cost implications
• Accountability and transparency mechanism

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• Ethical considerations

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• Conscientiously look at facts

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• Ability/willingness to learn from others

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• Technological leverage

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• Global consciousness

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Why is Collaboration Important in Research Work?

• Builds research teams or synergies

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• Complementarity of skills/multi-disciplinary skills set

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• Internationalization research norm- Opportunity for sourcing of funds

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• Learning opportunity from others researchers

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• Opportunity for quicker and faster publication

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Continuation Of Importance ....

• Wider readership of your work

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• Challenged by the partners to scale up (matching the quality of collaborators)

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• Measure your level or potential in research

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• Problem solving and innovations

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• Positive institutional image

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Obstacles to Effective Collaboration in Research Projects

• No clear goals, objectives and benefits of the collaboration
• No governance and management structures

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• Failure to establish an effective skills mix

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• Poor communication and feedback mechanism-no meetings, no clear reporting mechanisms

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• Poor accountability and transparency mechanism

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• Lack of respect of partners

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Continuation of Obstacles ....

• Superiority and inferiority complex

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• Limited resource envelope

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• Failure to honour timelines and planned activity schedules

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• Poor documentation and record management

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• Limited commitment to the project

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• Fear of the unknown

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Collaborative Theories/Approaches

• Collaborative learning theory (Peer to peer learning)
• Collaborative integrated theory -Cooperative learning approaches
• Collaboration theory in research-Equity among Co-researchers

Conclusion

Research Collaboration

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Thank You For Your Attention