Build long-term partnerships
to grow an active community of knowledge and practice.
- Consolidate partnerships through continuous and trust-based collaboration.
- Establish new partnerships and networks across boundaries.
- Interact regularly and engage in joint activities.
Sustainable, trust-based partnerships offer a foundation for continuous collaboration, effective joint agenda setting, and more impactful research outputs and outcomes in new projects. Over time, partners develop a shared understanding of all parties’ strengths, capacities, and institutional environments, which enables more effective cooperation and responsiveness to complex research contexts. Embedding research efforts in long-standing structures also strengthens institutional memory and promotes shared – and broad – ownership. In addition, establishing new partnerships contributes to expanding existing networks.
Short-term, project-based collaborations often limit the potential for meaningful engagement, as there is little time in which to build trust, understand roles, and align expectations. When project funding ends and partnerships dissolve, relational and organizational achievements are often lost, disrupting continuity in research agendas and mutual learning.
It is therefore vital to build on the achievements of existing collaborations and invest in partnerships that extend beyond individual project cycles. This involves strengthening continuity by fostering long-term commitments, engaging in co-applications early on, and developing shared agendas from the start. It also means investing in new partnerships to expand networks, ensuring they remain agile. In global research collaborations, trust cannot be taken for granted – especially across diverse cultural, institutional, and geographic contexts. Instead, it must be intentionally cultivated through equitable research experiences (see P1–P6).
