FRAMEWORK - PART 1 of 2 - Building & Sustaining Collaborative Research Teams

A Modular Guide to Relational Inquiry

Introduction: Collaboration as Ecosystem, Not Just Coordination

A modular guide to building resilient, inclusive, and relational research teams

Collaborative research teams are not just project groups; they’re ecosystems. They thrive on shared purpose, emotional pacing, and adaptive structure. This guide invites you to cultivate teams that are capable of sustained inquiry across disciplines, institutions, and lived experiences.

Whether you’re forming a new team or recalibrating an existing one, this resource supports you in designing rhythms that honour both structure and emergence. Collaboration becomes a practice of care, where roles are shaped by strengths, communication fosters trust, and reflection sustains continuity.

You’ll explore:

• Reframing collaboration as relational inquiry
• Designing roles, rhythms, and relational agreements
• Supporting emotional safety and trust
• Navigating power, positionality, and ethics
• Creating onboarding rituals that welcome and orient with care

Collaborative research is not just about producing knowledge; it’s about cultivating relationships that make knowledge possible. When we build teams with intention, we create spaces where inquiry becomes a shared ceremony of trust, clarity, and transformation.

What kind of team culture helps your questions and your relationships flourish?

Contents

Module 1: Reframing Collaboration as Relational Inquiry

Module 2: Designing Collaborative Roles

Module 3: Supporting Emotional Safety

Module 4: Navigating Power

Module 5: Designing Onboarding

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