Collaboration is the foundation of our work and the thing that drives each of our data projects forwards. At the Data for Children Collaborative, we believe that building a collaborative team is essential for project success, especially as we regularly facilitate cross-functional tasks and often require the input of expertise from diverse backgrounds and sectors.

The nature of many data collaboration projects means that they involve multiple stakeholders, vast datasets and varying levels of knowledge. Due to this, a structured approach to forming your team and subsequently working together is essential for managing such complexities and ensuring efficiency.

Start with a strong collaborative foundation

Forming an effective collaborative team requires careful planning and consideration, but the rewards are well worth taking extra time and putting in the effort to ensure you bring together the right minds, experience and skills.

The process of identifying which skills and specialisms are needed can also be collaborative – the Data for Children Collaborative will often join the project management team and challenge owner to make a well-rounded decision.

It is best advised to start by identifying a list of desirable skills. This may depend on the project, the required outputs and any additional requirements for the project. There are general skills such as communication, problem-solving and leadership, as well as more specific asks such as technical expertise, mapping or forecasting. The more that is known about the intended project at this stage, the better – this knowledge will ensure you can bring the right people on board at the project outset, rather than having to bring in additional skills down the line.

Collaborations are a delicate balance of skill sets, approaches and personalities.
So, when determining your individual members, an understanding of their skills and what they bring to the table is essential. A skills matrix is a tool that helps you map out competencies across general and project-specific skills, allowing you to identify any gaps, ensure a balanced distribution of expertise and then assign project roles accordingly to bring out the best of the unique perspectives that have been brought together.

It is not just a collaboration of skills

While skills are important to identifying collaboration team members, the traits of such individuals and how they will work together are equally crucial in fostering effective collaboration and steering the success of a project.

When we refer to traits, we are focusing on these soft skills and personality traits that contribute to a positive team dynamic. A traits table could help identify these and should focus on the following three steps.

Identify desired traits

List traits such as adaptability, empathy and creativity. Such qualities will often determine how well collaborators will contribute to the group and support each other.

2. Evaluate potential collaborators

Similar to the skills matrix, you can then assess each collaborator against desired traits. You may be able to consider their past approach to team settings and challenges to complete this step.

3. Balance your team

It’s important to have a mix of traits across your team. For example, pairing a creative thinker with a detail-orientated person can help balance innovation with practicality. A well-rounded group of people with complementary traits are more likely to work harmoniously and address a project challenge together.

Key considerations in a collaboration

Through our experience of bringing together a variety of experts to use and share data and methodologies to solve challenges in new and exciting ways, we have identified several learnings that help promote successful collaboration.

Identify clear roles

From the outset, ensure each project team member understands their responsibilities and their unique contributions. This will help avoid overlaps and prevent misunderstandings. A well-structured team with distinct roles will allow for more focused efforts and will help maximise the strengths of each team member.

Ensure representation

Effective collaboration will require that all critical areas of a project are represented. This requires someone actively participating from each required domain, whether they be data-driven, creative or operational. When all perspectives are valued, you can develop more comprehensive and innovative solutions.

Communicate shared values

With a common vision and set of values agreed and shared from the outset, you can ensure that all collaborators are aligned with the project’s goals and principles, driving collective motivation towards meaningful outputs.

Encourage advocacy

It’s important to select specialists and organisational/industry representatives who are not only experts in their area but are also capable of advocating. You should empower them to voice needs and make sure that their perspectives are considered in decision-making.

Have a clear and unbiased facilitator

The role of facilitator is crucial in steering the group towards its goals while maintaining balance and fairness. The Data for Children Collaborative acts as the facilitator in each of our data projects with the sole role of guiding the process, rather than actively participating in it. A good facilitator will be responsible for supporting project delivery, running activities, managing relationships and resolving any issues between collaborators.

Challenge each other

Create an environment where differing opinions are not just welcomed, but valued, and every collaborator feels comfortable challenging each other’s ideas constructively. This helps explore new perspectives and push boundaries to identify alternative solutions.

Real-time collaboration

In our experience of working with collaboration teams that work both locally and globally, and in-person or online, everyone works best when the collaboration takes place in real time. There are a number of collaboration tools to keep communication and project management organised while allowing people to work together in real time, no matter their location.

Data collaboration can bring a wealth of benefits, from high quality, evidence-based insights to a diversity of perspectives to improve problem solving capabilities. By carefully considering the expertise, skills and traits of every collaborator, you can create a project team that not only works well together, but also achieves outstanding results.

The Data for Children Collaborative specialises in using data in a collaborative way to improve the lives of children worldwide. By partnering with us for your specific challenge, we can ensure that you bring together a group of individuals who can make a meaningful difference.

We have consolidated our learning around collaborations into a How-to Guide offering advice and examples of how to plan and execute collaboration on a data project effectively. The How-to-Guide provides a tested toolkit of best practices, including how to build the right team, ensuring collaboration, transparency, and a child-centred approach to solutions.

download the How-to-guide

How to form a collaborative team