Collaboration

For wartime collaboration, see Collaborationism.

See also: Co-operation
Coordination

Collaboration is an intellectual process defined by the recursive interaction of knowledge and mutual learning between two or more people who are working together toward a common goal, typically creative in nature.

Processes and methodologies

Main article: Collaborative method

Increased success in collaboration can occur through deliberate group setup, self-awareness and appropriate communication. Using forms, rubrics, charts and graphs, personal traits can be easily recorded and discussed, particularly within a team assembled for Problem solving.

Barriers to effective collaboration

A main barrier to collaboration may be the difficulty in achieving agreement when diverse viewpoints exist. This can make effective decision-making more difficult. Even if collaboration members do manage to agree they are very likely to be agreeing from a different perspective. This is often called a cultural boundary. For example:

• A culture where rank or job title is important makes it hard for a lower rank person who may be more qualified than their superior for the job it had to collaborate. The lower rank person is told what to do. This is not collaboration
• "stranger danger"; which can be expressed as a reluctance to share with others unknown to you
• "needle in a haystack"; people believe that others may have already solved your problem but how do you find them
• "hoarding"; where people do not want to share knowledge because they see hoarding as a source of power
• "Not Invented Here"; the avoidance of previously performed research or knowledge that was not originally developed within the group/institution.

Commercial / scientific collaboration

Even if the term collaboration has a lot of negative meaning and especially in France is not very usual (see Crozier, M. The Bureaucratic Phenomenon, Chicago 1964) there is a neutral to positive root for the term. There are various variants of multi client and/or multi contractor work. Open collaboration with market near products needs tight non disclosure agreements excluding background or previously known information from the protected intellectual property rights.(see also an example Collaborative Research and Development Agreement).

• The first step for collaboration is that the partners get known to each other- this might be facilitated by research directories like Network for European medium and large transport research facilities.
• The second step is the compatibility of the aims of the organisations at least in the segment the project is located.
• The personal preconditions comprise the ability to communicate (also with regards to the technical terms) and the willingness to share ideas and develop them further together in a possibly previously unknown direction.

Scientific collaboration using distributed technologies for electronic work benches is often referred to as a collaboratory (see also Internet Groupware for Scientific Collaboration)

Musical collaboration

Musical collaboration occurs when one or more musicians in different places or groups work on the same album or song. Collaboration between musicians, especially with regards to jazz, is often heralded as the epitome of complex collaborative practice. Special software has been written to facilitate musical collaboration over the internet, such as VSTunnel.

See also

• Collaborative learning-work
• Collaborative software
• Conference call
• Critical thinking
• Design thinking
• General theory of collaboration
• Mass collaboration
• Problem solving
• Puppet government
• Resistance movements
• Unorganisation

References

• "collaborate." Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (13 Aug. 2005).
• Sandor Schuman (Editor). Creating a Culture of Collaboration. Jossey-Bass, 2006. ISBN 0-7879-8116-8
• Spence, Muneera U. "Graphic Design: Collaborative Processes = Understanding Self and Others." (lecture) Department of Art, Oregon State University. Art 325: Collaborative Processes. Fairbanks Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. 13 Apr. 2006.
• Schneider, Florian: Collaboration: Some Thoughts Concerning New Ways of Learning and Working Together., in: Academy, edited by Angelika Nollert and Irit Rogoff, 280 pages, Revolver Verlag, ISBN 3-86588-303-6.

External links

• Collaboration to Foster Innovation
• Collaborative On-Line Learning and Research
• Internet Real-Time Collaboration with OpenSpace-Online
• The Far Games A list of games using theatrical improvisation to encourage collaboration and distributed leadership