224 Chapter 6 Table 6.2 Lessons learned with illustrative quotes (Continued) Theme Lessons learned Illustrative quotes Internal collaborations and communication • Continual improvement of relations between departments and divisions • Build from historical collaborations into current and future opportunities • Have groups with focus and elements of “culture/ way of working” (previous theme) “Everyone is hungry for that connection and collaboration”(Blood bank1, 5 years) “So my advice is we need coordination. We need commitment from the board of directors. But in the coordination, do not put only researchers, also put business developers for commercial parts and also persons who can deal good with the government, and make a team and create a communication part internally. So everybody is involved. Because I have the feeling that we are working very hard together, but we waste a lot of time because we are not updated enough.” (Management3, 28 years) Power and responsibility From the interviews and document analysis, one significant aspect that occurred during the coping phase was top management’s attitude and support of the collaborations. As many unfurled organically, management was compelled to enable and equip them as much as possible, aiding with major steps such as ethical approval and funding: “We’ve tried to fund everything and to make all the initiatives make it to execution…But this was the culture at the management level: ‘Let’s make it happen’” (Corporate Staff1, 20 years). In fact, several interview respondents stated that top management continued to support the growth of these initiatives giving so much freedom that respondents wished there had been more guidance from the top. The document analyses highlighted specific persons who were either spearheading or involved within these initiatives; however, there was less emphasis on specific persons, but the groups they were part of, and how adaptation was occurring within and through these groups (i.e., new ideas, products, processes): “The way that different parts of the organization collaborated and participated in this one big project, that is unprecedented, I think. I was impressed by the speed and energy at which this was done” (Researcher5, 12 years). However, 1.5 years later, in one feedback session, one respondent who is from the top management asked how to continue cultivating this organic collaborative spirit as it seemed to be disappearing.
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