Processes in R&D Collaboration

Network Formalisation As A Sensemaking Process

If the partners in a collaborative network are to be effective in their collaboration, they need to create a shared understanding of the collaboration. In an inter-organisational setting in which the participants have commitments to both their own organisation and the network, a shared understanding is even more important. A shared understanding of the expectations of each partner concerning the desired outcomes, how to work together and how decisions are made is essential in preventing frustration, demotivation or even conflict. In more positive terms, it encourages participants in a collaborative network to be effective, supportive and motivated to work together. In this paper, the concept of sensemaking (Weick, 1995) is used to refer to the process of creating this shared understanding. According to Weick (1995), sensemaking is at its simplest “the making of sense” (p.4) and it has the following seven properties: (1) it is grounded in identity construction; (2) it is retrospective; (3) it enacts sensible environments; (4) it is social; (5) it is ongoing; (6) it is based on extracted cues; and (7) it is based on plausibility rather than accuracy.