Undertaking collaborative research

Collaborative projects where the partners share an equal sense of commitment are most likely to succeed. Fostering this commitment is therefore a priority when defining and managing the project. Teams with complementary and not necessarily overlapping skills are desirable. Each partner must both offer some added value to the partnership and feel that they are able to realise a commensurate share of the benefits.

The complementarity between partners can be horizontal, involving partners with different orientations or complementarity in technological competence. More usually, however, projects are based around a vertical relationship between the participants.