Trust-based Structures of Collaboration

Edit: The report is now available open access through Michigan Publishing Services.

Our retrospective report will be published in just a few weeks! We’re incredibly excited to share it with you all, as we found the process to be rewarding: discussing the process of establishing the cross-institutional collaborations, our success and challenges, and our enabling structures, and then distilling the rich conversations into a report helped to solidify our own thoughts. 

Today, Wanda Marsolek and Mara Blake share their favorite section of the report. This snippet comes from the Structures section, in which we articulate the different types of structures necessary to build and sustain cross-institutional collaboration:

“Another key type of structure enabling the success of the DCN is trust-based structures, or those that support the network in establishing trust and building relationships between DCN members. The DCN shared staffing model and community of practice are supported by our trust-based structures as the operation of the DCN necessitates that both member organizations and individuals trust that each member will approach the work according to the values and norms established by the network.”