This article is written by Alexandra M. Towns, affiliated at the time of the study with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), USA, and currently affiliated with the Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, USA as a Policy Impact Specialist.

  • The problem: Measuring the success of collaborative research in international development is a challenge.
  • Why it matters: Standard monitoring and evaluation approaches typically assess research success in terms of its impact, yet there are many overlooked and undervalued factors when it comes to defining success.
  • The solution: Communication, complementarity and commitment foster more successful collaborations and bring research teams closer to generating solutions for development challenges.

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Sam Phelps /CRS

How does one measure the success of collaborative research in international development? Standard monitoring and evaluation approaches typically assess research in terms of its impact, yet there are many overlooked and undervalued factors when it comes to defining success. _What if successful collaborative research for international development was evaluated by the likelihood that collaborators would choose to partner again? Or by the transformation of a complex, professional collaboration into one considered ‘a friendship’, characterised by ‘personal growth’ and ‘fun’? Ultimately, what are the factors that make collaborative research partnerships successful? _

To help foster these success factors in your own research collaborations, I invite you to explore LASER PULSE’s Embedded Research Translation (ERT) model.

I had the opportunity to meet with 25 collaborative research teams supported through the $70M USAID-funded LASER (Long-term Assistance and Services for Research) PULSE (Partners for University-Led Solutions Engine) programme to reflect on what was working in their projects. The research teams included academic researchers, development practitioners and policymakers from fields such as agriculture, private sector engagement, air and water pollution, and education. From our conversations, I’ve distilled the three most common success factors shared by the teams - communication, complementarity and commitment. I learned that cultivating these skills in oneself and seeking them out in potential partners will help to foster a more successful collaboration and will assist in bringing research teams one step closer to generating solutions for development challenges. I elaborate on each of these factors below, and conclude with a tip on how to bring them into your own work (spoiler alert - it’s a framework developed by LASER PULSE known as Embedded Research Translation).

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The three ‘Cs’ of collaborative research success:

  • Communication: The research teams consistently credited consistent communication as a contributor to the success of their partnerships, and in particular, the role of regularly scheduled meetings. While the cadence of the meetings varied — some met weekly, others biweekly or monthly — having a consistent platform to negotiate expectations, check-in with one another and ask tough questions proved to be invaluable for building trust, bringing together different perspectives and clearing up misunderstandings. Meetings were described to be overwhelming at times and difficult to coordinate across multiple time zones, but ultimately, they proved invaluable for creating and maintaining strong research partnerships.
  • Complementarity: The LASER PULSE teams also frequently mentioned the complementarity between partners on their teams as a driver of success. From the deep contextual understanding of practitioners and policymakers, to the academic rigour from researchers, research teams recognised and appreciated that their partner’s diverse skillsets and perspectives enriched their projects and improved their work. Several teams underscored that the nature of their collaboration was not competitive, that the power dynamics were shared horizontally and that their teams were successful because they had the ”right people”. Being willing to identify, appreciate and cultivate complementarity between partners on a research team is a challenging but necessary part of successful collaborative research.
  • Commitment: Third, the research teams reported that commitment to teamwork, whether it showed up as passion, dedication, persistence and/or a learning mindset, positively contributed to their success as a team. Much of the expression of commitment came from a deep personal passion for the project, qualities such as “a very high level of engagement”, willingness to engage and ”enthusiasm and interest”. Commitment to teamwork was also expressed through an openness to learn, willingness to move out of one’s comfort zone, and ability for critical self-reflection. Bringing an eagerness to collaborate and learn increased the overall success of the project and added value to the collaboration beyond its concrete deliverables.

Recommendation for bringing the three ‘Cs’ together:

In combining these three ‘Cs’ - _consistent communication, complementarity between partners and commitment to teamwork _- several research teams shared that their professional partnership resulted in a meaningful and long-term friendship, one categorised by “strong bonds” and even included an element of “fun”. One team shared, “The collaboration is very strong because of the periodic meetings we hold and we maintained it as we grew into friendship relations with the partners in this group [...]. This is the first time [we work together]. But surprisingly it doesn't seem that we're working for the first time together.”

To help foster these success factors in your own research collaborations, I invite you to explore LASER PULSE’s Embedded Research Translation (ERT) model. One of the strengths and unique attributes of the ERT model is that it is a sector- and method-agnostic approach developed specifically for collaborative research in international development. Part of transforming the use of research for international development is also transforming how we work together; leveraging the three ‘Cs’ through the ERT model can change how we collaborate and how we define and achieve success.

Done reading? Make sure to share your own thoughts on fostering communication, complementarity, and commitment in thriving partnerships by leaving a comment below ⬇️

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