Collaboration in Action

Every collaboration has moments of friction and moments of flow. This workshop treats collaboration as a practice you can develop — not a talent you either have or don’t.

You’ll work on a collaborative project you’re doing now — a SoCIETIE project, team or group work, or any other kind of collaboration (doesn’t have to be at uni or work!). You can join on your own or with people you’re collaborating with. Using Cobeo tools, you’ll reflect on your specific situation, notice what’s already working, and build confidence in navigating tricky moments.

In this interactive session, you will:

• Build awareness of where your project sits in the co‑creation cycle and how that shapes what you and others experience.
• Use Cobeo Cycle and Cards to notice patterns in your collaboration — strengths, frictions, and possibilities — and explore ways to respond more skillfully.
• Clarify your own expectations, likes, and dislikes in collaboration, and design one small, concrete step to strengthen your collaborative practice.

By the end, you’ll leave with a clearer picture of what’s happening in your collaboration, some practical ideas for navigating tricky moments, and one concrete next step to strengthen your collaborative practice.

Please complete this reflective survey before you come to the KNOT

Pre-KNoT reflective survey (Qualtrics)

it should take you about 8-10 minutes to complete.

Come to the KNOT ready to talk about:

1. A collaborative project you are doing
2. What’s working well and where you notice friction (for you and others)
3. Your expectations, likes, and dislikes in collaboration

(TIP - doing the survey is a good way to reflect on these three points!)

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Use the Co-creation Cycle to understand and navigate a current collaborative project

Identify where a collaboration is now, where it may need to go next, and what may help it progress.

2. Recognise strengths, frictions, and collaboration dynamics affecting a project

Use Cobeo tools to reflect on collaborative practice, to recognise patterns, challenges, opportunities, and areas requiring attention.

3. Develop a practical action to strengthen their collaborative practice

Identify and commit to one specific action that may help move a collaboration forward or improve their participation within it.

(1) Co-Creativity: Reflections, Insights and Impact - POPSICULE
6 short videos where students reflect on collaboration
(2) Ch5, The Future of Teams, pp. 589-595 in
Salas, E., Rico, R., & Passmore, J. (Eds.). (2017). The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of the psychology of team working and collaborative processes (1st ed.). Wiley Blackwell.
The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Team Working and Collaborative Processes (ANU Library)

You can learn more about Cobeo, the research-based initiative on which this learning experience is based, here - www.cobeo.net

There are two completion activities for this KNOT:

1. Complete the evaluation survey for the workshop - you will be given access to it in the workshop
2. Following the workshop, implement the action you identified for your collaborative project and write a reflection on what you learned. Below are some instructions for your reflection.

Part 1: Planning for Action

Briefly describe:

• The collaboration you focused on during the workshop.
• Where the collaboration is now and where you would like it to move next.
• The action you committed to taking.

Part 2: Reflection on Practice

If you have implemented the action, reflect on:

• What did you do?
• What happened?
• What did you notice?
• What did you learn about collaboration or your own collaborative practice?
• What might you do next?

If you have not yet implemented the action, reflect on:

• What do you anticipate may happen?
• What challenges might arise?
• How will you know whether the action has been successful?

Estimated length: 400-600 words