A Framework for Successful Virtual Collaborations & Events

At the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS), we have been facilitating collaboration amongst interdisciplinary and globally-distributed Arctic research and education communities since 1988.

As an early adopter of online communication, networking, and learning, we utilize—and have developed—leading practices of virtual collaboration and event management through years of experience with a variety of different groups, project goals, and tools. These experiences, everything from webinars from remote locations in the Arctic, online teacher training, and virtual scientific conferences, have led ARCUS to create a framework for building and implementing successful virtual collaborations and events. This framework sits at the intersection of several areas of scholarship and practice, including the design of virtual organizations, science of team science, group psychology, meeting planning, design of inclusive processes, and the application of virtual technologies—all within a participant-centered approach.

With the expanding use of interdisciplinary approaches across the research community, as well as the complications caused by COVID-19, virtual collaboration has become a necessity for many researchers and educators. In this presentation, we will address the challenges and opportunities of online collaborations by sharing insights from three decades of ARCUS experience, outline a framework for virtual collaboration and events, and discuss lessons learned and areas for collective improvement to promote more inclusive research collaboration.