Collaborations with Phanous can be insitgated by Phanous memebers or members of other institutions. The process in both cases is the same and the main steps are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 : Collaborating with Phanous
¶ Pre-proposal
The pre-prosal is an informal stage which is designed to assit our partners in preparing their collaboration proposals.
This stage has a few key steps outlined as follows;
- Study the collaboration guidelines and familiarise yourself with important details such as; what are the types of collaboration we recognize and the objectives we seek to fulfill from each type.
- Identify the type of collaboration which best matches the project you had in mind.
- Sketch up a rough list of your requirements from Phanous.
- Contact one of the Phanous Principal Investigators (PI) who will arrange for an informal introduction meeting. The meeting will not get into any details of the project and is instead used to verify that the proposed project has potential mutual interest. If this is not the case, the connection is terminated. Otherwise we proceed to the proposal stage.
¶ Proposal
Each collaboration needs a documented proposal which is prepared in this stage. The proposal is prepared by the collaboration partner.
The key steps in this stage are as follows;
- The partner will prepare a collaboration proposal
- The proposal is reviewed jointly by Phanous and the partner
- If the proposal is fundamentally lacking in important details, the proposal is rejected and the connection is terminated.
- If the proposal is agreed upon, it is then decided if a project charter is required or not. If a charter is not required, this marks the end of the process and project may start.
- If a project charter is required, the process enter the third charter phase.
The factors which are used to decide if a charter is required or not are as follows,
- The scope of the project
- The complexity of the project
- The amount of resources required
Since collaborations assume several types and are designed to fullfill a range of objectives, we do not enforce a single template for all proposals. Partners are encouraged to write up their proposals in a manner they feel most befitting and beneficial to the type of collaboration being considered.
However, there are key information which we look to see in all proposals. Phanous recommendation to write a successful proposal is to pay attention to the following matters.
¶ Backgrounds
Clearly state the backgrounds to this project, for example,
- What is the background to this project?
- What previous work has been done by the partner in this field?
- Is this an extension of previous research carried out by the partner at another institute?
- Is this collaboration a part of a larger project currently under way?
¶ Relevancy
Clearly state the relevancy of this project, for example,
- What type of collaboration is being proposed and what objectives are fulfilled?
- How will this project lead to the fulfillment of the stated projects? Please pay close attention to the listed keywords listed under each objectives. These will help you identify the key features of each objectives.
¶ Needs
Clearly state the needs of this project, for example,
- What resources (time, human, equipment, data,..) are required and what will happen to them after the project has ended (for example in case of share data).
- Are there other bodies who need to be notified or need to give permission?
- Any legal agreements that need to be installed.
¶ Outcomes
Clearly state the outcomes of this project, for example,
- What outcomes will result from this work?
- What are the time lines associated with the expected outcomes?
- How will the outcomes be shared between partners?
¶ Impact
Clearly state the impact of this project, for example,
- What parts/products of the holding is most affected by this work?
- How will the outcomes, impact the parts/products? (Here you may also find the objectives and keywords useful).
- What are the risks associated with this project?
¶ Charter
Collaboration projects percieved to be resource intensice, complex or wide in scope may be required to be accompanied by a project charter.
In casea charter is required, the process is initiated by creation of a project team comprising Phanous representstives and our partner(s).
The project teamwill the prepare the charter with the following condirations,
- Project charters are prepared according to the PMBOK standards
- Project charters are prepared in collaboration between Phanous and our partner(s)
- Project charters are only ratified by mutual agreement of Phanous and our partner(s)