Abstract
Abstract This article investigates decisions taken at the project level in establishing and managing collaborative ICT projects under the European Framework Programme Horizon 2020. Based on interviews with project coordinators from European research organizations, we offer a detailed examination of how projects are built and managed, and how decisions influence the formation of collaborative networks. Projects are typically set up in three stages. In the first, a smaller group that has worked together before decides on the main idea. This leads in the second stage to a gradual invitation of partners to satisfy professional and formal demands, which also defines the structure of the project. If funded, more detailed decisions on ownership and interaction are taken in the third stage. Coordinators are under pressure from the regulatory control of the EU Commission, which can explain the strong preference for well-known partners, but the formal monitoring also provides tools for project managers.
Highlights
How are multiparty research and development (R&D) projects put together in their initial stages? What are the organizational and policy implications of the way such projects are ‘orchestrated’, as we may call this process? These are essential questions of theoretical and practical interest in a world where collaborative research and innovation is ever more the norm
Based on interviews with project coordinators from European research organizations, we offer a detailed examination of how projects are built and managed, and how decisions influence the formation of collaborative networks
To understand the processes involved in building up an European Framework Programmes (EU FPs) project, the perspectives of project coordinators, who are affiliated with the central organizations in the information and communication technology (ICT) research and innovation networks, are required
Summary
How are multiparty research and development (R&D) projects put together in their initial stages? What are the organizational and policy implications of the way such projects are ‘orchestrated’, as we may call this process? These are essential questions of theoretical and practical interest in a world where collaborative research and innovation is ever more the norm. Our aim with the article is to contribute to a more theoretical understanding of decision-making in the set-up stages of large-scale research and innovation collaboration, primarily by bringing a specialized perspective on ‘network orchestration’ into the science and innovation literature. To understand the processes involved in building up an EU FP project, the perspectives of project coordinators, who are affiliated with the central organizations in the ICT research and innovation networks, are required. The main part of the article applies an indepth, qualitative approach based on project coordinator interviews about ‘network orchestration’ (Dhanaraj and Parkhe 2006; Klerkx and Aarts 2013; Leven et al 2014) This perspective has been used to provide detailed accounts about how collaborative networks are built, coordinated, and preserved
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