ON
C T I MODEL
THEA ARC
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CT I
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E A
N
M ODE
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Action Reaction Coalition
AL I
T
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The passion to succeed is the will to redesign.
As of 2014, KTH Royal Institute of Technology has established nine strategic partnerships at top management level. These are with ABB, Ericsson, City of Stockholm, Saab Group, Sandvik, Scania, Skanska, Stockholm County Council and Vattenfall. The development of the ARC model is and has been an on
going process with our partners.
Why
arc
ARC is an effective and persistent model of working in
partnerships. We ask you to take this walkthrough of the ARC model,
from the methodology of the model and the successful outcome to its
origin.
action
Use the ARC model, develop it, benefit.
It is required that it is used as a whole, there are no shortcuts or
parts that can be lifted out.
The core of ARC is the force created when people work together.
The ARC model makes your coalition more likely to reach the goal,
to get results.
You need to define your objectives.
The ARC model will create the opportunities for you to reach
them.
Let us start from the beginning.
how?
arc
The passion to succeed is the will to re-design. If you want to use the
ARC model, it is required that your partnership is moving through a
perpetual evaluation. Every action point must be
followed by reaction or the coalition is gone.
Reaction
The ARC model is divided into three phases: initiation, development
and follow-up. The follow-up is scrutinizing the action. This means that
the action is followed by a reaction. What has happened? How can we
move on? You need to analyse and do the re-design before
allocating the recources in the continuing mission of the coalition.
Resource allocation for the partnership is done jointly by the
partnered organisations, for example the appointed partner
managers. This is one of the reasons why the ARC model requires
a powerful leadership that connects the coalition to strategic ambitions.
The annual top management dialogue meeting and the leaders of the
steering group outline the project’s trajectory. The follow-up per year
continually evaluate and present a new chart on how the partnership is evolving; making sure that every action will generate a reaction.
The ARC model will make sure that your coalition is in progress.
Or tell you to move on if it is not.
who?
arc
A coalition is built on a strong conviction to reach a goal that we can
not reach alone. And more importantly, we have to work together with a
strong partner to get there. This means that the potential of a coalition
will always be greater than a normal collaboration. And it will be more
demanding.
coalition
The passion and the will of the people in the organisations forming the coalition are the driving forces to success. But to harness this
force it is imperative with a unified command on every level of the
coalition. The engagement must therefore be exercised on both sides
in the ARC model for the partnership to progress and succeed.
The ARC model begins with that a coalition is initiated through a
discussion where an interest is expressed at top management level at
both parties.
This is developed into a memorandum of understanding and a
statement of objectives, which is followed up on a regular basis. The
statement of objectives defines the indicators agreed upon for a continuous follow-up process and is reviewed during the management
dialogue. It also defines areas that the partnership will strengthened
over a period of between one and three years and is a driver for action.
On another level it all starts with the question of your objectives,
your motivation and your conviction to create and conquer a future
together with a partner in a coalition. To simply ask yourself: what is
expected of you?
This is ARC.
coalition
command &
control
Initiate
Partner X
resources
redesign
Executive level
The initiation is a MoU, a declaration
of intent from both parties. The statement
of objectives defines the indicators agreed
upon for a continuous follow-up process
and is reviewed during the management
dialogue. It also defines goals for how the
partnership will develop over a period of
between one and three years.
design
The steering committee
The steering committee evaluates the
work of the coalition. Ensuring that redesign
is implemented when needed in the work
of the coalition.
Normal
collaboration
follow-up
operate
The partner managers
The partner managers’ main objective
is to look to the future and provide an
opportunity to share ideas in order to
define new areas and new forms of
collaboration.
Partner Y
The arc model
rules, regulations and procedures
• The minutes from the meeting are sent to the partnershipowners in both organisations who review them and
add their views before sending them to all the participants
in the management dialogue meeting.
The ARC’s objective,from the university’s point of view,
is to increase the quality of education and research and
strengthen the innovative capacity of students, educators,
researchers and partners. The objective for the partner
organisation is, other than organisational development, to
attract top talents.
The steering committee is responsiblfe for:
• Ensuring that the partnership develops in the direction
that has been set as a goal by the management dialogue.
• Following up and proposing ways the partnership can be
further developed by revising the statement of objectives.
• Following up and revising the statement of objectives in
preparation for the management dialogue meetings.
The way it works
Increased systematic collaboration between the university
and the community comes about through strategic COALITIONS and various forms of individual exchanges.
The process is divided into three phases: initiation, development and follow-up. A coalition is initiated through a
discussion where an interest is expressed at top management level. This is developed into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and a statement of objectives, which is
followed up annually at top management level.
A MoU is a declaration of intent from both parties. The
statement of objectives defines the indicators agreed
upon for a continuous follow-up process and is reviewed
during the management dialogue. It also defines goals for
how the partnership will develop over a period of between
one and three years and is a driver for ACTION.
When establishing a steering committee it is important to
consider the specific areas identified for more intense collaboration. And it is recommended to set quantitative goals
for individual exchanges – hard facts facilitate follow-up.
The venue for the management dialogue meetings alternates
between the university and the partner organisation. These
are forward-looking meetings which can be
held over lunch or dinner. The partner managers set the
date for the management dialogues, which involve:
• Reviewing the minutes from the previous year’s management dialogue meeting, the activities of the past year as
well as the steering committee’s proposals for any revisions
to be made to the statement of objectives.
• Forward-looking discussions based on external events
and circumstances that may affect the partners and that
can be referred to the steering committee to work on
further.
• A period of about three hours is allocated for the management dialogue. The partner managers keep the minutes
which the steering committee can later use for follow-up
and re-design in preparation for the next management dialogue meeting. The management dialogue should look to the
future and provide an opportunity
to share ideas in order to define new areas and new
forms of collaboration.
It is therefore appropriate for the steering committee
meeting to be held about one month before the management
dialogue.
The most important tasks for the partnership owner are
therefore conflict management and negotiation. Trust will
in fact always be the strongest power source of ARC.
need to have expertise in project management, strategies,
relationships and forging contacts.
The role of the partner manager includes:
The possibility to develop and pick up speed in one organisation, to the mutual benefit of the partner involved,
demands balance. A working partnership implies that all
parties evolve and that the feelings of responsibility are in
symmetry.
• Responsibility for the operational work based on the
MoU and the statement of objectives.
• Ensuring operation and documentation of the partnership
(management dialogue, three-four steering group
meetings per year).
• Enabling and monitoring the partnership funds budget.
• Involving the partnership owner and head of department,
if necessary.
• Reporting and updating on progress and challenges.
Respect is earned and can never be taken for granted. It is
not simple because it demands an understanding for the
deeper motivations of the other part, an understanding
that could only be achieved with an open dialogue and a
high level of self-esteem within the project.
The role of the partnership owner therefore includes:
These processes help to secure REACTION from the partnership.
The steering committee holds three to four meetings a
year. The partners take turns hosting the steering committee meetings. An agreed agenda is set for each steering
committee meeting. The meeting is run by a chairman. The
minutes from the meeting are sent out to all participants
following approval by the chairman.
Some recommendations
It is imperative to have a powerful leadership that connects
the coalition to strategic ambitions. This also helps
create a driving force within the organisations. The annual
management dialogue meeting and the leaders of the
steering group should outline the project’s trajectory. The
people involved matter and should receive recognition.
One simple proof of commitment is that resource allocation
for the partnership is done jointly by the partnered organisations, for example the appointed partner managers.
We have identified three key functions at the university that
enable ARC to run properly:
• A partnership owner from the university management.
• A partner director who represents the faculty.
• A partner manager from the university administration.
The partnership also requires the involvement of at least
three key people from the partner organisation:
• A partnership owner from the group/executive management with ultimate responsibility for the partnership.
• A person responsible for steering committee work on
behalf of the company/organisation.
• A partner manager.
Partnership owner from university managemnt
With trust comes the courage to solve confliects before
they grow too big to handle. Trust creates space to lift the
problem to a higher ground. And with a partner, the force
to move forward exists.
• Initiating dialogue with potential strategic partners.
• Coordinating the university representation at annual
management dialogue meetings.
• Convening meetings, reviewing all strategic partnerships
with partner directors and faculty and partner managers
for synergies.
• Creating annual dialogue with the heads of the university
administration regarding the allocation of resources for
ARC.
• Reporting to the University Management Group twice
a year, and annually to the University Board, to provide a
status report on how the partnerships are progressing.
Partner director, faculty representative
The partner director represents the whole of the faculty in
the partnership. This individual should be well informed
about the types of instruments that the university offers
for cooperation: individual exchanges, recruitment,
research collaboration and education collaboration.
The role of the partner director includes:
• Representing the whole of the university in the partnership and being a contact node for the faculty.
• Reporting on the partnership follow-up at the annual
management dialogue meeting.
• Acting as chairman or vice chairman of the steering committee.
• Participating in meetings led by the partnership owner to
find synergies.
• Participating in planning meetings with the partner
manager once a month or as often as needed.
Partner managers
The partner managers are the portal into the academic organisation for employees of various divisions/levels within
the partner organisations. The partner managers also put
the people within the academic organisation in touch with
the right people in the partner organisations. The partner
manager maintains a meeting structure for the partnership
and ensures that everything is properly documented.
It is important for partner managers to have a good
understanding of the role of researchers and educators
and the driving forces in the academic sphere. They also
Critical Performance Indicators (CPIs)
It’s always easier to get something done if you chart and
evaluate. It creates clarity and good spirit. It is therefore
important to have an agreed long-term mission statement
that focuses on the partnership and is continuously
revised and re-designed when needed.
The combination of these qualities, focus and curiosity,
makes it possible to benefit from the different motivations
of organisations and people. We all act and react to different
things. New ways to gain funding, interesting people to play
with and the possibility to formulate questions and generate
for ideas are factors that the partnerships are able to offer,
given the right conditions and deep understanding and
curiosity for different cultures and ambitions.
Below are a number of indicators that have been created
in cooperation with some of our strategic partners. The
indicators are logged and can therefore be followed up over
time.
• Adjunct professors.
• Affiliated faculty.
• Externally employed PhD students and licentiates,
PLEng (Professional Licentiate of Engineering).
• Co-publishing with partners.
• Affiliated experts.
• Research funding from industry and the public sector.
• Contract research.
• Contract education.
• Patents, license agreements, start-ups.
As of 2014, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, has established
nine strategic partnerships at top management level. These are
with ABB, Ericsson, City of Stockholm, Saab Group, Sandvik,
Scania, Skanska, Stockholm County Council and Vattenfall.
The ARC model came into existence when KTH Royal Institute
of Technology was inventing procedures and processes to drive
already established collaboration to a new phase, into systematic collaboration on top management level.
The ARC model´s explicit focus on skills development,
recruitment and personnel exchange has resulted in improved
joint research partnerships that better contribute to KTH’s
development.
But while these methods have had huge benefit to KTH, they can
also be applied to partnerships between all kinds of organisations.
Just follow the rules and recommendations of the ARC model. The
coalitions and mission objectives can change; the ARC model however remains the same.
origin
What is
expected
of you?
A partnership is a two-way movement.
We all act and react to different things.
We can decide where it would lead us.
We can set up a goal.
But you can never get there alone.
The mission is to reach it together.
Once the action and the reaction starts we are on our way.
But first we want you to think about the force that puts
everything in motion.
Securing competitiveness and innovation.
Securing competitiveness and innovation
in complex collaborations.
Use it!
THE ARC MODEL is free to use. The only thing we
ask you is to respect the model and to contribute to
its development by reconnecting to us at KTH Royal
Institute of Technology. We believe as you might have
noticed in perpetual evaluation and that redsign is a
driver for success.
Contact:
THE ARC MODEL are properties of KTH Royal Institue of Technology.
© 2014 KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Margareta Norell Bergendahl, Vice President
[email protected]
Johan Schuber, Director Strategic Partnerships
[email protected]