Managing multiple diverse stakeholders has long been one of the most significant challenges facing project managers who lead large and complex capital engineering and construction projects. In the Life Sciences industry, a substantial portion of innovation and discovery occurs in the academic sector, where new ideas are incubated, tested, refined and proven.
The most promising ideas transition to industry, where they can be commercialized and manufactured globally. The collaboration of stakeholders from academia and industry is critical to driving advancements and delivering vital therapeutics to patients; however, the vast cultural differences between them can present significant challenges if not properly managed.
The Three Major Challenges
The largest challenge a collaborative project often faces involves reconciling the different timelines and priorities of the academic and industry organizations. Industry projects tend to be driven with an eye on speed-to-market, translating to fast-track timelines, established budgets and profitability goals. Academic work tends to focus more on precision and achieving thorough understanding, often with less consideration given to timeline or budget. Naturally, these different ways of working can lead to friction, especially in scenarios where project timelines or budgets necessitate quick decision-making using the best available, though often incomplete, data.
Two of the biggest assets academics bring to projects are their intense focus on details and their ability to drill down into the minutiae of a process. However, that same focus leads to the second cause of conflict between strategic and tactical perspectives. While attention to detail is essential for the scientific process, it can hamper projects where a broader perspective could identify advantageous alternate options. Balancing these focuses is the art of a good project manager: leverage the expertise while maintaining project momentum and flexibility.
Differing organizational cultures contribute to the third challenge facing blended project teams. Those within industry and corporate environments encounter clearly defined organizational hierarchies and structures, as well as performance goals tied to quantifiable output. Within academia and research circles, organizational hierarchies tend to be flatter and performance goals are tied to innovation and discovery in a qualitative, not quantitative, sense. Among both sectors, communication styles can vary wildly. Some organizations have a direct and clear way of communication, some utilize influence and suggestion rather than ordering and other (unhealthy) ones have deep politics to navigate. There is vast potential for misunderstandings between team members, especially when they are operating within an unfamiliar culture and unaware of norms and expectations.
The Three Effective Strategies for Successful Outcomes
A hallmark of all successful projects is that the team shares a common vision and goal. There will inevitably be various interpretations of how to achieve the goal and healthy debate on the specific path, yet these successful teams maintain alignment on the destination and outcome. That shared framework serves as a litmus test for every situation involving disagreement; the options can be evaluated against the question of what is best for achieving the common goal. One sector, if not both, will need to willingly venture outside its comfort zone and depart from its preferences to support the desired endpoint. Projects with academic and industry stakeholders can succeed when there is a culture of flexibility, adaptability and shared values governing the project ethos.
This recipe for success can be broken down into three actionable strategies:
- First, establish a written project management plan and ensure access for all team members. Critical elements should be defined:
- Project timelines and schedule
- Team organizational hierarchy and individual member roles and responsibilities
- Processes for managing changes
- Processes for escalating disagreements
- Required deliverables
A documented plan ensures everyone is aligned and working with the same expectations. Tools and technology can be tremendous assets in ensuring everyone has real-time access to data, but exercise caution in avoiding the pitfalls of data overload. Keep in mind that developing the plan will require feedback from both the academic and industry stakeholders. Timelines and processes need to be supportable from a business perspective yet flexible and adaptable. Project managers need to account for the unpredictable and non-linear nature of academic processes and the pursuit of scientific knowledge. Some timelines may need to be adjusted, resources rebalanced or scopes modified to ensure that critical academic contributors are included without affecting the result. Building contingency into the project will go a long way to mitigating delays that may occur while working on a specific task where there is value in a detour for exploring details at the expense of time or budget.
Next, set the tone with open communication and collaboration. The best project managers know that projects succeed because of people – having the right team with the right attitude and the right resources leads to the desired outcome. Team members become actively engaged and invested when they feel included in decisions, visible by management and valued in their perspectives. This is universal whether in academia or industry. Successful projects utilize frequent check-ins at the individual level, sub-team level and whole-team level. Frequent touches ensure problems and frictions are proactively addressed and are not allowed to fester into major issues. An added benefit of frequent interactions is that it allows personal relationships and understandings to form between team members. Especially when perspectives differ, having those relationships based on mutual respect will allow for a meaningful dialogue in navigating the different working styles and professional needs. Each side will have multiple opportunities to understand their counterpart’s priorities and culture better. The project manager needs to advocate this behavior and set the example by prioritizing time to foster healthy team working relationships and a cohesive dynamic.
Finally, a successful project manager will ensure that the project incentives align with the team needs and cultures of both the industry and academic members. In corporate and industrial roles, incentives may often include cash bonuses, paid time off or additional opportunities such as future assignments or promotions to new roles. In academia, motivational incentives look quite different. Rather, incentives such as authorship opportunities for research publications, recognition and credit as a key contributor and grant support can be a more powerful driver. By tailoring the project incentives to the individual and not trying to force a one-size-fits-all approach, the project manager can find ways to inspire and motivate each team member while driving forward the overall collective vision.
Managing blended project teams of industry professionals and academic experts is a necessity in the life sciences industry, and while it is challenging to align such different groups, it is an achievable undertaking. Through awareness of the significant challenges and deployment of key actionable strategies, a project manager can effectively lead such a blended team to a successful project outcome.
About the author: Michael Asher is Director of Operations for Haskell’s Life Sciences Division. He is a credentialed Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI) and a Certified Project Manager (CPM) from the Project Management Leadership Group (PMLG). He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. Michael has extensive experience leading projects in the biotechnology and cell and gene therapy space where blended project teams of industry and academia are essential to successful outcomes.
