Enhancing research collaboration within a large university department

Abstract

As academic research evolves into distinct identities of specialised knowledge, institutional and paradigmatic barriers are formed between research teams, which demand enhanced research collaboration and cross-fertilisation of ideas. Drawing on the concept of cross-fertilisation, this paper adds original contributions to literature on research collaboration in three ways. First, it underlines key barriers facing academics in undertaking research. Second, it demonstrates why research collaboration helps to drive research output and enrich research cultures. Third, it offers valuable insights into technological and social initiatives supporting research collaboration. This paper reports on a study within the University of Portsmouth’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice–the UK’s largest criminology department. It reveals universities must address four key issues to enhance research collaboration. These involve managing researchers’ workload pressures, fostering positive research cultures, improving knowledge of and access to research and funding processes, and exploring collaborative technologies.