Roundtable 2
Building new forms of collaboration
Written by UK Tech Cluster Group
Connecting start ups and large organisations is nothing new – for many years it has been recognised as something that can be a great way to drive diverse new ideas, projects and ways of thinking. But what are the key facets that make for successful collaboration?
The value of collaboration
Connecting start ups and large organisations is nothing new – for many years it has been recognised as something that can be a great way to drive diverse new ideas, projects and ways of thinking. But what are the key facets that make for successful collaboration?
One size doesn’t fit all
Building successful relationships with organisations is not something that can be established through the same approach every time. Different organisations and start ups have varied needs, cultures and ways of working, which means successful collaboration requires a level of tailoring to achieve the best results.
Watch the roundtable discussion
In the UKTCG's second roundtable event, speakers with experience in everything from corporate transformation, to world- class accelerators and bleeding-edge start ups discuss practical ways to build systems that allow companies to work together and how COVID-19 has changed their approach.
Panel speakers
- Ben Shorrock, Managing Director TechSPARK, UKTCG Steering Board
- Mark John, Founder, TramShed Tech, UKTCG Steering Board
- Nick Gibson, Industry Director - Education, TechnologyOne
- David Henderson, Head of Transformation, Hargreaves Lansdown
- Nick Sturge, Adviser - Cyber Central, Cheltenham Borough Council
- Penny Day, Innovation Specialist, Sunderland Software City
- Matt Cooling, Head of Innovation, Manchester Science Park
Facing challenges together
A great way to tailor activity is to focus collaborations on specific challenges whether commercial, technical or even societal. By building a challenge structure, organisations can ensure that their goals are aligned. A good example of this is the public sector Small Business Research Initiative which could be further expanded for private sector partners.
“Setting a challenge can be really important, because what we've found is that you've often got corporates looking for innovation, but they're not sure why. And you've got startups who want a customer, but aren't getting anywhere…having that common set of objectives is really, really powerful and can be a big shift.”
Matt Cooling, Head of Innovation - Manchester Science Park
Setting a structure
Identifying challenges can be a great way of establishing structure but there are other elements that are important including setting a shared understanding of desired outcomes, understanding timescales and making sure that systems are capable of supporting collaboration. The levels of due diligence, red tape and procurement hurdles from large organisations can kill partnerships before they begin.
“What needs to be clarified is timescales, they need to be known by both sides, a budget needs to be clearly set out and they need to know what is the space for longer-term partnerships. SMEs need to understand what they gain from this collaboration, clear ownership of IP and where that will sit after the project's been complete. All of that structure helps show the value that comes from collaboration.”
Penny Day, Innovation Specialist, Sunderland Software City
New ways of collaborating
COVID-19 has added layers of complexity but it has opened the door to new ways of working and means people don’t need to be in one place to drive projects forward. A great example of this was illustrated by Hargreaves Lansdown – new connections between their UK and Polish teams ensure everyone is on a level playing field.
“So once you have a team set up to work in a project with defined goals, we actually find remote working works. It's that initial idea generation and bringing the team together to serve and bounce ideas off each other, that's where we are looking to reuse our space in a different way."
David Henderson - Head of Transformation, Hargreaves Lansdown
Face to face in a COVID world
For new projects to work initial connections are required. Due to COVID-19, people often can’t meet in the traditional environments so developing new relationships is taxing but more important than ever. There is an increased role for professional networks to play in acting as gateways and building chains of trust to enable partnerships.
“Grassroots communities are able to act as gatekeepers and network managers using their trust to create new connections. Once you've established those partnerships, they become the basis of finding projects, being proactive to new opportunities rather than being reactive.”
Mark John, Co-founder, Tramshed Tech
Government support
The value of collaboration has never been clearer but has also never been more challenging. There is a real role for the government to enable fresh perspectives through developing and funding agile systems to connect people. Better connected networks can drive the solutions which will help us to build back better.
The Recovery Roadmap Report
The full Recovery Roadmap Report, in association with TechnologyOne, is available for public viewing here.
