How can you overcome research collaboration challenges with industry partners?

1 Understand your partner's needs and interests

Before you start a research collaboration with an industry partner, you need to understand their needs and interests, and how they align with yours. What are their motivations, objectives, and outcomes for the collaboration? What are their pain points, challenges, and opportunities? How can your research address them? How do they measure success and impact? By having a clear and mutual understanding of your partner's needs and interests, you can establish a common ground, identify potential synergies, and avoid misunderstandings or conflicts.

2 Communicate effectively and frequently

Communication is key for any research collaboration, but especially for one with an industry partner. You need to communicate effectively and frequently with your partner, using the appropriate channels, formats, and language. You need to keep them informed of your progress, challenges, results, and feedback. You need to listen to their input, concerns, and suggestions. You need to respect their confidentiality, intellectual property, and ethical standards. You also need to communicate with your own team, institution, and stakeholders, and ensure that they are aware of and supportive of the collaboration.

3 Manage expectations and agreements

Another challenge of research collaboration with industry is managing expectations and agreements. You need to set realistic and achievable goals, timelines, and deliverables for the collaboration, and communicate them clearly to your partner. You need to negotiate and formalize the terms and conditions of the collaboration, such as roles, responsibilities, resources, funding, ownership, dissemination, and evaluation. You need to monitor and review the collaboration regularly, and adjust or renegotiate the expectations and agreements if needed.

4 Build trust and rapport

Research collaboration with industry requires trust and rapport between the partners. You need to build trust and rapport by being respectful, reliable, transparent, and flexible. You need to show interest and appreciation for your partner's work, culture, and values. You need to acknowledge and celebrate your achievements and milestones together. You need to address any issues or problems promptly and constructively. You need to foster a positive and collaborative relationship that goes beyond the transactional aspects of the collaboration.

5 Learn and adapt

Research collaboration with industry is a learning opportunity for both partners. You need to learn and adapt from the collaboration, by seeking and providing feedback, sharing and applying best practices, and embracing new perspectives and approaches. You need to be open-minded and curious about your partner's expertise, methods, and innovations. You need to be willing and able to adapt your research to the changing needs, demands, and opportunities of the industry context. You need to reflect on and evaluate your collaboration, and identify the lessons learned and the areas for improvement.

6 Leverage the benefits and impacts

Research collaboration with industry can have many benefits and impacts for both partners, such as increased knowledge, skills, reputation, funding, publications, patents, products, services, and social and economic value. You need to leverage these benefits and impacts, by disseminating and promoting your collaboration, outcomes, and outputs to relevant audiences and stakeholders. You need to acknowledge and credit your partner's contributions and support. You need to maintain and strengthen your network and relationship with your partner, and explore opportunities for further or future collaboration.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?