Be Explicit: Identifying and Addressing Misaligned Goals in Collaborative Research Teams

ABSTRACT The misalignment of goals among researchers, external organizational partners (OPs), and study participants is thought to pose a challenge the successful implementation collaborative research projects. However, different team members almost never are elicited, making identification its potential consequences difficult task. In this evaluation United Nations Nonviolent Communication Program conducted in Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka, I collected qualitative quantitative data on OPs’ participants’ expected program impacts. find that there differences OP participant appears bear some responsibility for dissatisfaction with program. also observe evidence as progressed, impacts began more closely approximate those OPs. conclude thoughts benefits explicitly measuring expectations addressing their misalignment.