Lab Partners

Lab partners are more than just stakeholders, they are invested in the lab’s success and actively contribute to it.

Partners

Creating partnerships is, next to your lab team, a second element in building a successful lab. Partners are more than just stakeholders. They do not just show up to participate because they have an interest in the challenge that the lab is trying to tackle. Partners are invested in the lab’s success and actively contribute to it. This means more than just providing funding, although this is often an important part. Partners share knowledge, networks, and sometimes even staff or facilities. Through this, they help increase the convening power and legitimacy of the lab. Having the right partners can make or break a lab, just like ensuring their role in the lab (think: governance and communications) should be done thoughtfully and effectively. And remember, choosing the right partner and providing value to them can leverage a lab enormously.

Lab partners provide:

• Legitimacy

• Funding

• Resources/ Expertise

• Implementation

• Network

Lab partners expect:

• Decision-making

• Results

• Recognition

• Learning

• Network

The table below describes the roles, competencies, and success factors not only for your core team (described in the section above) but also for participants and your partners and funders.

Finding the Right Partners

What to look for:

• Strategic alignment: what is the interest of your partner to support the lab/ work to solve the problem?

• What they can bring: The 'best' partners never bring just funding, but also contribute in terms of network, expertise etc.

• The right mix of partners: Having multiple partners who complement one another

• Value proposition: How is the lab able to help them?