Collaboration Workshop [in-person meeting, November 12-13, 2019]

• Workshop Agenda
• Workshop Attendee List
• Workshop Notes
• Collaboration Ideas

We live in a world of problems so complex that they cannot be effectively addressed by any one organization or even by any one sector. There is a growing understanding among social, private, and public sector leaders that lasting change and the resolution of these systemic issues is going to require effective collaboration across silos, across organizations, and across sectors. Unfortunately, realizing the grand potential of collaboration is notoriously difficult in the real world.

Historically, HRA members have forged collaborations organically through informal networking. However, the potential for developing even more impactful collaborations remains significant. To this end, the Health Research Alliance (HRA) wants to help its members develop and sustain more impactful collaborative relationships to accelerate scientific discoveries and innovation in grantmaking and research.

HRA offered a workshop to all interested HRA members, held in Philadelphia . The workshop was designed and facilitated to:

• Increase members’ awareness of the benefits and challenges of collaboration, the “best-practices” leading to sustained collaboration.
• Surface the work that participants are already doing and thoughtfully connect the dots by sharing information, pooling resources, and eliminating duplication to achieve quick collaborative wins.
• Identify areas where HRA members might benefit from greater collaboration and start to explore opportunities to address them.

The Health Research Alliance (HRA) is pleased to announce that we have received a $25,000 grant from the Rita Allen Foundation to support HRA’s Facilitating Collaborative Relationships Among HRA Members program.  In addition, AACR, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and JDRF have made funds available to help sponsor this workshop and post-workshop activities.

These funds will enable the Health Research Alliance to:
• Partner with external consultants (Converge) to develop and lead a workshop in 2019, available to all interested HRA members, seeking to identify and jump-start effective collaboration opportunities
• Develop and implement evaluation tools to assess progress against the initiative’s goals