Collaboration between research and society

Collaboration and co-creation make research more relevant and useful. Involving societal stakeholders in different parts of the process enhances quality and usefulness. Forte therefore encourages researchers to plan for collaboration where relevant or requested in calls for proposals.

Collaboration in research is a key tool for increasing the quality, relevance, and societal impact of the projects funded by Forte. By involving societal stakeholders in the research process, research questions can become more well-founded, methods more robust and results more impactful and practical. Forte therefore encourages researchers to plan for collaboration where it is relevant or requested in the call for proposals, and to clearly describe their collaboration plans in their applications.

Forte sees collaboration between research and the surrounding society as an important tool to fulfil our mission. Collaboration creates better conditions for research to contribute to improved quality, relevance, and for research results to be put into practical use for the benefit of society.

In many of Forte’s calls for proposals, applicants are asked whether, and if so how, societal stakeholders are involved in the research project through collaboration or co-production as an approach. However, collaboration and co-production do not necessarily have the same meaning, nor are they relevant in all research contexts.
The specific requirements for collaboration are outlined in the information for each call.

Collaboration may be part of one or several stages of the research process, such as study design, data collection, interpretation of data, dissemination of results, and implementation.

Co-production – a higher degree of collaboration

A high degree of collaboration is referred to as co-production. Co-production in research is a method that means those who intend to use or benefit from the research results are genuinely involved in the whole or parts of the research process—from planning to implementation and application. Often, such projects aim to address complex problems where multiple perspectives can increase the likelihood of success.

Requires mutual exchange

Collaboration and co-production do not follow a fixed model or a specific set of tools and techniques. Simply involving partners as study subjects does not meet the criteria for collaboration in research, nor does involving them only in research communication or one-way dissemination of results. True collaboration presupposes a mutual exchange, where stakeholders actively contribute to the research process.

How do I describe collaboration in my application?

Collaboration is not a separate goal, but rather a means of strengthening the project's social relevance, usefulness and quality. Collaboration is therefore assessed as part of the project as a whole. In calls where collaboration or co-production is requested, your application should demonstrate that:

• The research question is relevant and prioritized by those being studied.
• The outcomes are important to the stakeholders involved.
• Relevant stakeholders will be involved in the research process.
• Reasonable costs for collaboration are included in the project budget.

Your application should also describe:

• Why collaboration is important for the implementation of the project.
• How well the project is anchored with relevant stakeholders.
• Which stakeholders will be involved and why.
• What methods and approaches will be used for collaboration.
• In which phases of the project collaboration will occur.
• How challenges related to collaboration will be addressed.

It can be difficult to specify methods and working approaches for collaboration already in the application, as these are often developed in dialogue with the stakeholders concerned. However, the application should include a description of the approaches being considered and the process for involving the various stakeholders.

Good collaboration requires knowledge. Forte encourages researchers applying for funding to consult published guidelines and knowledge summaries on collaboration in research.

More about collaboration

What does success in collaboration actually mean and how do you make such a partnership successful? The report Patient and next-of-kin collaboration for better research and healthcare (samka.se) External link. addresses these issues.