1. FLINDERS UNIVERSITY Linkage Workshop 7 September Developing and managing Collaborative Partnerships for successful Linkage Projects Gerry Redmond

2. My Collaborative Research Partnerships.....
Making a Difference: Building on Children's Perspectives on Economic Adversity ( )
3 Chief Investigators
7 Partner Organisations (all Australian)
- 1 commonwealth Government
- 3 state government
- 4 NGOs
3 Partner Investigators (2 domestic, 1 international)
(cash element = $500k)
In either case, you’re constantly on the lookout for other partners

3. My Collaborative Research Partnerships.....
Supporting families: Horizontal and vertical equity in the Australian tax-benefit system in historical and comparative perspectives ( )
2 Chief Investigators
5 Partner Organisations
- 1 Commonwealth Government
- 1 Australian NGO
- 3 international partner organisations (1 research institute, 2 universities)
6 Partner investigators (1 domestic, 5 international)
(cash element = $450k)

4. My Collaborative Research Partnerships.....
Are the kids alright? Understanding the wellbeing of Australian children in their middle years ( )
3 Chief Investigators
4 Partner Organisations
- 4 Commonwealth Government
2 Partner investigators (both international)
(cash element = $1.4m)

5. Collaborative Research Partnerships.....
Are like any long term relationship
You have to work at them
You have differences of opinions and arguments
You argue over money
Promise does not always match reality
But you can get a lot out of them....
Research outputs can be better, and more policy focused
You can increase the impact of your research
You can extend your academic/policy/practitioner network
You can use your collaborators to produce outputs that have relevance in the real world. That’s usually what they want.
You can use them to disseminate and publicise your findings – among key audiences, and more generally (they often like to be seen to be associated with good research)
You can use them to extend your research networks – they will introduce you to academics in other institutions who are doing similar work, as well as to relevant policymakers, practitioners, etc.

6. Collaborative Research Partnerships.....
Are you in it for the long haul?
Never too early to start building relationships
Hang out where your potential partner organisations hang out
Target people right up the hierarchy (and pay close attention to hierarchy)
You’d better pretend that you are
You need to go where your potential funders go (for example, the conferences they attend) – present at their workshops, etc.
Get to know your funders through contract work (but beware of dangers here....)
You are likely to have to court lots of partners
Element of luck

7. Why might they support you?
Why do institutions become Partner Organisations?
They think you have something useful to offer
Linkage grants offer fantastic bangs for their buck
They get kudos from working with academics
They have a few dollars left over and the end of the financial year is approaching
They have made a hard-headed economic case that your project is exactly what their organisation needs in order to propel it into the next decade
They have no cash to offer but think they can hitch a ride anyway
->> rationale of the granting institution points to what you need to focus on in the grant application

8. On what basis might they support you?
Rationales...
Makes a new contribution (for them) in their field of work
Significance to policy or institutional aims
Feasibility – it looks like it can be done
Your institution is behind you
Proposer’s track record – you look like you can do it
Originality is probably not terribly important for many organisations (but it is for ARC). They want to further their own goals
Feasibility is important. However, in many cases, they will not have the expertise to judge a project’s feasibility.
Institution behind you – this means more than a letter of support. ARC contracts are scary things. Many organisations you deal with have little idea about IP. You will be in a stronger position if you can refer your suitor to another expert at Flinders (eg., in the Research Office) who can advise on what the contract actually means.
With the track record, they are probably less looking for a stellar publications record than for a track record of working with industry, or better still, with their industry

9. How do you sell it to them?
Write a one page draft
Single research question – up front
How does it address the organisation’s concerns?
Why should they be interested?
Is it feasible to research?- data & method
International links
Estimated total cost and expected contribution
Get comments from colleagues & friends
Aim your draft at one important person (in any organisation) at a time
Preferably aim your one-pager at someone you know, who you can follow up with

10. How do you sell it to them?
Mobilise a broker
(someone, or some organisation, they trust, especially if they do not know you well)
Follow up with phone calls
Arrange a meeting
Offer to make a presentation
Make sure it covers:
The main idea you want to sell to them
Your own expertise
The strength of your institutional environment (refer to more famous colleagues)
Your national and international collaborative networks
If you make a presentation try to ensure that the right people show up.
Be aware that even if the right people are keen, they still have to sell it to other people in their organisation, so give them the reasons that they need (or ask them directly what they need)

11. How much to ask for? Don’t underestimate your costs
Emphasise your own and your colleagues’ free contributions (CI time)
Emphasise ARC’s gearing formula
(but don’t ask for the minimum possible, unless you know they have no more to offer)
Don’t understate other organisations’ contributions (actual or asked for)
Don’t accept paltry pledges from large organisations
(assessors might see them as ‘damning by faint praise’)
But don’t refuse in-kind only contributions either (at least not in the first instance)
POINT OUT TO THEM THAT THEY ARE NOT ACTUALLY AGREEING TO ANYTHING UNTIL THEY SIGN THE CONTRACT AFTER ARC APPROVES THE PROPOSAL – AND THEN THEY CAN RE-NEGOTIATE ALL OVER AGAIN

12. How do you sell it to them?
Following up is a long, drawn out process.....
Don’t wait patiently
Court other suitors (you’ll probably need them anyway)
Gently harass them (certainly keep in touch)
Keep up with changes in their organisation
Give them deadlines (make sure they are not too near to the ARC deadline)
And take a long view
If not this year, then the next...

13. How many Partner Organisations?
To get funded you many need a few POs...
(showing national relevance, broad industry support, etc.)
Organisationally, you probably want as few as possible
(unless you budget in a project manager)
But diversity is good
(especially across different sectors –
commonwealth government
state government
NGOs
private sector
international partners)
Not too few POs – with one PO you are potentially handing them a lot of control that you don’t necessarily want them to have.

14. Consultations during the application
Keep in touch with them – you’ll need their letter in time
Reassure them that they’re not committing to anything, as there is no guarantee the proposal will get up
Be honest about likely success rate
Don’t feel obliged to send them the full proposal if they do not ask for it (you have already sent them a one-pager)
Tell them about other partners, but don’t feel obliged to tell them how much each partner is contributing

15. So the ARC only gave you half what you asked for...
Will partners make up any of the shortfall?
- worth asking
- but don’t suggest the project is not feasible with the reduced budget
Will partners reduce their contribution?
- possible
3. Will partners pull out?
- never heard it to happen
Partners might reduce their contribution, but they might also increase it....

16. Make clear to your partners that this is an ARC project, not contract research
They cannot impose deliverables that were not in the original proposal They need to act as collaborators (and use up the in-kind contribution that they probably promised) They cannot control or limit dissemination of results Use the ARC proposal, and the ARC contract, to protect your interests
You own the results of your work, not them
If they give you special access to data then maybe they can impose limitations on how you use those data or publish results from them, but they do not own the project.
In my experience, Government agencies don’t really get the ‘collaboration’ thing – they mostly try to see you as doing commissioned research for them.

17. Managing your partners
Set up a Project Steering Group
- 6 monthly or annual meetings
- involve independent outsiders
- keep in more regular touch with key partners
Develop a deliverables framework
- they’re probably used to that sort of thing
3. Invite them to academic events related to the project
- don’t worry if they don’t come
Use them where they are most useable
- access to data, introductions to key players, dissemination of results
Steering Group – in the ARC contract anyway (called a reference group)
ARC contract – use it as the starting point for steering group meetings
Independent outsiders – balance; counterpoint to PO perspectives

18. Good luck!
Independent outsiders – balance; counterpoint to PO perspectives