The Drexler–Sibbet Team Performance Model offers a practical roadmap for building and sustaining effective project teams. It maps seven predictable stages that teams move through – from initial orientation to high performance and renewal – each centred on a core question that the team must answer well before it can progress. For established researchers, who assemble new teams from scratch for specific grants or projects, often across institutional boundaries and with people who have not worked together before, the model is particularly valuable because it makes visible the work that typically goes undone: establishing shared purpose, building trust, and agreeing how decisions will be made, before the real delivery pressure begins. The seven stages and their central questions are: The model is also useful as a diagnostic when a project team is struggling: it helps identify whether the underlying problem is unresolved purpose, lack of trust, unclear roles, or something else entirely – each of which requires a different response. What will you take forward? One thing to consider: Think about a project team that underperformed or felt difficult to lead. Looking at the seven stages, at which point did the foundations start to feel shaky, and what would you …
Make interdisciplinary collaborative projects more explicit, practical, and workable
This paper by Patel et al. offers a concise and practical introduction to starting collaborative projects across disciplines. It is especially useful because it focuses on the early design choices that often determine whether interdisciplinary work succeeds: building the team, assigning roles and responsibilities, agreeing ground rules, discussing authorship, and creating the conditions for trust and psychological safety. For established researchers – who are often at the point of convening interdisciplinary work rather than simply participating in it – the paper gives a clear basis for thinking through the practical mechanics of collaboration, rather than treating interdisciplinarity as an abstract aspiration. What will you take forward? One thing to try: Notice where in your current collaboration there are assumptions about roles, language, or authorship still implicit rather than properly discussed. Make a commitment to raise them at your next meeting, or arrange a review of how things are going.
Build collaborations that allow projects to scale up without fragmentation
This practical guide to big team science by Baumgartner HA et al. is particularly helpful for researchers beginning to work in larger collaborations that need more deliberate leadership than a small project team. It addresses issues such as leadership, governance, team design, communication, decision-making, collaborative writing, and infrastructure. For established researchers stepping into more flexible leadership positions, the value of the guide is that it treats leadership as a set of practices rather than simply a formal role, helping you create structures that allow collaboration to scale up without becoming fragmented. What will you take forward? One thing to consider: Which part of your current leadership approach would need to change if your project team doubled in size or complexity over the next year?
Strengthen your public and policy engagement using curated tools and guidance
If you are looking to improve the quality and impact of your engagement work, there are two complementary hubs that bring together trusted tools, frameworks, and guidance from across the UK landscape. These are particularly useful when you want both practical “how to” support and help navigating which approaches best fit your context. The National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) resources hub offers a comprehensive collection focused on public and community engagement, including practical tools, case examples, and guidance on inclusive and ethical practice. The University Policy Engagement Network’s Resource Navigator acts as a curated gateway to policy engagement toolkits, helping you quickly identify relevant resources for areas such as evidence use in policy, project scoping, and rapid evidence assessments. Together, these resources provide: These hubs work particularly well as starting points for self-directed development or when designing new engagement activity and wanting to ground it in established good practice. NCCPE resources hub UPEN CAPE Resource Navigator for policy engagement toolkits What will you take forward? One thing to consider: Looking ahead 6 months, what change or outcome do you want from your engagement work, who needs to be involved, and what one approach or suggestion from these toolkits …
Improve partnership health by explicitly addressing equity and power
The Association of Commonwealth Universities Equitable Research Partnerships toolkit focuses on improving partnership sustainability through equity, power-awareness, and shared practice. It is particularly useful for collaborations that span institutions, countries, or community/NGO contexts, where differences in voice, credit, resourcing, and decision rights can quietly undermine success. It can help you design how to: “Networks matter, but relationships matter more than visibility.” Martina Egedusevic, Impact Fellow, University of Exeter. Read more from Martina. What will you take forward? One thing to consider: Where does power sit in your partnership (funding, agenda-setting, authorship, data), and what one change would make decision-making more equitable?
Design stakeholder engagement that is credible, inclusive, and effective
This University of Oxford blog summarises a report by Dr Caitlin Hafferty that provides ten research-led recommendations that translate into practical choices about how to engage stakeholders well. It is particularly useful when you are dealing with different levels of power, competing incentives, and different definitions of “success”. The report that is summarised: “I learned that I can make the most impact with being sincerely interested in the full persons who are present before me. What are their interests? What do they dislike the most? We go day to day without actually seeing people as entire human beings. It is seeing and appreciating all of who someone is that gets that person to feel seen. And imagine how being seen can be empowering and how empowered people can change the world.” Read more from this career story What will you take forward? One thing to consider: What is the real purpose of your stakeholder engagement, and who must be involved in it to be meaningful?
Use proven templates to negotiate and structure external collaboration projects
The Lambert Toolkit is a sector-recognised set of model agreements and guidance for collaborations between universities and external partners (particularly industry). It is designed to reduce ambiguity early, make negotiations smoother, and prevent partnerships stalling due to uncertainty around IP, roles, and outputs. It provides model agreements covering common collaboration scenarios and helps you anticipate and resolve IP and exploitation questions up front. What will you take forward? One thing to consider: What is the single most likely “pressure point” in your collaboration (IP, publication, timelines, exclusivity), and which Lambert collaboration model best helps you address it?
Get started with university – industry collaboration in a structured, low-risk way
This PLOS Community Guide breaks down university – industry collaboration into manageable steps, with an emphasis on clarity of expectations and mutual benefit. While framed for early career researchers, it is very transferable for established researchers who want to formalise external collaboration or scale it without creating avoidable risk. The guide will help you to: What will you take forward? One thing to consider: What are the three expectations you most need to make explicit at the start (outputs, timelines, IP/publication), and what do you assume the partner expects? “Not all networking needs to result in an immediate output or grant. There is value in simply keeping in touch.” Professor of Biomechanics. Read more from this career story.
Reflect on and review your networks
Leaders need a range of types of people in their network. It’s important to periodically review and refresh how you are engaging with your networks. Is it up to date with your current plans and achievements? Are you making the most from your network and are they getting the most from you? Conduct the short mapping exercise in the Imperial Academic’s Success Guide to reflect on who is currently in your network, where you might want to strengthen existing ties (including updating them on what you’re doing now!) or seek out new connections. You may also be reminded of people who you are now in a good position to support or mentor. What will you take forward? One thing to try: Name one relationship in your network that would benefit from refreshing, deepening, or simply reconnecting without an agenda. When will you contact them?
Use mentoring and sponsorship
In their report ‘RAIL: A model for keeping the academic Mid-career on track’, Eastern Academic Research Consortium found that overwhelmingly learning from ‘lived experience’ was the most cited enabler for academic careers. Lived experience came in many forms but broadly was about having more senior people guide you through your career path. Mentoring and Sponsorship were highlighted as key enablers to mid-career success. To learn more about these, make use of the guidance offered by the White Rose University Consortium: If you want to approach a potential sponsor, then you may find the advice on identifying and approaching a sponsor from the FLF Development Network’s Influencing Toolkit helpful. What will you take forward? One thing to try: Identify one person you could approach and one small next step you will take.