Introducing Collaborative Collision 2.0

I can’t count the number of times over the last five years I’ve been asked “What happens after Collaborative Collision?” While Collaborative Collision has proven to be extremely popular with the FSU research community, the fact is that there are many barriers to interdisciplinary research and the original Collaborative Collision was only designed to address one — building connections with researchers outside of your immediate network. But knowing what to do with those connections is just as, if not more, important.

That’s why I’m excited to announce Collaborative Collision 2.0— the first major re-design and expansion since we launched in 2016. Collaborative Collision 2.0 is designed to lower the barrier to entry for interdisciplinary teams starting by providing an opportunity to connect researchers with complementary interests, then catalyzing the growth of new teams through a rapid development program and internal funding competition. This transforms Collaborative Collision from a singular event into a guided team development program, with three parts: Connector, Incubator, and Accelerator.

An evolution of the original Collision event, Collaborative Connector focuses on encouraging the discovery of individual researcher’s skills, interests, and assets, as well as their values, expectations, and interest in collaboration. Connectors are framed around complex societal problems that our research community would like to address. The first step in Connector is to refine our Collaborative Challenge into more manageable problems, through a group exercise to determine the top research questions we are interested in collaborating on. We then break into multiple groups, each focused on one of these questions, and introduce ourselves using the familiar Research Profile. Through several rotations, Connector participants get to meet multiple potential collaborators, and form teams for the Collaborative Incubator.

Collaborative Collision's second stage is Collaborative Incubator —  a series of four guided team development sessions in the weeks after Collaborative Connector which guides participants through the process of developing a new project, designing a collaboration plan that governs how the team works together, discovering the team's competitive advantage, and determining how to communicate their project to the right people, in the right way. As part of the Incubator, ORD will work with teams to produce 90 second pitch videos describing their project. These videos then form the basis of our final stage— Collaborative Accelerator.

Collaborative Accelerator celebrates all of our newly formed teams, and showcases how Florida State is rising to meet our Collaborative Challenge. The focal point of Collaborative Accelerator is a live, interactive competition event in which one team will receive up to $50,000 to conduct the pilot project developed in Collaborative Incubator. Our teams will make their pitch to the Vice President for Research, two senior members of FSU's faculty, and a special guest representing the end-users of our research— the community or industry most impacted by the Collaborative Challenge.

These three events—Connector, Incubator, and Accelerator— represent an exciting opportunity for Florida State researchers to come together to solve the world’s most urgent challenges, and provide complex solutions to complex problems. Collaborative Collision 2.0 launched this fall with Collaborative Collision: Resilience on September 7^th.

Collaborative Collision 2.0 Frequently Asked Questions

Is that a new logo?

It is indeed! As we all know, the first step in any rebranding campaign is a sweet new logo. The large garnet gears with the handshake, lightbulb, and rocket represent the Collision, Incubator, and Accelerator. We even have an animated version for videos!

What’s the difference between Connector and Collision?

Connector is the first event in the Collaborative Collision program. Previously, Collaborative Collision was a singular event, but now refers to the entire program consisting of Connector, Incubator, and Accelerator.

How do I sign up?

Participants sign up for Connector and Incubator separately, and both are open to all members of the FSU research community. Registration for Incubator opens during the Connector event.

The Accelerator pitch event is open to the entire FSU community as well as the greater Tallahassee community and registration will open approximately one month prior.

Who is eligible to compete for the Accelerator award?

Only teams that complete the Collaborative Incubator series may compete for the Collaborative Accelerator award. Please note that the Principal Investigator for an Accelerator team must be a tenure- or research faculty.

How often will Collaborative Collision 2.0 occur?

Each series (Connector, Incubator, Accelerator) will occur once each Spring and Fall semester. The program is timed to start and end with the academic calendar. Connector and Accelerator are singular events, and Incubator is made up of four sessions spaced two weeks apart.

Will the Incubator sessions be the same each time?

Not necessarily. Collaborative Incubator is a pilot program, and we will actively evaluate its success after each series. However, you’ll know they topics for each session prior to signing up for the Incubator.