Sign contracts before you start the collaboration. An advice often put forward by the legal departments. While it is a good advice to discuss and close contracts when collaborating, it seems to suggest that the contract is the first and most important step to realise collaboration.

While it is a necessary step, it is not the first one to take in my opinion. My experience with the many collaboration projects I successfully set up in the past, shows me that there are other steps to take. You can even state that realizing collaboration is a process, that comprises several steps:

• Identifying collaboration opportunities
• Finding partners
• Defining the goals of the collaboration
• Creating the project structure, the work plan, the project risks, the resources, project management etc.
• Closing contracts and IPR agreement
• Executing the project plan
• Risk management
• Realizing the results

The timing and effort of all phases can vary depending on the nature of your collaboration. If you aim for a high-risk project the effort you put in risk management will be larger than when the risks are lower. Collaboration involving many partners will require more effort and control structures than a two-partner collaboration.

Which phase do you find most difficult? Do you see other phases? Let me know!