Building Capacity for International Network-to-Network Collaboration

Building effective international network-to-network collaborations is a complex process, bringing together researchers from different disciplines, institutions, and nations. Attention to communication and collaboration is crucial to ensuring steady progress toward project objectives and sustained engagement. The Toolbox Dialogue Initiative (TDI) will support the Accelerating Research Through International Network-to-Network Collaboration (AccelNet) program by providing project teams with early, focused opportunities to develop key components of their project and by conducting research on the process and practice of building international networks of research networks.

TDI will contribute to the AccelNet program in three ways: 1) organize and facilitate awardee meetings for the 2021, 2022, and 2023 cohorts; 2) support and grow an AccelNet community of practice open to all AccelNet cohorts; and 3) conduct research on very large-scale groups of distributed researchers and linked networks. This work builds on the previous AccelNet awardee meetings facilitated by TDI and expands the ability to enhance complex research on communication and collaboration.

The goal of this project is to generate knowledge and resources for the AccelNet program and awardees about the nature and function of international networks of research networks. As part of a multi-phase awardee program, the TDI team will design and deliver project-focused Toolbox workshops, an awardee meeting, and a series of interactive sessions to support information and resource sharing.

These elements will enable funded teams to interact with NSF staff, participate in activities designed to improve project capacity, and learn from and with other AccelNet projects and experts as part of a community of practice. Together these elements will enhance complex research communication and collaboration among broadly distributed network communities.

The research component of this project will provide an evidence-based understanding of the process of building international networks of research networks in various contexts. The new understandings will help to identify best practices for international network-to-network collaboration and investigate the potential for scaling up team-focused facilitation approaches for very large-scale, distributed groups of researchers and linked networks.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.