Before you meet, spend around 60-90 minutes in total engaging with the resources below. You do not need to read everything in full. Instead, scan, dip into sections, and focus on what feels most relevant to you.

Try to engage with at least three resources.

As you engage, the aim is not to master everything, but to notice what they prompt you to think about in relation to your own projects.

Resource 1: Make interdisciplinary collaborative projects more explicit, practical, and workable

“Have we actually said the important things out loud?”

As you engage, notice:

• What assumptions are currently unspoken in your project (e.g. roles, contributions, authorship, ways of working)
• Where greater clarity early on could prevent misunderstandings later
• What conversations have been avoided or postponed? – have you said the important things out loud?

Resource 2: Understand what drives performance in distributed project teams

“What have we agreed?” → “how is it actually working?”

This article will be relevant to you is you have multi-site projects across institutional boundaries. As you reflect, notice:

• How your project team currently works together across institutions or roles (not just whether the work is getting done)
• Where people feel able, or unable, to raise issues, ask questions, or challenge ideas?
• What seems to help or hinder the team in adapting to problems or changes as they arise

Resource 3: Build collaborations that allow projects to scale up without fragmentation 

“How do we hold this together as it gets bigger?”

As you engage, notice:

• Where your project now involves more people, organisations, or strands of work than it did at the start
• How coordination is currently managed across the project (e.g. roles, leadership, meetings, decision-making)
• Where there is a risk of confusion, duplication, or gaps as the project grows

Resource 4: Use proven templates to negotiate and structure external collaboration projects (cross-discipline)

“How do we formalise expectations and protect against gaps?”

As you look through the toolkit, notice:

• Where expectations in your project are clearly agreed versus loosely assumed (e.g. roles, outputs, ownership)
• Which areas could become points of tension later if not clarified early
• Which agreements you could use or adapt now to improve clarity with collaborators

Resource 5: Adapt your leadership style across different phases of a project

“What does this project need from me as a leader right now?”

As you engage, notice:

• How your current approach to leading the project fits the stage it is at (e.g. early design, active delivery, troubleshooting)
• Where a different approach might be needed (e.g. more directive, more collaborative, more supportive)
• Situations where your default style may not be helping the project move forward

Resource 6: Learn from a case study of coordinating a multi-site research consortium

“What can I take from how someone else actually did this?”

As you engage, notice: 

• What practical approaches they used to coordinate the project across sites and teams
• Which of these approaches you could realistically adopt or adapt in your own projects
• What seems to have been deliberately designed versus left to evolve over time

As you review these resources, you may find it helpful to keep one or two of your current collaborative projects in mind, and to use the tools as prompts to reflect on what is already working well, and where small changes might make a difference.

The structure below is held collectively by the group. You may choose to rotate who keeps an eye on time or simply move together through the stages.

1. Arrival and framing (5–10 minutes)

• Brief reminder of purpose: learning from different perspectives
• No pressure to have implemented anything yet
• Agreement on confidentiality and respect
• An explicit intention that everyone will have space to speak

2. Resource reflections and shared learning (30–40 minutes)

A simple round:

• One insight that landed “What stayed with you most in relation to your current or upcoming projects?”
• One insight that challenged or puzzled you

Pay attention to differences in how you engaged with the materials. The aim is collective sense-making, not consensus. Encourage one another to ask: “What did you take from this that I didn’t?”

3. Coaching-style reflection: so what? (20–30 minutes)

Each participant shares:

• One thing I will do differently in how I establish or lead larger or collaborative projects
• One thing I am still unsure about
• One thing I might explore next (information, support, or perspective)

Peers respond with curiosity rather than solutions:

• “What is important about that?”
• “What would help you to get more clarity?”
• “What would be different in your collaborative projects in a year’s time if you made this change?”

4. Closing and commitments (5–10 minutes)

Each person is invited to name:

• One small change you will make to a current or upcoming large project or collaboration

Optional:

• Who else they might speak to or share their commitment with
• What could they delegate?
• What might get in the way, and how can they overcome that?

This can be very light-touch and self-directed. Possible options include:

• A personal note to self
• A follow-up peer conversation
• Exploring another relevant resource
• Bringing a question to a mentor or senior colleague
• No reporting back is required, however peer group members may request this to create accountability for their intended actions.