How to form a research collaboration

Seasoned academics will tell you that collaboration is the bread and butter of scientific research. Most chemists will be involved in some type of joint working, ranging from small-scale lab partnerships to large research consortia. Such projects can often lead to publishing in higher impact factor journals, and teaming up with industry can increase an academic’s productivity through follow-on publications. But it can also go wrong, with miscommunication and unmet expectations scuppering progress.