A vision for the research and a vision for the collaboration

To succeed, a research collaboration requires a strong research impact vision. Like a magnet that attracts people, a compelling vision creates a focus for a team's interaction and inspires people to want to engage. The vision also helps researchers determine what to prioritize and where to invest their time and funding. More than the common goal or objectives of a project, the vision entices researchers’ attention to prioritize team effort over other initiatives and helps to maintain productivity throughout the life cycle of a project.

Within that broader vision are the goals, objectives, challenges, and/ or questions of particular research projects. Funded research proposals are tied to answering a particular question(s), the results of which contribute to a larger body of knowledge. The shared vision to most researchers is focused on the team becoming crystal clear with each other about what they are working towards in the longer term. The team must have clarity and agreement about what the broader vision is and how the work they are doing contributes to it.

So far, we are talking about the vision for the research, but as this book makes clear, relationships among team members are equally important. Thus, the way we see it, a shared vision extends above and beyond the research goals and aims. It encompasses how the team will work together, its culture, norms, process and dynamics, a plan for nurturing the career growth and development of junior colleagues, the interface with the larger organization(s), and the creation of an environment where everyone's talents and strengths are valued (Lynn and Kalay, 2015). Every team member needs to understand the role they play within the team, as well as the tasks and relationships dimensions.