F3: M., Digi
When a new project starts, goals and ways of working always need to be figured out together — the whole group has to be on board. I can have ideas about what works, but implementing them top-down doesn’t work. The group needs to arrive at their own agreements. A template outlining what to discuss and decide would definitely help speed that process up. A template can set some things as standard — like which tools to use or where to meet — but it’s still worth discussing them together, so the group feels ownership over the decisions. That creates more commitment. Starting with small shared decisions builds trust and a sense of togetherness, which makes it easier to tackle bigger choices later. So it’s important to keep things open rather than fully fixed from the start.
F4: M., Digi-ICTU
In larger consortia, getting alignment is simply harder — everyone has a vote, and there’s often a steering committee on top of that. The core activities aren’t that different, but there’s more coordination and more risk of people interpreting things differently. In the three-year program, the first year was mainly about getting to know each other, the second about learning from each other, and the third about actually building and creating. Shared language was a painpoint: We eventually created a shared glossary to make sure we were actually talking about the same things. Without that kind of shared language, frustration builds quickly.
Keeping everyone aligned physically was managed through monthly full-day meetings early on, which gradually became less frequent.
F5: A., PBA
The biggest investment of time and energy is in the setup phase. Once the framework is in place — shared objectives, clear roles, agreed ways of working — it becomes a management process, which can be hosted in different ways. The least effective model is when one of the partners hosts and controls the whole thing, as the power imbalance tends to undermine genuine collaboration. Governance and alignment are ongoing, not just a start-up activity. It begins with having the right people involved — not just the right level, but the right individuals, since personal compatibility matters. From there, it’s about clear expectations, shared responsibilities and risks, and a structured rhythm of check-ins where everyone knows in advance what will be discussed. Surprises undermine trust. The process itself also needs to be clear: will there be a secretariat, is it a fixed group or growing, is it bilateral or multilateral? Get those things settled early — but make the partners feel like they own the answers.
F7: L., PBA
They often already know each other in her area of international development which makes it easier. However, there is often a role to play to bridge the gap between strategic level and operational level. Often a memorandum Of Understanding / partnership agreement is signed. Problem here is that this gets signed on the high level. Local language, simple summaries are necessary so all the staff knows what they’re signed up to do. Big part of this is in person communicating new information.
F8: A.
I needed a 360-degree view of everything, because what project managers report doesn’t always reflect the full reality. Once you build trust and a shared language, that becomes easier — but you always need access to concrete information from every angle.
F9: J., Novum
After the start-up phase, the Innovation Designer guides the team through the successive phases of the innovation methodology (based on design thinking + lean startup): understand, experiment, transfer, and close. Within that framework, he has his own authority over which working methods and approaches he deploys — he determines, for example, whether more research is needed or whether a different route should be followed. A core principle here is that the business carries out as much of the work as possible itself: in customer interviews, for example, business employees are trained in advance and conduct the interviews themselves, while the Innovation Designer provides guidance. An important requirement within a project is that they want to speak with the people who actually experience the problem. Always work from the perspective of the people you are doing it for, the end users.