When it comes to research, there is often strength in numbers. This is for several reasons:
- It allows you to create an inter-disciplinary team made up of academics with different research expertise. This will allow you to tackle more complex topics or to use a more innovative approach. Inter-disciplinary research is increasingly sought after by certain funders, particularly for large-scale projects or international funds.
- Many funders will consider the track records of applicants as part of their appraisal process. Working alongside colleagues will enable you to demonstrate your collective experience which may be more persuasive than submitting as individuals. This is particularly helpful for those who are new to research.
In order to find potential partners for this sort of collaboration, you need to develop and use an academic network. You can do this through attendance at conferences and other events in your field. A direct approach is also perfectly acceptable if you are aware of the person’s work. Asking if you can meet to discuss areas of mutual interest is often met very positively, especially if you have a particular niche area of expertise that may benefit their research.
For certain funding it is necessary to collaborate with partners outside academia, e.g. from business or the voluntary sector. Bringing key stakeholders on board ensures that you can demonstrate buy-in and that any findings will directly influence people working in that area, leading to increased impact of the research.
We can advise you on the best way to proceed for your project idea, and if possible, put you in touch with potential collaborators, whether they are external or internal.
Growing your Networking Activities
For developing innovative, creative and genuinely collaborative programmes of networking and co-designing activities, these could include:
- Digital collaboration, such as running webinars.
- Mobility and networking, including travel for one or more investigators.
- Researcher exchanges (for example, research visits, short stays and staff exchanges).
- Review or preparation of data to enable new research.
- Review of existing research activities and provision of advice on their progression.
- Seminars to share findings from research with other stakeholders, or knowledge exchange activities with a specific focus on networking and partnership building between the community, academia and other stakeholders.
- Scoping studies and pilot activities.
- Workshops to explore opportunities for collaboration and to identify shared priorities, agendas, research and evidence needs or areas of interest around specific challenges.
- Other collaborative activities aimed at developing or sustaining research networks and giving way to future cooperation.
Useful Links and Resources
Collaborative Research Platform for Health Sciences
Loughborough University, School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences run the Research Ideas Catalogue – Knowledge and Impact (RIC-KI) platform. RIC-KI connects researchers across the world for open collaboration and to create motivations, networks, environments, and relationships to more readily allow scientists to collaborate.
Learn more about RIC-KI here
Community Engagement Toolkit
A toolkit aimed at supporting researchers who are developing grant applications, with and for, diverse communities.
https://www.rdsresources.org.uk/ce-toolkit?tags=Collection|SocialCare
People in Research
People in Research provide opportunities for public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research allowing researchers and charity, community groups or organisations to connect with each other.
https://www.peopleinresearch.org/
SciVal
The University’s SciVal tool enables access to the research performance of over 14,000 research institutions from over 230 nations and can be used to assess research performance, benchmark relative to peers, develop collaborative partnerships and analyse research trends.
https://libguides.northampton.ac.uk/scival
The British Academy Early Career Researchers Network
An inclusive, researcher-led network for UK-based early career researchers working in the humanities and social sciences.
https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/early-career-researcher-network/
The Royal Society – UK Young Academy
The UK Young Academy connects and develops talented individuals in the early years of their career from a wide range of sectors so they can collaborate to make a difference in the world.