WORKING, RESEARCHING AND COLLABORATING TOGETHER

Are two (or three, or four,...) heads better than one? It seems that as our world and our work gets more and more complex, we need to make decisions that rely on an increasingly large base of expertise and skills. With organization boundaries blurred by a more organic, networked environment, collaborating - often at a great distance - is becoming a way of life.

Research and innovation involves a myriad of stakeholders, such as researchers, end-users, and policy and decision-makers. Knowledge sharing within research initiatives has the potential to make research much more meaningful for all actors. When looking at enhancing the effectiveness of research initiatives at the planning phase, or the application of research results, and even the longer term sustainability, we might ask:

If a team or network environment represents our reality, we could be asking ourselves:

• How can we improve relationships and collaboration between regional offices and the HQ?
  Tools and Methods:: Storytelling; Knowledge Fairs; Intranets; Blogs, Microblogging, Skype, Social Network Analysis, Workplace Knowledge Sharing Tips, Instant Messengers, Online Collaboration Platforms, Online Surveys, Yellow Pages, Wikis
  Tags:relationship, collaboration, networks, teams, inclusion,

• How can I enhance demand driven research initiatives and processes?
  Tools and Methods: Outcome Mapping; Impact Pathways
  Tags: inclusion, demand, participatory_processes, strategic_planning, collaboration, alliances, partnerships

• How can I support or facilitate the adaptation and adoption of research outputs by beneficiaries and stakeholders?
  Tools and Methods: Peer Assists; Knowledge Fairs; Wikis, Storytelling; Face to face Meetings; Discussion Forums , Online Surveys, Social Networking Sites, Social Network Analysis, Yellow Pages
  Workplace Knowledge Sharing Tips, Peer Coaching, Communities of Practice, Briefing and Debriefing
  Tags:dissemination, communication, adoption, adaptation, stakeholders, facilitation

• How can we ensure valuable experiences and essential knowledge are remembered, used or taken into account
  long after our project finished or when someone leaves our organization?
  Tools and Methods: Intranets; Exit Interviews; Storytelling, Peer Assists, Most Significant Change; Tagging/Social bookmarking; > Yellow pages; Workplace Knowledge Sharing Tips, Institutional memories, Wikis, DeBono's Six Thinking Hats
  Tags:communication, dissemination, adoption, sustainability, scalability, partnerships, alliances, stakeholders

• How can I facilitate effective collaborative practices?
  Tools and Methods: Communities of Practice; Six Thinking Hats; Mindmapping; Wikis; Online Collaboration Tools, TRIZ
  Tags: facilitation, collaboration, cooperation, strategic_planning

• How can I organize meetings differently?
  See Meetings

• How can I support collaboration in wide-spread teams?
  Tools and Methods: Wikis; Dgroups; Learning Management Systems; Photo Sharing; Social Networking, Workplace Knowledge Sharing Tips, Instant Messengers, Online Collaboration Platforms, Good Practices
  Tags: teams, collaboration, networks, strategic_planning

• What visual practices can I incorporate when working with groups?
  Tools and Methods: Graphic Facilitation; Mindmapping; World Café; Photo Sharing
  Tags: visualization, facilitation, visual, collaboration, visual_thinking

Other Tags to Explore

• adaptation
• adoption
• collaboration
• cooperation
• demand
• evaluation
• facilitation
• inclusion
• meetings
• monitoring
• monitoring_and_evaluation
• networks
• participatory_processes
• relationship
• research
• scalability
• stakeholders
• strategic_planning
• sustainability
• teams
• visual
• visualization
• visual_thinking
• working