Common problems

Challenges and opportunities for integrated research

Over a series of workshops and interviews, as well as via a survey. Researchers described some of the challenges they experienced doing integrated research.

Here are some common problems people face along with resources to help work through these challenges.

Who to involve?

If you are unsure who to speak to, these techniques can help you discover relevant people. They will help you prioritise who to involve and avoid talking to the same old people again and again.

Influence and interest mapping

Create a map of which stakeholders are engaged and their relative power
Systems thinking

A holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way that a system's parts interrelate.
Three types of knowledge

It is not just scientific knowledge that is important for integrated research.

Ways to involve people

Once you know who to involve, the question is how to involve them. These resources concern getting initial agreements between collaborators, establishing roles and the nuts and bolts of effective meetings.

Ladder of participation

Different degrees of participation in research by stakeholders.
Stakeholder matrix

Plan who should participate when and their level of engagement at each stage.
Tips on running workshops

General advice for organising and running workshops.

Understanding context

Projects do not exist in a vacuum. These resources help people have an awareness of external factors affecting the project and take wider contexts into account.

Problems before solutions

You need to understand an issue before you can solve it.
Problem tree

Analyse and visualise the causes and consequences of complex problems.
Systems thinking

A holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way that a system's parts interrelate.

Scoping the problem area

The best intentions can be undone if there is no common vision. These resources help teams get agreement on the purpose underpinning the work, establish problem scope and highlight competing agendas or priorities.

Problems before solutions

You need to understand an issue before you can solve it.
Problem framing

Making sure you are tackling the right issue.
Problem tree

Analyse and visualise the causes and consequences of complex problems.
Systems thinking

A holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way that a system's parts interrelate.

Designing for impact

People think change occurs in different ways. These resources help raise and address conflicting assumptions about how change happens.

Programme logic

A tool for teams to plan what a project will do and how it will do it.
Outcome spaces

A tool for negotiating and agreeing on project outcomes.
Team structures

Understand different team structures for improving knowledge exchange between scientists and their audience.
Theory of change

An illustrated explanation of how your project is going to deliver impact.

Working together

Sometimes there is friction within a team. This might result from methodology clashes, conflicting personalities, different agendas, overly-dominant voices or the lack of a clear kaupapa. These resources can help understand and address team disharmony.

Team roles

Understanding different roles within a team.
Conflict styles

Recognising different sources of conflict and how we deal with them.
Learning styles

Identifying how people learn and reaching wider audiences
Outcome spaces

A tool for negotiating and agreeing on project outcomes.

Working with Māori

These resources address starting and forming relationships with iwi and hapū, establishing expectations, understanding protocols and moving beyond superficial engagement.

Collaborating with Māori

Personal qualities to develop for working with Māori.
Enduring relationships with Māori

Building and maintaining relationships when researching with Māori.
Treaty of Waitangi and research

Why is the Treaty of Waitangi important for research?
Working with iwi and hapū

Key steps for meaningful collaboration with iwi and hapū.

Team communication

Sometimes teams have difficulty communicating with another. This might be due to different disciplinary vocabularies, the use of jargon or unclear lines of communication. These resources help the clear communication of concepts and intent.

Different languages

Ways of accommodating different ways of communicating.
Social-ecological network modelling

A powerful tool for studying the nature and outcomes of human-environment interactions.
Problem tree

Analyse and visualise the causes and consequences of complex problems.
Systems thinking

A holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way that a system's parts interrelate.

Communicating research

For research to have an impact it needs to be communicated beyond the project team. These resources address establishing who has the responsibility for communicating and how to make research meaningful to non-experts.

Outcome spaces

A tool for negotiating and agreeing on project outcomes.
Kaupapa Māori

Incorporating the knowledge, skills and values of Māori society into research.

How did we do?

Integrated research works best when evaluation and reflection happens throughout a project—not just at the end. These resources go beyond evaluating just project outputs. They are ways to better understand team issues, the effectiveness of events or workshops, and research impacts.

Collaborative relationship evaluation

Evaluating scientific collaborations, relationships and performance.
Event evaluation

Get feedback on how an event went and what to improve next time.