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Lennartsson, M and Bäckstrand, J (2018) Getting the Most Out of a Collaborative Research Project: Cross Industry Design for a Holistic View and Increased Learning. In: Gorse, C and Neilson, C J (Eds.), Proceedings 34th Annual ARCOM Conference, 3-5 September 2018, Queen’s University, Belfast, UK. Association of Researchers in Construction Management, 526–535.
- Type: Conference Proceedings
- Keywords: collaborative research, communication, cross-industry, cross-disciplinary
- ISBN/ISSN: 978-0-9955463-2-5
- URL: http://www.arcom.ac.uk/-docs/proceedings/e9c8c7fe2d1919521256b56c173b5ce5.pdf
- Abstract:
Lately, collaborative research has gained recognition. For Nordic countries, governmentally directed research funding requires a collaborative approach. To achieve significant results, this kind of projects are often designed homogenously, by putting focus on a single industry or discipline. The assumption is that problems are isolated to specific industries or disciplines such as the construction trade.
However, to thoroughly scrutinize a multifaceted problem, a multi-disciplinary approach is suggested, arching over multiple industrial practices. This aligns with “the Medici effect” stating that true inventions and breakthroughs are never the result of incremental improvements within single disciplines.
A collaborative research project on the topic communication regarding customer specific demands is presented. The project includes two construction companies, a housing company with off-site production and a small subcontractor manufacturing street doors and front doors. There are also four companies in the project within mechanical manufacture, telecom and consultancy.
To be successful with such heterogeneous set-up, the project execution has to be solid and well-planned. To engage the companies, the project emphasizes also activities which are not adding any contribution to academic production. Networking, industrial education, publications in trade journals, participation in trade fairs etc. might be essential in order to convince the industry of the practical relevance of both previous and future projects.
Previous collaborative research projects have resulted in clear and measurable results for the participating (and recurring) companies and indicate increased learning, better communication and understanding of the actual problem or unit of analysis. The experience has been used in the design of the current project.
The findings prove that applied research does not necessarily need to be isolated to specific industries or disciplines, as the collected data are applicable to the different participating companies’ despite of their differences.